Slugs and Salal - Bugs, Diseases: Spittle Bugs

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SPITTLEBUGS

I'm sure many of you will have noticed blobs of white froth on plants and wondered, "Where do they come from?" This is the work of the spittlebug, or froghopper. It is related to, and resembles, the leafhopper, and is common to regions of high humidity. A rainy spring encourages an unusually heavy incidence of the creatures.

The "spittle" is a protective froth surrounding a small green insect, the spittlebug nymph. These appear in the spring and mature over the summer into adults, laying eggs in late summer.

The froth is the intriguing thing about this insect. The nymph produces this protective covering in a most remarkable manner -- by forcing a combination of fluid from the anus and a gluey gland excretion out under pressure, as from a bellows, to make uniform bubbles. The tail pumps up and down to operate the bellows and keep the bubbles coming, and the nymph is soon hidden under a mound of white foam, protected from the sun and from insect predators.

Spittlebug froth appears on many plants in the spring, and mostly there is very little damage done by these sucking insects. An exception sometimes is on strawberry plantings, where the feeding can cause small, distorted fruit and weakened plants. A heavy infestation can also cause stunting of flowering plants in gardens.

The easiest way to deal with spittlebugs is to force them off plants with a strong jet of water from the hose. On the ground, they become easy prey and succulent morsels for the birds.

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