Tag Archives: cuckoo spit

30 Days Wild 2018 – Day 11

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I had planned to walk around the field this evening but other events forced a change of plan.  I had to help a friend with a task which took longer than either of us expected, so today I spent 10 mins looking through the long grass and stinging nettles at the bottom of their garden.  The sun began to set, I wasn’t sure if I would find anything.  I started by looking at the plants and grasses and as I looked more closely I noticed the insects hiding within.  At first I noticed the bees flitting around the flowers and then the Common Blue Damselfly that landed nearby.  The stinging nettles had lots of Cuckoo-spit which lead me to notice the snail and fly (I have no idea what type!) on the next plant along.  It was bustling with life; I could have stayed there for ages delving deeper into the vegetation.  

 

30 Days Wild 2018 – Day 01

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Everyone has seen cuckoo spit but I don’t think everyone always knows what it is! I knew that the ‘spit’ contains the nymph of a common froghopper (Philaenus spumarius) but other than that I knew little else.  ‘Cuckoo spit’ can be seen in May and June so it’s a perfect time to go out to see if you can find some 🙂 The nymphs feed by sucking sap from the food plant, these are generally herbaceous plants such as thistles; today I have seen them on lavender and brambles.  According to my reading the adults are first seen in late June and in greatest abundance in July.  However, we are not very likely to see an adult! They are 6mm long but disappear as soon as they are disturbed – they can jump 70cm in one bound!