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Tiny Bug in Camo
Dear Bugman,
This bug is not large or ferocious-looking, but rather, its a tiny brown fleck of a thing that I first thought was a piece of leaf matter or tree bark. I’m sorry that this photo isn’t more detailed, but the critter was only 3 mm’s in length and all I had at the time was a camera phone. The head of the bug is pointing "northeast." Interestingly, if you look at the space between the middle and the last segment, you can barely make out thin brown membranes, which at first I thought were wings. But the bug never flew, and the "wings" looked useless. Maybe its some incomplete evolutionary appendage. At any rate, I hope the photo is clear enough to make-out; studying this insect provided me with a welcome respite from studying for the bar. I’m trying to keep my karma as clean as possible, so I made sure that the bug now happily munching on a leaf somewhere. Any help with identification would be appreciated.
Jason
Memphis, Tennesse

After spending time searching the net, I do believe the critter is a Hawthorn Lace Bug.

Hi Jason,
You letter is one of the numerous letters we just did not have enough time to answer, despite our good intentions. We hare happy you identified this Lace Bug on your own. As there are numerous species of Lace Bugs in the family Tingidae, we do not feel comfortable taking this to the species level, but we are nonetheless quite impressed with your research skills and predict you will make a very competant lawyer.

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