answersLogoWhite

0

No. Spittle bugs are not harmful to you, however they can be to plants on extremely rare occasions.

In fact, the foam they produce repels ants. Elsewhere on the internet, I read that this foam is not irritating to living tissue, but that its repellent effect comes from attackers (ants that like to eat the spittle bug nymphs) "tasting" the foam with their antennae. Perhaps it would also deter mosquitoes? It might also be useful as a lubricant.

Before you go playing with it, remember when you were a kid and you held a bug in your hand and it messed on you? Kind of gross, but not all that gross? Birds, for example, eat insects whole, whether or not the insect has recently gone number 2. Why do I bring this up? Because the spittle bug makes the foam from its excrement. Yeah, they're insects, so they have no qualms about playing with their offal and burying themselves in it. Evolution may have played a role because spittle bugs that didn't do this were far more likely to get eaten by ants.

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions