May 2017 - Sussex Wildlife Trust - Cuckoo Spit - Forever Blowing Bubbles
May 23rd, 2017
Ah! A walk in the countryside in May. Sussex erupts into a blooming, buzzing, singing, slithering celebration of life. Glorious. But bend to sniff the flowers and you’ll notice something horrid; it appears that someone has been spitting all over them. It drools from the dandelions and dribbles down the dropwort. But who is this phantom froth flinger? Once upon a time English naturalists believed that the culprit was the cuckoo. The spit appeared at the same time as the first cuckoo’s call and, as no-one had ever found a cuckoo’s nest, some folk believed that cuckoos were spitting their young out from above. Utter twaddle of course, but the name ‘cuckoo spit’ still survives today.
To get to the bottom of this mystery you need to do some poking around. In the middle of every bubbly blob you’ll find a tiny, cowering larvae – a spittlebug. Whereas other insect larvae use clever camouflage or distasteful chemicals to avoid getting eaten the spittlebug has an altogether more flatulent approach to protection. It blows bubbles out of its bum. A mixture of plant sap and air are used to get itself into a lather. I’d imagine a similar thing would happen if you ate five tins of baked beans and washed it down with a bottle of Radox.
This frothy flatulence creates a foamy fortress and the blob of bitter bubbles protects the spittlebug from predators and the hot sun while it sucks on sap. The spittlebug feeds, grows, moults and triumphantly emerges from its bubble as one of the most powerful animals on the planet; an adult froghopper. Encased in a tough re-enforced suit equipped with some fantastic features the froghopper is the Iron Man of the insect world. Its super power is its ability to jump and, boy, can it jump!
Fleas always get the credit as the natural world’s high jumpers. Famously, if you had the same power as a flea you could jump to the top of St Paul’s Cathedral. But froghoppers although heavier than fleas can proportionally jump even higher (so imagine, while you’re on the top of St Paul’s, seeing an elephant leaping high over you). Scientists have recorded froghoppers jumping 70cm vertically, experiencing over 400 gravities of acceleration (by comparison, an astronaut blasting into orbit may experience about 5 gravities). Spittlebugs don’t do any harm to plants and a simple splash of water will evict the spittlebug and demolish his home. But before you spray the cuckoo spit hold back on that hose. Don’t forget that there’s a soapy superhero hiding in each and every one.
I’ll be out and about in Sussex in May leading walks at Levin Down (3rd) and Seaford Head (12th). Further details on the Sussex Wildlife Trust website at www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/whats-on
by Michael Blencowe of the Sussex Wildlife Trust
Picture: cuckoo spit©Alan Price, Gatehouse Studio_Sussex Wildlife Trust
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