Leafhopper Squirting Honeydew to avoid predators
Channel: Javier A. Canteros
Date: 2017-07-04

To get all the nutrients they require, leafhoppers (#Cicadellidae) need to extract huge amounts of sap from plants. Only a very small percentage of the sucked liquid is used by the animal and the rest is filtered by its digestive system. That rest is a liquid very rich in sugars and carbohydrates, called “honeydew”. It has been estimated that honeydew production is several times the insect body mass per hour. Many leafhoppers seem obsessed with excreting honeydew far away. This is a good safety mesure as its smell can attract predatory and parasitic wasps, as you can see by the end of this video.

Music: Rain by Twin Musicom (twinmusicom.org)