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I noticed this small insect with long striped antennae and legs hanging out on my parsley. I'd be curious to find out what it is.

When I got close to take a picture of it, it suddenly leapt, like a grasshopper, landing a good 12 inches away on another plant. Its body is about 1cm long. I live in Southern California if it makes a difference.

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    $\begingroup$ Excellent first post, great pictures. That being said, can you give us a rough idea of size (parsley comes in many varieties). Please enjoy our tour and refer to the help center for guidance as to our ways. $\endgroup$
    – Jiminy Cricket.
    Mar 25, 2022 at 0:14
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    $\begingroup$ @ARogueAnt. he said the body was about 1 cm long. $\endgroup$
    – mgkrebbs
    Mar 25, 2022 at 0:31
  • $\begingroup$ Ah yes, I was so taken by the images I must have missed that @mgkrebbs $\endgroup$
    – Jiminy Cricket.
    Mar 25, 2022 at 0:35
  • $\begingroup$ Lovely, certainly looks like a hopper of some sort. I would guess an instar of something $\endgroup$
    – bob1
    Mar 25, 2022 at 3:55

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Based on body shape and size, this appears to be a nymph of an assassin bug (family: Reduviidae).

I originally was thinking some species of Zelus (see bottom of post), but the orange body and bold leg-striping makes me think this is instead an early instar nymph of some species of Pselliopus.

enter image description here

Credit: B. Newton (2004); Source: Univ of Kentucky

Pselliopus barberi (the orange assassin bug) is one option.

I'm on my way out the door, so I'll come back to this next week to see if a more specific species stands out...

Note: I was originally thinking the genus Zelus was a good place to start -- though native to South/Central America, about a half dozen species are found in the US. Zelus renardii (the leaf hopper assassin bug) is one such species that has an orange-bodied, black/white-striped legged instar. It's native to semi-arid and Mediterranean climates (both found in CA), and it's not too atypical to find them on crop plants even in suburban areas. [Source]. However, the leg striping just isn't predominant enough

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