Philagra parva spittle

Nymphs of the true bug Philagra parva pierce plants and suck the sap. The excess sap is used to produce the froth which acts as defense against predators, reduce dehydration and deter parasites. The froth is sometimes called cuckoo-spit.

I identified the nymphs and adults as P. parva on this Callistemon in my garden, but have no suitable, good qaulity images as yet.

comments (2)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Very cool!

Note that we normally have a rule that we only identify the species when the species itself is in the image. This is to avoid nests, scat, foot prints, etc. to be identified as the species. This is a bit of a special case as I assume the nymphs are inside that ball of spittle, so OK to identify. Posted 3 years ago
1. Ruth Spigelman
  
  Lion
  
  Yes, I thought about trying to pull open the ball of spittle to expose the nymph/s, but ultimately decided to leave it/them in peace. I'd only seen the adults and some other nymphs a day or so before, so am confident it's the right species. Have noted the rules for future posts, thank you. Posted 3 years ago, modified 3 years ago