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Splittle bugs
Family: Aphrophoridae
19.2178, 73.6304
Field Notes
Description:
In the beginning they looked like tiny frogs and on searching for the ID, I came across the name froghoppers which seems appropriate for them. The froghoppers, are a group of Hemipteran insects, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Adults are capable of jumping many times their height and length, giving the group their common name, but they are best known for their plant-sucking nymphs which encase themselves in froth in springtime. These families are best known for the nymph stage, which produces a cover of frothed-up plant sap resembling saliva; the nymphs are therefore commonly known as spittlebugs and their froth as cuckoo spit, frog spit or snake spit.
Habitat:
Seen near a farm.
Notes:
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 insect would quickly dry up. The nymphs pierce plants and suck sap causing very little damage, much of the filtered fluids go into the production of the froth, which has an acrid taste, deterring predators. A few species are serious agricultural pests. dult froghoppers jump from plant to plant; some species can jump up to 70 cm vertically: a more impressive performance relative to body weight than fleas. The froghopper can accelerate at 4,000 m/s2 over 2mm as it jumps (experiencing over 400 gs of acceleration). Spittlebugs can jump 100 times their length.
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