On 6/8/2021 7:02 PM, bob prohaska wrote:
Does anybody recognize the insect in these photos?
http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug1
http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug2
Same bug, slightly different pose. The "flag" on
the hind legs seemed distinctive.
Three of them turned up on a patch of alfalfa plants I'm
trying as a groundcover. Their movements were what caught
my attention; very deliberate and stately, almost like those
of a mantis.
I tried looking through various alfalfa pest galleries, but
nothing came close and I'm not at all sure these are pests.
I didn't see them feeding and their behavior seemed more like
an ambush predator than a prey species.
First noticed them a couple days ago, when one stuck around it
seemed worth a picture or two.
Thanks for reading,
bob prohaska
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_footed_bug. In the photo
gallery at the end of that page, the right-most photo in the first row
strongly resembles your photos.
--
David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/
The Republican Party has abandoned all principles and has
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