Pecan Spittlebug – Clastopera achatina

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Pecan Spittlebug (Clastopera achatina)

Common Name: Pecan spittlebug

Latin Name: Clastoptera achatina

Appearance:

  • Adults lay around two eggs per site, and oviposition sites were generally near buds and on the smallest-diameter, youngest, and most succulent shoot tissue.
  • It took 49 days for egg-to-egg generations to occur. There were five nymphal instars.
  • Females were 0.7 mm longer on average than men. Spittlebug nymphs in large numbers on pecan produced shoot dieback, decreased nut size, poor nut quality, and even abortion of immature nuts.

Host plant:

Hickories are the host plant

Territory:

Only one species found inhabiting pecan trees in the southeastern United States was C. achatina. C. obtusa grows on pecan quite seldom, if at all.