Somewhere in the bubble bath is a spittlebug nymph, which farts out foam as a protective cocoon. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

If you’re heading out to a forest preserve or other natural area this weekend in search of cicadas, be on the lookout for an arguably even stranger insect.

Meet the spittlebug.

The tiny critters are almost impossible to spot. In fact, you could be staring right at one without seeing it.

But you can’t miss their bubbles.

Those sudsy blobs on plants? That’s the spittlebug nymph, cocooning itself in froth both as protection from predators and to keep from drying out.

How do they do it?

Basically, the spittlebugs fart out foam — mixing air with excretions.

According to the University of Wisconsin Extension: “Some species can produce as many as 80 bubbles per minute. The spittlebug moves its abdomen up and down and as the bubbles emerge, it reaches back with its legs and pulls the bubbles forward over its back.”

Inside their bubbles, spittlebugs feed on sap, which isn’t harmful to the host, but some folks aren’t crazy about seeing their plants covered in foam farts.

After two to four molts, the adult spittlebug busts out of its bubble bath in early summer and keeps on hopping from plant to plant, likely unnoticed by humans without its telltale fizz.

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]