Spittle Bugs
If you take a walk anywhere on our farm these days, you see plants covered in what looks like spit. It’s especially obvious on the stinging nettle and alfalfa plants.
Caleb decided to investigate inside the spit on our recent nature walk and this is what he found.
Crawling on another of the same plant were the same bugs, only brown. They’re hard to see in the photo below, but look about midway down on the right side of the plant.
We made many guesses about the identity of these little creatures, but decided to find out the exact identity when we got home. They are…..
Spittle Bugs (named for the spit-like protection the nymph forms around it’s body), which are a type of aphid
Below are two helpful websites for learning more about spittle bugs.
I have seen that before. I had forgotten all about it until reading your post. I had no idea it was made by a bug…lol! (Of course, it would have been a LONG time ago that I discovered it, and wouldn’t have had enough interest to investigate.) I will have to keep my eyes open. I am certain my boys would love to check those out. 🙂
Amy
My boys haven’t discovered these yet either. I’ll have to read up on them.
I do remember my older brother trying to wipe the spittle on us when we were little!