Spittle Bugs (or Frog Hoppers)

 

Raintree Spittle Bugs (Ptyelus flavescens) on a Coral tree. 

Spittle bugs (or Frog hoppers) on a Coral Tree (Erythrina lysistemon), indigenous to South Africa. 

As I was photograohing them, the sky was blue, and I wondered why it was raining? I actually just happened to pick a spot just beneath a family of raintree spittlebugs! 

These white foam blobs are produced by the immatures, or nymphs, of spittlebugs, small insects related to aphids and other true bugs, in the order Hemiptera. Young nymphs blow bubbles with their excretions, and so they live and feed in a glorious soggy huddle. The dripping foam keeps them moist and cool and keeps predators and parasites away.

Empty skins and some adult Spittle Bugs. 

They suck the sap of a tree through a drinking straw, called a ‘rostrum’ or ‘stylus’. Plant sap is not all that  nutritious, so the bugs have to work through a lot of it to get sufficient proteins. But this Coral Tree doesn’t seem at all the worse for the wear and as I got close to some of the bugs, they would shoot of as if out of a catapult, so I presume they disperse fairly quickly when disturbed so won’t cause too much harm to the host tree.

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A new discovery -- Leather-leaf Fern

 

During winter I discovered this beautiful fern just popping up between some pavers in a shady corner in my garden. It was so pretty and green so I decided to make a special little corner around it, incorporating a bird bath for my feathered friends.

It wasn't belong before they discovered this new feature, and soon they were flocking in and vying for the best bathing spots.

The Pennywort-looking weed actually adds some charm to this area. It also just started sprouting by itself in this shady spot, the only bit of shade in my mainly-sun succulent garden.

Rumorha adiantiformis loves a spot away from direct sunlight in a partly to fully shaded spot. Water regularly so that the soil remains moist but it must be well-drained. 

Afrikaans name : Seweweeksvaring (I have no idea why!)

Ferns reproduce from spores, not seeds. If you see small brown dots on the undersides of the leaves, they're probably sori, which are groups of sporangia that serve as spore cases. These spots may cover the entire underside of the leaf, but they aren't harmful to your plant. 

 With all the rain we've had over the last few weeks, it's grown so much that I had to remove a paver to give it some space to expand. And I've discovered two more ferns sprouting just opposite this one, will keep an eye on them and maybe find a spot for transplanting them.

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