by Leslie Cox; Saturday, November 22, 2014

Been sifting through some of my hundreds of digital photos. I am horrible at not sorting through them immediately upon downloading, and filing them away properly. To my credit, some do get done right away but the majority do not.

And they sure do add up. Unless I am frantically looking for a particular shot to accompany one of my articles, sifting through the photo files makes for a pleasant time of traipsing back down memory lane through the garden and various places we have visited.

That is…until one particular photo catches my eye and sets me off on an often complicated trail of research. Especially if it is a photo of a bug or insect.

My latest research project…

Meet the Saratoga spittlebug nymph – Aphrophora saratogensis. It is native to North America and considered a pest.

Spittlebugs, in general, have different host plants…depending on their growth stage. The adults feed on one plant species. The larvae…or nymphs as they are more properly called in this insect category…feed on another.

Adult Saratoga spittlebugs prefer feeding on red pine trees, Pinus resinosa. Next on their preferred list are jack pine (P. banksiana), Scots pine (P. sylvestris) and white pine (P. strobus). But they have also been known to attack balsam fir trees, Abies balsamea.

The nymphs, on the other hand, prefer herbaceous perennials. Early in their five instar stages, they are often found hiding inside their frothy sanctuary on any plant species other than grasses. As they mature closer to morphing into adults, they tend to switch their feeding preference towards willow species (Salix spp.) and sweetferns (Comptonia spp.).

Not much damage from the Saratoga spittlebug nymphs feeding on herbaceous perennials has ever been reported. The most damage is done by the adult Saratoga spittlebugs as their population increases. Significant detrimental impact on various pine species has been noted by the forestry industry.