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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Naughty Nishu

Froghopper AKA Spit Bug

Initially I thought it was spit. The picture came out good so I did some googling to find these information:

Froghopper - in the nymph stage produces a cover of frothed-up plant sap resembling spit; the nymphs are therefore commonly known as spittlebugs, or spit bugs, and their froth as cuckoo spit or snake spit.

The froth serves a number of purposes. It hides the nymph from the view of predators and parasites, it insulates against heat and cold, thus providing thermal control and also moisture control. Without the froth the bug would quickly dry up.