Actually, believe it or not, this brilliantly colored, daytime active, thin bodied insect is a MOTH, the adult of the Ailanthus webworm, Atteva punctilla. The Ailanthus webworm is a sub-tropical insect that has spread north following the introduction of an "alternate" host plant, the introduced invasive species Ailanthus altissima, that has spread throughout North America. (Since the Ailanthus tree is not native to the Americas, while Atteva punctilla is, we can say that the moth has "adapted" a new host.) Further, Atteva punctilla is not adapted to survive cold winters, so apparently a population flies north each year to seek the abundant leaves of the Ailanthus trees. Since Ailanthus is generally considered undesirable (it has bad habits, like spreading into a huge thicket by runner roots, and producing a toxin that interferes with growth of other plants in its vicinity), the Atteva punctilla might be classified as a beneficial insect, although it doesn't do enough damage to seriously impact the Ailanthus. There are hundreds of images of this tiny but photogenic insect on the web. Here are a few: http://www.bugguide.net/node/view/1762 http://entweb.clemson.edu/museum/moths/local/moth16.htm

what are they doing to the buds??? how big are they??? .. where are you ??? please dont use any more chems until you get an ID ... a pic would sure help ... ken

It could be but I'm not positive. I'll have to show this to my Mom. I kept describing him as having "orange armpits", so this pic would match in that respect. But the bird in your pic looks more sleek and less chubby than the bird in my yard. He had that well-rounded chickadee belly. Do you know of any other small black, orange and white birds that might be in my area? I see that you're in KY!

Hi, Cindy, I'm one of those on the Texas Forum who was looking for the id of our little shining flea. The info on your link says he eats scutellaria, and sure enough, I grow pink scullcap. Many thanks for the id.