The Auchenorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains most of the familiar members of what was called the "Homoptera" – groups such as cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and spittlebugs.

The aphids and scale insects are the other well-known "Homoptera", and they are in the suborder Sternorrhyncha.

Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are plant-feeders, and many are vectors of viral and fungal diseases of plants.

It is also common for Auchenorrhyncha species to produce either audible sounds or substrate vibrations as a form of communication.

[1] Debate and uncertainty as to whether the Auchenorrhyncha is a monophyletic group or not is ongoing; some authors, believing it was not, split it into two suborders, the Clypeorrhyncha (= Cicadomorpha) and the Archaeorrhyncha (= Fulgoromorpha).