Brown Spittlebug
Froth
Ellura
Brown Spittlebug
Nymph exposed
 
                      
Brown Spittlebug (Bathyllus albicinctus)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: True Bugs (Hemiptera)
Family: True Spittlebug (Cercopoidea, Cercopidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Brown Spittlebug (Bathyllus albicinctus)
This Photo:     🔍Nymph hiding🔎

Thank you Dr Francesco Martoni for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Adults ~6mm long.
They make a froth (akin to a frog nest pontoon) in plants for their young to hide in while they suck juices from the plant, as can be seen here.
As far as we know this is the only species of true spittlebug in SA.
We confused the nymph with a Cicada; at least they are related.
Newly emerged speciemens can be very pale. Additionally Les Day said "B. albicinctus does appear to be variable in colouring."

Copyright © 2016-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 22-Sep-2016
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.