Genus Philagra Stål

Genus Philagra Stål 1863: 593
Type species: Chalepus douglasi Stål, desig. by Metcalf and Horton 1934: 399

Generic distribution: China, Japan, Taiwan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, India, Australia

Australian species: Four species are known from Australia: P. parva (Donovan), P. concolor Hacker, P. recurva Jacobi and P. fulvida Hacker.

Comments: The anterior prolongation of the head is diagnostic. P. parva is one of the best known Australian spittlebugs because it is commonly found on native shrubs grown in gardens on which copious quantities of cuckoo-spit are produced. It can be distinguished from other Australian species by the presence of dark fascia on the tegmina while, in the other three species, the tegmen is uniformly brown, sometimes with evenly spaced small dark speckles.

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Masses of froth, sometimes called 'cuckoo-spit,' cling to the stems of shrubs or small trees.