Have you ever wanted to get away from it all, just submerge yourself in a cozy, secluded place where no one will bother you, with nothing to do but, say, eat and maintain the basic functions of life?
The spittlebug is way ahead of you.
You may have noticed their little isolation chambers, clusters of bubbles nestled under the leaves of plants in the spring. If your immediate thought was "gross" with no interest in investigating further...the spittlebug's goal is accomplished.
But if you, undaunted, probed the bubbles in search of the cause, you might find the architect: a vaguely unformed froghopper nymph, plump and beady-eyed. Not being interested in eating said nymph, you allow it to retreat into its nest, to the comfort and safety of its climate-controlled predator repellent system.
If you imagine a charming little bug blowing bubbles like a child with a bubble wand, or maybe hocking tiny loogies all day...think again. The spittlebug ingests copious amounts of sap from its host plant through its piercing and sucking mouthparts; after being digested the excess excreted...well, where digested materials are usually excreted. The spittlebug will arrange the bubbles around its body, with no need to show itself beyond the bubbles save to occasionally stick its rump out to breathe (like other insects, it breathes through spiracles, breathing tubes located along the thorax and abdomen).
The nymph will go through all its instars safe within its bubble nest, emerging in June as an adult froghopper.
Watch the spittlebug in action in this amazing video from the New York Times:
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