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Froghopper
Lepyronia sp.
41.5867, -73.4118
Field Notes
Description:
Adults are robust and tan, black, or mottled brownish.
Adult 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.
Many species of froghopper resemble leafhoppers, but can be distinguished by the possession of only a few stout spines on the hind tibia, where leafhoppers have a series of small spines.
Habitat:
Adults feed primarily on herbaceous plants, but also on conifers and young woody deciduous plants.
Notes:
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. The bugs secrete the frothy spittle to protect themselves from parasitic and predaceous insects. Here's an example of the nymph stage: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/27632006
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