Jellyman: I forgot to mention that there is no apparent damage to any foliage or apples. The link below had some pictures that I just found of 2 types of leafhopper. They look very similar in their thoraxes and eyes but are not spot on. Currently, the aphids are dining on my peppers and tomatoes. I don't spray anything unless I know what it is and even then I wait to see if the population is on the up or downswing. Ladybugs usually do a good job of cleaning up aphids (albeit in a delayed fashion) in my vegetables. I do appreciate your comment and thank you. Here is a link that might be useful: UC Leafhopper nymphs photo

The best place I know of to Id a bug and find out if he's a good guy or a bad guy is Baldo's site. http://www.sactorose.org/rosebug/

Also, check out Sawflies. The maggots or larvae are the creatures responsible for eating away all the soft parts in tree leaves. Leaving a delicate leaf skeleton behind. I think they are really a type of wasp but they might be an actual fly which is a completely different group of insects.

Hey George, The ones on the redbud are red-humped caterpillars. See their red heads and the red hump a little further down on their body? I know they are fairly common in the south, but I've never seen them here before. Now I feel a sudden urge to run out and see if there's any of them on my redbud trees. They are the caterpillar of an unassuming dull brown moth that looks to me more like tree bark than anything else. I'll link a page below with info on them. Red-humped Caterpillars The second one looks like the puss asp I remember from my childhood. They are the larvae of the southern flannel moth. I remember their wicked sting as well as you do. I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole. The first instar of the caterpillar is not nearly as hairy as the later instars. The one in your photo is in the middle.....more hair or fur or whatever we want to call it than the earliest instars, but not as much hair/fur as the latest instars. I see a couple a year here, but not too many....and I carefully avoid making contact with them. Puss Caterpillars and Moths Hope this helps, Dawn