The spitbug

While photographing butterflies and dragonflies, I came across this beautiful work of art. Then looked up what it is and here is the fact about............the spitbug........

If you see this foam blob you wouldn't think it, but inside that foam is the larva (nymph) of the insect foam cicada, also known as the spitbug.

The nymph attaches itself to a stem or leaf with its stinging proboscis. The pressure of the sap flow forces plant juices into its body. The excess fluid is immediately excreted past the anus. It mixes with a waxy substance secreted by the glands at the base of its abdomen. Using a special breathing tube, the nymph blows air into the mixture, creating bubbles and the characteristic foam nest.

The foam around the larva protects it from dehydration by sun and wind, and makes it very unattractive to hungry spiders, birds and other hunters. In about'fifty days, the larva grows into an adult in the foam party.