How often have you enjoyed a foam bath when you were young? You will be surprised to know that this insect’s baby literally lives in a foam bath.
Say hello to the Spittle Bug or the Froghopper which can be found everywhere. You may have seen this already but dismissed it thinking it was somebody’s or maybe even the Devil’s spit as it is sometimes called.
If we carefully probe inside this foam, without harming the occupant, we will see a greenish bug, which is the Spittle bug.
The bubbly foam is formed using the juice from the plant it is on.
Why do you think it creates a foamy home for itself?
To enjoy as you did your bubble baths or maybe to clean?
Far from it!
The foam actually helps the baby to avoid becoming dry and also keep away predators as it tastes bad!
Next time you are walking around in grassy areas, look at the ground carefully to see if you can also spot a spittle bug’s nymph or baby having a nice foam bath!
Interesting facts:
– Spittle bugs hop from plant to plant and can jump very high about 100 times their length which could be as high as 70cm!
Additional reading:
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Froghopper
– http://www.wildwanderer.com/journal/froghopper.html
Image of an spittle bug nymph in its foamy home, reproduced here with permission from Karthikeyan @ wildwanderer.com
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