Prairie Spittlebug

Philaenarcys bilineata · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Aphrophoridae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Prairie Spittlebug
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

The prairie spittlebug lives in open grasslands and boreal forest areas. It is a North American species.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It can be found in prairies and boreal forests.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its range includes North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Alaska, Nebraska, Kansas, Utah.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Prairie Spittlebug photo 2
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Prairie Spittlebug photo 3
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Prairie Spittlebug photo 4
Photo: Jared Shorma, CC BY
Prairie Spittlebug photo 5
Photo: RJ Baltierra, CC BY

Same family (Aphrophoridae)

Meadow SpittlebugMeadow SpittlebugPhilaenus spumariusCan spread germs or diseaseAlder SpittlebugAlder SpittlebugAphrophora alniDiamondback SpittlebugDiamondback SpittlebugLepyronia quadrangularisDamages trees, gardens or cropsCommon Raintree SpittlebugCommon Raintree SpittlebugPtyelus grossus

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philaenarcys_bilineata

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.