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Project Noah Nature School
Cercopis intermedia
The adult shows intense black and red design. The red knees of the first and second pair of knees is key to identify the species. In the nymph stage it causes mysterious nests of foam that sometimes wrap the stalk of a grass or hang of a shrub and that the popular tradition mistakenly attributed to the cuckoo (cuckoo spits). The insect itches with its trunk to the plant and sucks its sap. At the same time, it excretes most of the water along with albumin, a protein with surfactant property, and injects air. The result is a persistent mass of foam, such as saliva, which encompasses nymphs and protects them from predators and desiccation. The entire Cercopidae family consists of foam-maker Cicadas.
Spotted at a pine tree forest. Parque Nacional de Sierra de Guadarrama
Camera Model: NIKON D500. Exposure Time: 1/160 sec.; f/11; ISO Speed Rating: 2200. Exposure Bias: 0 EV. Focal Length: 90.0 mm. No Flash fired. DSC_1943
Spotted on Jun 12, 2018
Submitted on Nov 27, 2018
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