cuckoo spit

noun

cuckoo spit

noun

Etymology From appearing on plants at around the time that cuckoo birds return in the spring.

1

A frothy mass of white liquid that is secreted onto plants by froghopper larvae and serves as a protective covering.

Related terms
spitbug, spittlebug

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.