On a recent camping trip to Lyman Lake we made many visits to the upper end of the lake with the hopes of getting some good wildlife photo's. The upper end of the lake is a haven for all kinds of critters. We saw Beavers, Muskrats, Geese, Ducks and many species of birds. Another thing we saw lots of was these little gnats that had very large teeth and seemed to think I was quite tasty. We probably would have saw a lot more wildlife if I hadn't been constantly swinging my arms like a crazed wild man trying to battle the barrage of these hungry little insects. One particular morning I waited patiently for one of the Muskrats to appear from a nearby hut when I noticed this nice big foamy glob of spit on a nearby plant. Those that are misinformed would call this grasshopper spit but they would be wrong.
In reality, this glob of foam which is quite common in nature comes from the infamous Spittlebug. Actually it is the Spittlebug Nymphs that hide in these little foamy globs that they themselves create. They actually puncture the stem of the plant, suck out the sap and excrete it out their anus. Before it is excreted it is mixed with air to make it foamy. The foam protects them from predators and also insulates them from temperature extremes. Whoda' Thunk these globs of foam are from tiny little Spittlebugs!
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