I’ve been pulling gripeweed in the garden — alternately admiring and cussing Phyllanthus urinaria. Among my finds are the lairs of spittlebugs, in subfamily Aphrophorinae.
The subfamily is in Hemiptera, the true bugs. Each has a mouth that looks like a hypodermic needle. These bugs pierce a plant and suck the fluids.
The common name comes from the nymphs, who hide and shelter in a blob that reminds most people of spit. It’s a combination of urine, air bubbles and adhesives. Bugs go through incredible volumes of fluids while feeding and, as you might guess, produce prodigious quantities of liquid waste. The relatively defenseless nymphs use what they have to make shelters.
Adult spittlebugs are not defenseless. They’re called froghoppers, at least in the South. The experts say these bugs can leap 100 times their length, which seems about right to me. The adult froghoppers I’ve seen are less than half an inch long. One might hop 4 feet to escape a bird.
• For more on the aggressive weed, see “On gripeweed, with awe,” June 30, 2026.
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