It's easily missed because it's only a fraction of an inch long. But the color--a brilliant red--is right there. It's a little difficult to see on a red pomegranate, but it's there. What's there? The nymph of a leaffooted bug (Leptoglossus zonatus).
When you first see the leaffooted bug, you know immediately how it got its name. The appendages on its feet look like leaves! This morning we saw one in our catmint (Nepeta) patch.
if you're growing plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae--you know, the plants with the square stalks and opposite leaves--you may see a very tiny reddish-orange visitor. It's so tiny that it's smaller than the leaf of a catmint (Nepeta). Its wing span is probably about 10 to 15 millimeters.
If you've ever glimpsed a European wool carder bee foraging in your yard, chances are that's all you saw--a glimpse. The wool carder bees (Anthidium manicatum), so named because the females collect or "card" plant fuzz for their nests, move quickly.
