What Does Spittlebug Mean?

The froghoppers, or the superfamily Cercopoidea, are a group of hemipteran insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Adults are capable of jumping many times their height and length, giving the group their common name, but they are best known for their plant-sucking nymphs which encase themselves in foam in springtime.

What is the purpose of a Spittlebug?

Spittlebug nymphs turn the liquid secretion into bubbles by moving or pumping their bodies. 1 Once the frothy bubbles have formed, spittlebugs use their hind legs to cover themselves with the froth. The 'spittle' serves multiple purposes. It shields the spittlebugs from predators.

Are spittlebugs real?

Spittlebugs are actually the nymphs of true bugs known as froghoppers, which belong to the family Cercopidae. ... Froghopper nymphs—spittlebugs—feed on plant fluids, but not on sap. Spittlebugs drink fluids from the plant's xylem, the vessels that conduct water from the roots to the rest of the plant's structures.