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Unidentified Hemiptera
This is a beautiful, very sparkling iridescent insect. Unfortunately, my camera (and my poor photography) don't show the iridescence very well. I have not been able to identify this one despite a lot of searching on the internet. It is the usual problem of not being able to narrow the parameters of my search enough to have any success. My thoughts on this one are that it is a nymph (partly because it does not appear to have grown wings yet and also because there were several of them in a small community. I don't think adults normally stay in social groups, but many nymphs do. I think it is a Hemipter (not a beetle) because of the shape of the head and the shape and position of the eyes. It seems to have 5 segments on its antennae which could indicate a Pentatomid nymph. I am obviously going to keep searching for this one, but if anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate the help.
These nymphs were spotted on roadside foliage (very dense). The road ascends steeply on a hillside from sea level, where I live, to about 150 feet at the point where I sighted these insects. I know that small difference in elevation makes a difference in the butterfly population (which was my reason for going there), but I am not sure if it makes any difference in the the kind of bugs likely to be found in that area.
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