Bug of the Week - December 26, 2012

Here's the last insect identification challenge of 2012! Do you recognize this Bug of the Week? You know the drill. Grab a field guide or do some Googling, and when you think you have an ID, submit it as a comment to this post. I'll post the answer next Wednesday.

Last week's tiny, striped insect was the alligatorweed flea beetle, or Agasicles hygrophila. This species is exotic in the U.S., but was released intentionally as a bio-control for the invasive alligatorweed. Congratulations to Moni for identifying this one.

_{Photo: James A. Richmond, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org}