Warning not to touch 'harmful' froth that appears on garden plants in summer

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Gardeners are being warned over a “harmful” froth which appears on garden plants in the summer months.Resembling a ball of foam that looks like "spittle", this froth - which clings to leaves and stems of foliage - is made by a bug.People are being urged not to touch the froth which is deposited by spittlebugs, which coats itself in a ball of foam for protection as it sucks on the sap from a plant for nutrition.The red and black creature's offspring, also known as froghoppers, then hatch on a plant which has the leftover ball of foam, Yorkshire Live reported.The insect is usually active from the end of May to the end of June, so it is peak season for sightings right now.Though the insects feed on the plants, they don't remove enough nutrition to harm it and they don't hurt humans, so you don't need to do anything to get rid of the spittle.Scientists are also worried a plant disease known as Xyella could be spread between plants by the spittlebug as a carrier.If it was found in the UK, all plants within a 100m radius would need to be destroyed, with a 5km plant quarantine for up to five years afterwards because the disease could wipe out native UK plant species.And because the spittlebug is a potential carrier of the disease, scientists are asking people to report any sightings of the spittlebug spittle, just in case, so that any outbreaks that do occur could be linked and tracked to what causes them.A spokesperson for the Spittlebug survey said: "Please let us know when you see either spittle, nymphs (juveniles) or adults of the xylem-feeding insects (spittlebugs / froghoppers and some leafhoppers ) that have the potential to act as vectors of the bacteria."These records will help us build up a picture of where the bugs