THE LEAF-HOPPERS. 
225 
autumn. The following summer they are hatched, and the 
young immediately perforate the hark Avith their beaks, and 
begin to imbibe the sap. They take in such quantities of 
this, that it oozes out of their bodies continually, in the form 
of little bubbles, which soon completely cover up the insects. 
They thus remain entirely buried and concealed in large 
masses of foam, until they have completed their final trans¬ 
formation, on which account the names of cuckoo-spittle, 
frog-spittle, and frog-hoppers haA^e been applied to them. 
We have seA^eral species of these frog-hoppers in Massachu¬ 
setts, and the spittle, AA’ith AA'hich they are sheltered from the 
sun and air, may be seen in great abundance, during the 
summer, on the stems of our alders and AvilloAvs. In the 
perfect state they are not thus protected, but are found on 
the plants, in the latter part of summer, fully groAAm and 
preparing to lay their eggs. In this state they possess the 
poAAxr of leaping in a still more remarkable degree than the 
tree-hoppers ; and, for this purpose, the tips of their hind 
shanks are surrounded Avith little spines, and the first tAA’o 
joints of their feet haA^e a similar coronet of spines at their 
extremities. Their thorax narroAvs a little behind, and 
projects someAvhat betAveen the bases of the Aving-covers; 
their bodies are rather short, and their Aving-covers are al¬ 
most horizontal and quite broad across the middle, Avhich, 
Avith the shortness of their legs, gi\’es them a squat appear¬ 
ance.* 
The leaf-hoppers (Tettigoxiad^) leap almost as Avell as 
the spittle-insects just mentioned ; but their hind legs are 
longer, are not surrounded Avith coronets of short spines, but 
are three-sided, and generally fidnged on tAvo of their edges 
* The following species are found in ilassachusetts, namely: Cercoph igmpecta 
of my Catalogue, and the paralltla, quadrangularis, and oblusa, of Say. The last 
three belong to Germar’s genus Aphrophora,] which means spume-bearer. Cercopis, 
which may be translated impostor, was applied by the Greeks to a small Cicada. 
t [Clasiopiera proteus, an insect of this class which does great injun.' to the cran¬ 
berry crop in some parts of Massachusetts, but of whose habits very little has 
been ascertained, is figured on Plate III. Fig. 6. — Ed ] 
29 
