Froghopper

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/276...