I was weeding yesterday and saw multiples of this insect in the chard. We've had chard growing for years in the same spot, a location that definitely has an aphid problem, but this critter is new. I've never seen them before and trying to figure out if they're beneficial? They motored around by crawling and jumping. Thanks very much in advance for any assistance.
It appears to be Centrocoris variegatus, a European species recently introduced to California - see https://ucanr.edu/sites/mgfresno/files/339719.pdf
Flapdoodle thank you for your identification help. I think you've nailed it again. It looks like they are not harmful until they are. The fruit trees and tomatoes are in the backyard and so far, I've just found these in the front yard. So I will contact those mentioned in the PDF, who are in California as am I, to see if they would instruct me to try and contain them now.
Greatly appreciate your help.
