Sharpshooter (Oncometopia nigricans)

Allow me to introduce you to a very small, very shy Bug that I found hanging out on my Button Bush.

 

This is an Oncometopia nigricans, aka a Sharpshooter.

 

 

It was camera shy, and darted sideways around the stem whenever it saw my lens.

 

 

To get its picture, I wiggled my fingers an the far side of the plant, chasing it around to my focused camera. :~)

 

 

The Sharpshooter is a ‘True Bug’, one of the Leaf Hoppers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are two ‘faces’ on the top view of the Sharpshooter that I find more entertaining than scary (although hungry birds might disagree.)  The most obvious is at the top of the wings, but when I look at the back of the head, I see a Groucho Marx look.

Ahhh, the creativity that the LORD put into His creation!

The Sweat Bee On Me

Lately, I’ve noticed that sweat bees are much friendlier than when I was a kid.  (This should in NO WAY be construed as a complaint!) They can hang out on my arm. I can take their pictures. AND I don’t get bit! Or stung! Or whatever it is that sweat bees do to make humans fear them. Here’s what happened today:

Wow! I didn’t realize my arm hairs were so long and flowing! ;~)

I don’t know how he managed with that hair holding him down, but he abandoned my arm.

 

He came back and checked out my finger, then flew off for other adventures. Hopefully he was as kind to his next host as he was to me.

:~)

The Red-Eye Special

It appears that some things have red eyes even when they’re not tired!

They only look Photo-Shopped. Really they're the real thing.