In the early morning at the turn of spring and summer, dew condenses on the leaves of low plants. As the temperature rises, the dew on the leaves of the plant gradually evaporates.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" white foam on the blades of the grass >, is it really the saliva of a snake? </h1>
But if you look at some plant leaves, you will find that there is some white foam on it. These white foams may not dissipate for a long time, and the old man warns the children that these white foams are the spit of the snake. Because these white foams mostly appear on the leaves of "snakeberries".
The "snakeberry" looks like a raspberry, a plant that grows shorter and produces fruit that falls to the ground. A superstitious theory is that snakes pass near this plant and grow the fruit, and it is also poisonous.
In fact, the "snakeberry" is just a wild berry that has nothing to do with snakes. Poisonous does not mean that people will be poisoned when they eat it, but "snake berry" grows on the ground, easy to get dirty things such as mud, and eating "snake berry" that is not cleaned will diarrhea.
This superstitious claim is also associated with the white foam that appears on the leaves of the "snakeberry", and some people think that it is the spit of the snake, which is a wrong view.
The "white foam" does not evaporate for a long time, in fact, it is not ordinary water, but a kind of mucus. If you look closely at what is in the mucus, you can see that there are milky white bugs squirming in it. This white foam is secreted by this insect, this insect is called "foam cicada", it does not live in the tree like the average cicada.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="16" > "cicada" uses white bubbles to protect larvae</h1>
In the summer, the cicadas on the treetops, the larvae live in the soil, and the larvae of the "cicadas" live in this "white foam". "White foam" is secreted by adult insects, and the end of the abdomen of the cicada has a gland that secretes mucus, and the secreted gelatinous liquid will be blown out of the bubbles by the gas discharged from both sides of the adult body. These bubbles are small and stacked together to form a pile of white foam.
White foam not only protects young cicadas from predators, but also prevents sun exposure. The young cicadas will live in the foam until they metamorphose into adult worms. The appearance of adults is significantly different from that of larvae, and the cicadas are snow-white before they are feathered, and will turn black after growing into adults, but there will not be much change in body shape.
Cicadas are harmful insects that mainly suck the sap of plant rhizomes. In general, on the shorter grass, the white foam that appears is mostly made by the cicadas, and if it is a tree or a tall plant, a bunch of foam appears on the leaves, which may also be naturally secreted by the plant. Although the water condensed by plants due to transpiration occurs in the form of droplets, some trees may release gas, causing the secreted liquid to be blown out of a bunch of bubbles.
That kind of bubble tends to be more transparent and easily dried. The mucus secreted by the "cicada" has a certain viscosity, and the bubble formed is not easy to rupture and can be retained for a long time. If you don't see adult insects, you may not associate the white bubbles in the grass with the cicadas.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > white bubbles make the "snakeberry" fruit inedible</h1>
There is also more than one species of cicada, they live in different environments, and the types of plants that suck sap are also different. A type of cicada called "rice cicada" grows in rice fields and feeds on the sap of rice leaves.
The leaves of plants that have been sucked by them will turn yellow and wilt, and rice yields will be greatly affected. This "rice foam cicada" is an agricultural pest, but the larvae are also difficult to remove because they are wrapped in white foam.
For the average person, seeing a bunch of white bubbles on the leaves of the grass, they may also choose to stay away. The strategy of bubbles made by the cicadas is indeed very defensive. Its larvae have more food sources than cicadas in general.
There are white bubbles on the leaves of the "snakeberry", which makes the fruit easy to get stained with these bubbles, even if the fruit is not poisonous, it is not safe for people to eat it. Perhaps the dislike of such white bubbles is also a reason why the "snakeberry" fruit cannot be eaten.