What’s that green and red-striped bug?
Candy Striped Leafhopper (Photo: Shala Howell)
Yesterday we met some friends for a Sunday afternoon meander through the Spring Valley nature preserve in Schaumburg, Illinois. As part of her program of studying trees (a project made easy by the fact that the park has little signs identifying each of the major types in the preserve), The Seven-Year-Old came across this little guy crawling along an old log.
“What is that green and red-striped bug?”
No one in the group knew, so Mommyo whipped out her camera (which comes in a handy iPhone case) and took a picture, promising all and sundry to ask Caterpickles at some point this week.
While doing my homework this morning, I came across a rather fabulous bug identification site, InsectIdentification.org.
Billed as being for the casual insect observer, InsectIdentification.org helps you identify a host of wee wild beasties by answering a few questions about their primary and secondary colors, the state where you saw them, and the number of legs they have. Results include pictures, which makes identification easy.
Based on my quick search, the bug we saw is a Candy-Striped Leafhopper.
Although lovely, The Seven-Year-Old and I have since learned (courtesy of InsectIdentification.org) that the leafhopper can be lethal to blackberry bushes, roses, and rhododendrons. Apparently, it likes their juices the best, and has been known to suck plants dry. Worse, the leafhopper leaves behind a trail of sweet-smelling bubbly liquid waste (“Just call it bug poop, Mommyo”) that attracts flies, wasps, and other pests to the infested plant.
So, what did you learn while out and about this weekend?
Related Links:
- Wandering around Chicago with The Seven-Year-Old: The Osaka Garden (Caterpickles)
- On the Road with The Six-Year-Old, Episode 4: Applied Vocabulary (Caterpickles)
CATERPICKLES 
What are you thinking?