Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

If I could charge a dollar for every question I answer on talkback radio concerning spittlebugs and passionvine hoppers, I’d be retired and lying on a beach in the Bahamas – or perhaps more likely in Namibia or Amazonia, the high desert of Arizona. Characteristic patches of bubbles up (spittle) and down the stems of lavender, Coprosma and a heap of other host plants. Many of these are caused by the so-called meadow spittle bug (an exotic species from Europe. We have about 15 species in NZ - many native – few introduced ones. Most gardeners in southern regions will know these frothy bubble-houses and most gardeners think they are “disgusting”. I reckon they’re a marvel of engineering! The larval critters suck sap/fluids from the plant, excrete this through their bottom and add some glue-y excretion from a gland on the abdomen. Then they use their abdominal contractions as a “bellows” and pump air into the watery mixture, causing fine and coarse bubbles to form. Try that in the bath, next time!  When you wipe a