The Fast-Spreading Pest That Is the Sunflower Spittlebug

In a recent e-Gro Alert, Dan Gilrein, an Entomology Specialist at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, talked about a new (to the region) invasive pest threat that’s currently challenging growing operations on the east coast: the sunflower spittlebug (Clastoptera xanthocedphala). For other affected growers in the area, here are some observations he shares from his experience with the pest.

Common Name

The common name of this pest, the sunflower spittlebug, comes from its feeding habits, where “the nymphs produce small foamy masses, long ago quaintly termed ‘cuckoo spittle,’ on stems where they feed.”

Appearance

While Gilrein states that not much is yet known about the biology of the pest, the sunflower spittlebug adults they’ve captured for study are measured “about 1/8″ long and range in color from shiny black to dark tan.”

Habitat

The sunflower spittlebug has primarily been present in the Southeastern U.S., though, as its presence in the Long Island, NY, area indicates, its feeding grounds and territory are expanding. To Gilrein, the climate of Long Island is likely hospitable to the sunflower spittlebug, not to mention other migrating pests, because it finds “Long Island’s moderate coastal environment in their comfort zone where they can regularly overwinter.” It is therefore theorized that, like related spittlebug species, the sunflower spittlebug inserts eggs into stems to survive the winter season.

Affected Plants

Sunflower spittlebugs are similar to the meadow spittlebug, a “crop pest occasionally on ornamentals and often on strawberries producing similar offending masses in spring that are gone by summer.” The sunflower variety of spittlebugs first appeared in the area on chrysanthemums in 2022, though have also now been found and identified feeding on daisies, goldenrod, lavender, sunflowers, and mugwort.

For additional observations and insights on the sunflower spittlebug’s new presence in the Northeastern U.S., please read the full e-Gro (Electronic Grower Resources Online) alert “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” Additional and current e-Gro alert pieces from Volume 14 (2025) can be found online.