CUCKOO SPIT 



365 



nearly a page to a consideration of the family to 

 which it belongs, and notices the larvs, which have 

 the power of " emitting the liquid in the form of 

 bubbles, which accumulate round the insect and 

 conceal it" (p. 577), the words Aphrophora 

 spumaria and " cuckoo spit " are not to be found in 

 his index. Consequently the reader, who might not 

 happen to know that the in- 

 sect belongs to the order 

 Homoptera, might suppose 

 that there is no mention of 

 it in the volume. Cross re- 

 ferences to these names in 

 the index would certainly 

 have been useful. But we the cuckoo spit and insect 

 find it under the heading- (aperopboba bifasoiata). 



" Froghopper," another name for it, bestowed on the 

 larval form on account of its wonderful powers of 

 leaping. 



The perfect insect is about a quarter of an inch 

 in length. It is commonly to be found on pinks 

 and carnations, remaining stationary on a plant for 

 several weeks, and is especially abundant on 

 willows. A smaller species {A. bifasciatd) is found 

 usually on rose bushes and other garden plants. 

 When the larvae are deprived of the shelter afforded 

 by the secretion they appear quite helpless, and if 

 the day be hot are almost immediately killed. 

 Hence an effectual mode of clearing plants of 

 "cuckoo spit" is to brush it off during sunshine, 

 and the insects are at the same time destroyed, 



It has been stated by some writers {e.g., by 



