Subject: Unknown bug, thornbug?
Geographic location of the bug: Oceanside, CA
Date: 03/13/2018
Time: 11:09 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I would love to know the ID of this tiny alien-looking bug. I found thousands of these bugs on a bush in my yard in June of last year. They are less than a 1/4 inch long.
How you want your letter signed: Heidi G
Dear Heidi,
Though you did not specify what type of bush in your yard you found these immature Keel-Backed Treehoppers living upon, we are speculating they were feeding by sucking the fluids from a tomato plant, pepper plant or some other member of the family Solanaceae. Here is a BugGuide image for comparison.
I’m assuming that you would be ok with exterminating bed bugs. I must admit they are clever, but I would rather not share my blood with them. How are they beneficial to the world? I had to go cold turkey from your website some years ago because it is SO interesting. But then I came across an amazing site by googling treehopperinsects location. Oh dear!