Froghopper nests

If you do the walk between March and June it is very likely that on the stems of green or grassy plants you will see a sort of whitish foam with lots of air bubbles. What you are looking at is not produced by the plant, but is made by an insect. This insect is the meadow froghopper (Philaenus leucophthalmus), which make its nest from its own saliva mixed with the sap of the plant. It also creates the bubbles itself to give the foam structure. In the nest, it will go from the nymph stage to the adult stage. This little insect of between 4 and 5 millimetres can jump up to 60 cm, which for a human would be like jumping 1800 m.