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 tropics. The adults of many genera have a long, free and spine-like process originating from the scutellum and thus superficially similar to the tree-hoppers, Membracidae. The tegmen or forewing, like typical bugs of the suborder Heteroptera, always has a distinct, membranous apical area.
Like other cercopoids, these are xylem-sap feeders. The nymph extracts calcium from the xylem fluid and constructs a calcareous tube from Malphigian gland secretions. They typically feed on woody dicots and immerse themselves in a rather clear fluid excretion inside the tube. The tubes strongly resemble the shells of certain serpulid sea worms or helicoid land snails and contain no less than 75% calcium carbonate. This habit is quite uncommon in the class Insecta 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
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