Machaerotidae are a family of bugs in the superfamily Cercopoidea which were formerly placed within Cercopidae. They are sometimes called tube-forming spittle-bugs as the nymphs form a calcareous tube within which they live. These bugs are mainly found in the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

. The adults of many genera have a long, free and spine-like

process A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management * Business process, activities that produce a specific s ...

originating from the scutellum and thus superficially similar to the tree-hoppers, Membracidae. The tegmen or

forewing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwi ...

, like typical bugs of the

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Heteroptera The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal al ...

, always has a distinct, membranous apical area. Like other cercopoids, these are xylem-sap feeders. The

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

extracts calcium from the xylem fluid and constructs a

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

tube from Malphigian gland secretions. They typically feed on woody dicots and immerse themselves in a rather clear fluid

excretion Excretion is elimination of metabolic waste, which is an essential process in all organisms. In vertebrates, this is primarily carried out by the lungs, Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys, and skin. This is in contrast with secretion, where the substa ...

inside the tube. The tubes strongly resemble the shells of certain serpulid sea worms or

helicoid The helicoid, also known as helical surface, is a smooth Surface (differential geometry), surface embedded in three-dimensional space. It is the surface traced by an infinite line that is simultaneously being rotated and lifted along its Rotation ...

land

snails A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

and contain no less than 75%

calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...

. This habit is quite uncommon in the

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

Insecta Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed leg ...

and markedly different from that of typical spittlebugs, which make and live in a froth mass. Machaerotids produce foam only when they emerge from the tube to moult. There are about 115 species in 31 genera placed in 4 tribes. The majority of species are found in Southeast Asia with a small number in Africa. They were traditionally separated into two subfamilies; Machaerotinae which have the scutellar spine, and Enderleiniinae which lack it. A third subfamily, also lacking the spine, Apomachaerotinae, was recognized in 2014. The scutellum has a "tail" or appears raised towards the posterior end. A list of the subfamilies, tribes and genera is as follows: * Apomachaerotinae ** '' Apomachaerota'' ** '' Serreia'' * Machaerotinae ** Maxudeini *** '' Blastacaen'' *** '' Conditor'' *** '' Maxudea'' ** Machaerotini *** '' Dianmachaerota'' *** '' Grypomachaerota'' *** '' Irridiculum'' *** '' Machaerota'' *** '' Platymachaerota'' *** '' Romachaeta'' *** '' Sigmasoma'' *** '' Tapinacaena'' * Enderleiniinae ** Hindoloidini *** '' Aphrosiphon'' *** '' Hindoloides'' *** '' Kyphomachaerota'' *** '' Trigonurella'' ** Enderleiniini *** '' Aecalusa'' *** '' Allox'' *** '' Chaetophyes'' *** '' Enderleinia'' *** '' Hindola'' *** '' Labramachaerota'' *** '' Labrosyne'' *** '' Machaeropsis'' *** '' Makiptyelus'' *** '' Neuroleinia'' *** '' Neuromachaerota'' *** '' Pectinariophyes'' *** '' Polychaetophyes'' *** '' Taihorina''

References

External links

* {{Hemiptera, 1 Cercopoidea Auchenorrhyncha families