Animals have some wacky ways of protecting themselves from predators, but one bug's defense mechanism is up there with the most ingenious—and grossest. The European alder spittlebug, a tiny winged ...

Q: Many plants in my perennial bed recently have been covered in a white, foam-like substance in the morning. I also have seen this substance on some creeping junipers and even in the lawn. At first, ...

Question: I have a white foamy substance on the stems of my arborvitae. I don't see any bugs crawling around, but it is very ugly. Do I need to spray something? Answer: What it sounds like is an ...

A: Your plants are providing dinner for a small insect called a meadow spittlebug or a froghopper. That unsightly foamy stuff protects the feeding insect from marauding birds and other predators.

The honors thesis of Zoe Wood ’18 is one of four projects we’re highlighting to show the breadth and depth of undergraduate research this year. Zoe Wood ’18 on Kent Island Many of the biology students ...

In the lexicon of garden pests, spittlebugs (Philaenus spumarius) are probably one of the least offensive. Sipping sap destined for a plant's leaves, tiny spittlebug nymphs do not linger long; yet, ...

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how a spittlebug got its name. Robert Brown sent this photo of a spittlebug nest on a goldenrod stem. The nest that looks like foamy spit, surely is an ...

Spittlebugs are the color of a new spring leaf, their bodies both tiny and so fat that you hardly notice their six miniature legs underneath. This plumpness makes them an appetizing snack for various ...