Nature Notebook
- Eileen Carlson
- 1 day ago
- 1 min read
June is the month to see the evidence of spittlebugs. Children are most likely to notice these creatures as the perching spots are at a child’s eye level. They may ask why somebody spit on the plants as they view a tiny pile of bubbles.
Spittlebugs are the nymph stage of an insect that looks like a leafhopper as an adult. They hang onto a plant, usually a tall grass, upside down and feed on the plant’s sap. Extra sap, which is excreted through the abdomen, drips over tiny hooks that cause the sap to form bubbles.
This froth covers the entire insect in a protective slimy coating. Insect predators aren’t too keen on rummaging through slime to find a meal. Scientists also think the spittle helps to keep the nymph from drying out. After a few weeks, a small brown adult insect will crawl out of the spittle. The adult will continue to feed on plant sap but does not produce the protective spittle cover.
