The Return of the Willy Wonka Bug // Have you ever seen

Have you ever seen . . .  a creature like this?

A return infers a sighting once before, so for my newer blog followers, here's the scoop:

Last Spring, I found this little critter in a Dandelion. Shortly thereafter, I re-found him on a blade of grass a couple inches over; this goofy, long-legged bug with awesome, though ridiculously long, striped antennae is an excellent jumper! 

Apparently, it comes in very handy for avoiding UBO's (Unidentified Black Objects)

Not only excellent, but superlightingintheblinkofaneyequick as well. While trying to photograph his unique features, I lost track of him several times, because I kept making the fatal mistake of Getting Too Close for His Comfort, and then Blinking.

*ping*

You see him jump- but you never see him land.

Naturally, after I discovered this unknown bug that I had never seen or heard of, I  bestowed upon him a unique name to match his unique self.
Therefore he was dubbed the Willy Wonka bug, because, well,it's fitting for a green bodied bug with teal-ish stripes across his back,  tawny orange, black striped gangly legs, and graceful antennae,  twice as long as his body, that are black and white. Can't you imagine them being pets of the Oompa loompas?

Naturally,  when this guy appeared on our screen the other day, I was delighted! Yes, absolutely delighted over a bug. On the screen. A really small bug. 

An unidentified, small bug on the screen.

=)

This year I was more curious, and, after scouring the internet for long-legged bugs with striped antennae, I was happy to find that I had a Katydid nymph in the deck planter! The website where I identified him was pretty complete, with great pictures of his friends and relations, showing them in various stages of their life and the wide variety of colors that they appear in.
Take a look?

By the way,if you're hoping to find one . . . look on your flowers.
I watched this guy first stick his head down the center of the flower, and I thought "Aha! He's a nectar sipper!" But then, as he moved from petal to petal, I noticed a trail of tiny, oval spots following him . . . so he's actually just a Common Petal Muncher.

An' though they be excellent jumpers, they also be miserable climbers. Or scared of heights. But it's more probable that their gangly legs just get in the way, making the story of Katy and the Tomato Stalk a very short story. Sadly, she attempted heights too high and plummeted about four branches before disappearing into the small carpet of small weeds below.

The End     =)

God Bless!

                                   ~Jenny  ♥