I think I could get more of these unusual hoppers, if I could find someone to sift through the poison oak for me. Want to apply for the job? Wish you were there today, with your sharp eyes. The place is dark with much extraneous stuff on the leaves, so it's hard to pick out the bugs.

Lots of times, I'm photographing seeds, dirt and frass, just so I won't miss The Real Things. Seems like I'm now operating on that old B-movie dialog point: Shoot them all, and we'll sort everything out later.

My fear of contacting poison oak is right up there on the list with my fear of contacting ticks. I do my best to avoid both at all costs, which often means that I don't go exploring in interesting habitats. Notably, there are many dry, weedy fields that I simply don't enter and I also avoid the banks of the creek that runs near my house. I know I'm likely missing out on some great critters, but I stick firmly to the "better safe than sorry" policy.

Oh, and don't worry, even with my sharp eyes, I still occasionally end up photographing poop, dirt, and bits of plant matter too! :-)

I posted my two best photos. Maybe I'll get another chance with this one and, if so, will attempt to get closer.

If an editor sees this, we need a new page.

...it gave me the nudge I needed to post my images of what I speculate is possibly the same species around my place.

Nice shots. Hope these help Andy, as I went back for a reshoot and couldn't locate my subject. But I found another freaky critter, soon to be posted...