I spotted this unusual little creature on some lavender buds at dusk last night and it was still there today. Without using the macro function of the camera it doesn't look like much of anything as it's quite small. It certainly isn't familiar looking to me. Can anyone give a name to it?
I've been doing a little research and am wondering if my little critter could be a cicada nymph. It's sort of perched on the lavender in the manner of adult cicadas. We have been seeing and hearing quite a few cicadas this year.
This is a nymph of an ambush bug (Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Reduviidae; subfamily Phymatinae), they are general predators on other arthropods - see http://tinyurl.com/m3sepv for images and detailed information. These bugs formerly were placed in a family of their own, the Phymatidae - see http://tinyurl.com/msh3lz.
Thanks for your help in identifying my critter, suunto.
