In the blink of an eye...

There it was, nestled inside a baby blue eyes blossom, Nemophila menziesii, which is a spring-blooming plant native to California, Oregon and Baja California.

"It?" A katydid nymph, a wingless critter with long black-and-white banded antennae.

The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) tells us that "nymphs appear in April and May and take 2 to 3 months to mature through 6 to 8 instars."

"At least 74 species of katydids (family Tettigoniidae) are present in California," according to UC IPM. "Most are not pests because they chew only a small amount of foliage before moving to another plant. Forktailed bush katydid (Scudderia furcata) can be a pest because it chews young fruit in addition to leaves. Angularwinged katydid (Microcentrum retinerve) and broadwinged katydid (Microcentrum rhombifolium) are other common species.--UC IPM post on katydids. 

This nymph crawled around the blossom, stretched to reach the next one, and then, up and over it went. 

Just a day in the life of katydid nymph on baby blue eyes.