Ischnorhinidae
Guides
Prosapia
froghoppers, spittlebugs
Prosapia is a genus of froghoppers (family Ischnorhinidae) comprising approximately six described species distributed across North and Central America, including the Caribbean. These insects are commonly known as spittlebugs due to the protective foamy masses produced by nymphs. Several species are significant agricultural pests of forage grasses, turfgrasses, and sugarcane, causing economic damage through xylem feeding that induces water stress, tissue death, and reduced forage quality. The genus includes the invasive two-lined spittlebug (P. bicincta), which established in Hawaiʻi in 2016 and has since damaged thousands of hectares of cattle pastures.
Prosapia ignifera
Prosapia ignifera is a spittlebug species in the family Ischnorhinidae, described by Hamilton in 1977. It belongs to the genus Prosapia, which includes economically significant pasture pests. The species is part of a group of tropical spittlebugs that cause substantial damage to forage grasses and sugarcane. Unlike the congeneric Prosapia bicincta, which has been extensively documented as an invasive pest in Hawaiʻi since 2016, specific biological and ecological data for P. ignifera remain limited in published sources.
Prosapia isobar
Prosapia isobar is a spittlebug species in the family Ischnorhinidae, described by Hamilton in 1977. It belongs to a genus containing several economically significant pasture pests, though specific information about this species is limited compared to its congener P. bicincta. The genus Prosapia is native to the Americas and includes species that feed on xylem sap of grasses and other plants.