I hear there’s a lot of snow in Denver right now. If you are stuck in cold, dreary weather, let me sent you a bit of Arizona springtime.
Page 507 of 561
Today the bug of the week should really come with “Smell-o-vision.†To really get the whole experience, pull out your jar of rosemary, slide off the lid and take a deep whiff. Ummm….
Okay, back to bug of the week. I was looking at our rosemary plant this morning. Rosemary grows great here as a landscape plant.
It has tiny blue flowers that grow in clusters. The flowers are attractive to honey bees.
This morning what I spotted wasn’t a rosemary flower, however, it was a soft, white ball on the stem.
Any guesses?
This is the frothy home of the spittle bug. Or in this case, two spittle bugs. The bugs are relatives of aphids. They feed by sticking their straw-like mouthparts into the plant and sucking out the plant juices. They also excrete a bubbly material to hide in while they are feeding. The two insects in this photo are nymphs. When they become adults they will have wings and look like leafhoppers.
Don’t worry about me exposing the bugs for a picture. I actually had taken a picture of this one first.
Within seconds, it was already producing froth to cover itself back up again.
Wonder what it would be like to live in a froth house? Sure smells good, I bet.
Well, Meet a Scientist Monday is a bit delayed because the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair was yesterday. On the plus side, I got to meet future scientists and engineers and learn about their interesting and creative projects. Sometimes I have mixed feelings about science fairs, but on the whole I think it is a good thing that kids who might not get much recognition otherwise get a chance to shine. After all, how many people usually cheer and clap for a good science project?