Ptyelus grossus

Ptyelus grossus is an Auchenorrhynchan spittlebug in the family Aphrophoridae. Occurring from Southern Africa through to West Africa, the species is gregarious in its larval and nymph stages, feeding on a variety of plants, and producing protective nests of acrid foam from the plant's sap. Excreted in large quantities, the foam drips incessantly causing wet patches on the soil below.

Ptyelus grossus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hemiptera
Suborder:
Auchenorrhyncha
Family:
Aphrophoridae
Genus:
Ptyelus
Species:
P. grossus
Binomial name
Ptyelus grossus
(Fabricius, 1781)

Adults have slate-grey wings, each wing with two white and yellow patches near the outer margin. The head is white, rounded with large dark eyes and small black and yellow marks on the forehead.

Favoured trees are Tipuana, Peltophorum and Lonchocarpus, although its catholic diet includes species of Grevillea, Rhus, Acacia, Vangueria and even Eucalyptus.

Nymphs are preyed upon by the gorytine wasp Pseudoplisus natalensis, the drosophilid fly Leucophenga maculata and other carnivorous insects.

  • Foam nest
  • Nymphs


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