The family Machaerotidae goes by the modest common name of true spittlebugs, but its larvae build one of the strangest homes in the insect world: a small calcareous tube, a tiny limestone tower cemented onto a woody stem.
Inside this tube, the nymph sits immersed in a pool of clear liquid, a castle with a moat that keeps it moist and protected. The adults, in contrast, are free-ranging Hemiptera (superfamily Cercopoidea) found mainly in the Old World tropics.
Many adults carry a long, spine-like process from the scutellum, which makes them look like miniature treehoppers of the family Membracidae. Look closely at their forewings, however, and the membranous apical area reveals their true bug identity.
