BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY

STOPS ALONG THE WAY

Tiny Bubbles

by 19 Comments

While photographing some wild flowers, I noticed this frothy substance on a nearby plant.  It is produced by spittlebug nymphs and protects them from predators and temperature extremes. A mature spittlebug is also called a froghopper. It’s been a number of years since I’ve seen one.  Actually, I’ve seen few insects so far this year. It’s been colder than usual, that might be the cause.

19 thoughts on “Tiny Bubbles”

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  1. Paul Carney's avatar
    Paul Carney
    June 16, 2025 at 6:58 am

    I have some of this in my grass and didn’t know what it was. Thank you for sharing

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  3. burrdoo's avatar
    burrdoo
    June 15, 2025 at 1:02 pm

    Didn’t know what they are, but my spittlebugs have just showed up in healthy numbers here in my Ottawa garden.

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  5. wordsfromanneli's avatar
    wordsfromanneli
    June 15, 2025 at 8:18 am

    Same as Lynette’s comment. Haven’t seen this in a long time.

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  6. Eliza Waters's avatar
    Eliza Waters
    June 15, 2025 at 7:07 am

    I actually saw a house wren plucking spittle bugs off of plants the other day, pretty surprising as I thought the spittle was a deterrent. Clever little bird! 👏🏼

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  7. George McNeill's avatar
    George McNeill
    June 15, 2025 at 5:36 am

    Here in Ireland we call it Cuckoo spittle, it appears around the same time off the year as the Cuckoo bird in April – May.

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  8. Anne's avatar
    Anne
    June 15, 2025 at 2:44 am

    Your photograph reminds me that spittlebugs have been absent from our garden for a long time too. I used to be alerted to their presence by wet patches on the ground under trees.

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  9. Lynette d'Arty-Cross's avatar
    Lynette d'Arty-Cross
    June 15, 2025 at 1:58 am

    I haven’t seen spittlebugs in a long time either, Belinda. I had kind of forgotten them. Good catch. 😊

    Liked by 1 person