Saliva Pen - Shilekey Foam Maker

Spittlebug - Philaenus spumarius L.

The spittlebug is an insect from the family of froghoppers, and it is relatively smaller than singing cicadas. It is a polyphagous pest.

The adult spittlebug has a wedge-shaped body, measuring between 5 to 7 mm in length, with variable coloration: it can be solid-colored; with black or light brown patterns; with longitudinal stripes or transverse streaks; spotted (light cream spots on a dark background); with a dark rear and a light front. Its mouthparts are in the form of a proboscis, which contains sharp and long bristles. With these, the spittlebug easily pierces plant tissues to suck their sap.

The active period is from May to October (depending on latitude). It prefers conditions with increased humidity, in shade or partial shade. It inhabits a wide variety of cultivated and weedy herbaceous plants.

Throughout the growing season, one generation of the pest develops. The spittlebug primarily overwinters in the egg stage, less frequently in the adult insect stage.

In autumn, females lay eggs in the crevices of bark or on the roots of herbaceous plants. The eggs are small, elongated in shape, and are laid in clusters (up to 40) in the leaf axils. The greenish larvae that hatch in spring have soft, flat abdomens, pointed at the back, and begin to feed. The larva releases a significant amount of liquid mucus from its anus, which mixes with fatty secretions, resulting in a substance resembling soapy foam.

The released foam serves as a means of protection for the larva against enemies — other predatory insects and birds. Moreover, this mucus reliably protects against sunlight, preventing the larvae from drying out. Sometimes, these white foamy clumps appear in huge quantities on meadow plants, resembling human saliva in appearance.

Adult spittlebugs are characterized by denser, leathery forewings and are very jumpy.

Habitat: grassy cover of meadows, scrublands. The insect is characterized as a polyphage, meaning it feeds on the sap of various plants, which is its only food source.

The spittlebug is a broad polyphage, damaging grain, vegetable crops, potatoes, sugar beets, grapes, strawberries, wild strawberries, currants, dahlias, fruit trees, tobacco, cabbage, alfalfa, buckwheat, fodder beets, and many other plants in various climatic regions. The activity of the pest causes leaf wrinkling, underdevelopment of ovaries, and deformation of generative and vegetative organs.

It transmits peach yellows and alfalfa dwarf viruses. In natural biotopes, it harms meadow farming.

Distribution: throughout the territory of Kyrgyzstan.

Insects of Kyrgyzstan