Carystoterpa fingens, commonly known as the variegated spittlebug, is a spittlebug of the family Aphrophoridae. It is endemic to New Zealand.
C. fingens was first described by Francis Walker in 1851 using a specimen collected by William Colenso and was originally named Ptyelus fingens. In 1966 John William Evans placed this species in the genus Carystoterpa. The lectotype specimen, assumed to have been collected in the Auckland vicinity by Colenso, is held at the Natural History Museum, London.
Walker originally described this species as follows: C. fingens is very variable in appearance.
C. fingens is endemic to New Zealand. The species has been observed in the North, South and Stewart Islands as well as many of the off shore islands of New Zealand.
This species tends to inhabit coastal localities.
The adults of this species feed on a variety of plant species including species in the genus Hieracium and grape leaves (Vitis vinifera Sauvignon blanc). Individuals of C. fingens fed on all four potential host plants studied in a controlled experiment, including Hebe pubescens, Arthropodium cirratum, Dietes bicolor and Brassica oleracea.
C. fingens is regarded by New Zealand's Ministry of Primary Industries as a likely vector of Xylella, a serious bacterial disease that is fatal to grape vines.