Homoptera: Cercopidae, Spittle bug, Torsby, Sweden. This small (~3 mm long) soft-bodied spittle bug has made all the "spit" seen here. Normally the insect is hidden in the middle of the slimy mass in order to be protected from ants and other predators who avoid the slime. The bug sucks juices from the plant, using the sugars and proteins for nutrition and excrete the excess water and sugars in the spittle. These bugs are rather common in USA and Europe.

---

Images © 2000 by John A. Byers, Chemical Ecology.