Interesting: I have seen these at my house before, but thought they were just weird plants. In fact, I thought it was rabies left behind from an animal. :) haha
Hi jgorneau, not it's not. Here's a quote from Wikipedia: "The froth serves a number of purposes. It hides the nymph from the view of predators and parasites, it insulates against heat and cold, thus providing thermal control and also moisture control. Without the froth the bug would quickly dry up. The nymphs pierce plants and suck sap causing damage, and much of the excess filtered fluids go into the production of the froth, which has an acrid taste, deterring predators."
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Nice spot!
You could ad this to the Animal Architecture & Signs of Wildlife missions!
That would be scary! Lucky for you, it's just a little bug :)
Interesting: I have seen these at my house before, but thought they were just weird plants. In fact, I thought it was rabies left behind from an animal. :) haha
Hi jgorneau, not it's not. Here's a quote from Wikipedia: "The froth serves a number of purposes. It hides the nymph from the view of predators and parasites, it insulates against heat and cold, thus providing thermal control and also moisture control. Without the froth the bug would quickly dry up. The nymphs pierce plants and suck sap causing damage, and much of the excess filtered fluids go into the production of the froth, which has an acrid taste, deterring predators."
Is the "spit" poisonous?