Absolutely an early instar of the Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillar....also called the parsley caterpillar, by the way. Good call, Sandpaper. Anyone growing parsley, dill, or fennel should be able to ID this insect in all stages. They are fully capable of stripping your plant in a few days as they become larger....and they are usually present in gangs. The butterflies are very lovely and many people plant parsley just to attract them. The older caterpillars are also beautiful. Those who have mistaken this for a ladybug larva need to take another look. There is really no resemblance that I can see. But it is still VERY good advice to be certain of the ID before taking any kind of action. There are always very willing people in these forums who are happy to help. This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Mon, Jul 1, 13 at 5:41

Take a small container of soapy water to the garden, pick the beetles from the leaves and drop them in the water. Tortoise beetles rarely become a serious pest and there is no need for anything but the most rudimentary of control measures.

Not insect eggs and not scary! That's a little outcropping of harmless slime mold, probably Leocarpus fragilis....sometimes called insect egg mold. Slime molds are not molds nor fungi at all. They feed on surface dust and debris, explaining why you've found this on several different things. Consider this an interesting lifeform, totally benign. Leocarpus images show up in the forums only once or twice a year, so thanks for posting such nice pictures. Here is a link that might be useful: Click here for more pictures

There are hundreds of these here in Taiwan. They are cicadas. Here is a good video from David Attenborough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjLiWy2nT7U