Q.I have this small hopping bug on my perennial plants. What is it and how can I deal with it.
I have sprayed with an organic insecticidal soap. They seem to be in the rocks around my plants so the ones that die are replaced with new ones.
From the photo it appears to be a "leaf hopper", but I'm not sure. "In the rocks around..." is not consistent with habits of a plant pest, so it may just be present on the plant and not feeding on the plant, especially if there are no signs of damage. If it is leaf hopper, they are a sucking insect that inserts mouth-parts and feed on the plant juices. In this process they can spread plant diseases so it's best to control an infestation, if that's what it is and they are in fact feeding on the plant.
Insecticidal soap is a contact spray without much residual effectiveness. 70% neem oil or another botanical biopesticide
with repellent action (rosemary and other aromatic oils) will have a longer residual, a week or two.
