Maybe you noticed it during a walk in a cultivated field – a small whitish cluster, with appearance similar to the spit or the shower gel, present along the stem of a plant or at the base of a group of leaves. It is the nest of the spittinga small insect that takes its name from its ability to transform the lymph of the plants into excrement that seem one “Bava” foamy and softinside which eggs then deposited. The foam acts from protection For the larvae, which are so less exposed to predators, in direct sunlight and high temperatures. This foamy nest, however, damages the growth of plants, and the sputies are also Vectors of pathogens of the crops, including the fearsome Xylella annoyingwhich makes it fundamental to control the growth of their population. To eliminate the nest, a jet of water on the lump of foam is sufficient. However, there is also a positive implication: the peculiar leap in the sputies inspired New generations of Talcatori robots for the exploration of unknown environments.
A nest of “mounted” sap and how to get rid of it
Sputacchies are small insects belonging to an entire family, that of the cups. With an oblong and ovoid shape, adults are up to 10 mm long and are green or brown in color, with some more colorful species. It feeds on the lymph of the plants, therefore like many other parasitic insects its excrements are mainly composed of waste lymph. Sputacchin mixes these liquid air excrements, which pushed through the body gives it the typical foamy consistency of the nest. Even if they have the appearance of spit, therefore, it is in all respects excrement emitted by the rear orifices, “Mounted” by the addition of air, how to do with cream.
In addition to protecting them from the sight of the predators, this foamy blanket keeps the right conditions of humidity and temperature For eggs and larvae, which otherwise would dry out the sun on the surface of the leaves. Removing the nest of a spitting is very easy: just one water splash Directly on the foamy area to rinse away the larvae or expose them to the atmospheric elements. If you leave undisturbed, the sputies can quickly spread, leading to a real infestation.
Damage to the crops caused by sputies
As parasites, their presence is not harmless: both the adult sputacchins and their larvae can be responsible for the transmission of pathogens For spontaneous and cultivated vegetation.
Especially adult insects, due to their high mobility, can easily carry a pathogen from one plant to another at a long distance. One of the most common on Italian territory and among the most relevant for crops is the average spitting, Philaenus Spumarius5 mm long and brown color. This species is among the main carriers of the Xylella annoyinga bacterium of invasive and very aggressive origin. XYLELLA causes a series of very dangerous pathologies for plants, such as the complex of the rapid olive drying, which causes massive damage to agriculture and for which there is currently no cure. The control of the diffusion of XYLELLA and other phytopathogens therefore also passes from the management of the population of the sputacchins.
The jump of the sputacchies
The sputacins are also famous for theirs leap: If you try to touch one, you will see it splash forward at very high speed. Both the length of the jump and its acceleration are from record in the animal world: they are in fact able to reach 100 times the length of their body (for a human being it would be like overcoming a skyscraper with a single leap) and experience an acceleration of 400 times higher than the terrestrial gravity.
Their jump angle is also peculiar: it is not 45 ° compared to the ground as in most insects, but 60 °, in theory Less efficient. It is these characteristics that have intrigued scholars and have inspired a theoretical model of developed jumping of the State University of Milan, according to which the 60 ° corner is more suitable for overcoming unexpected obstacles. This model could be applied on small jumpers robots capable of exploring unknown environments, such as catastrophic scenarios or the surface of the planets. It would be precisely this ability to jump to make the spitting an animal so mobile, and therefore a perfect carrier of pathogenic agents for plants.
