Green Stink Bug Nymph

I saw one of these bugs a couple of weeks ago in the meadow at Garden in the Woods.  I wasn't able to identify it at that time.  Today, I saw 4 of them in the jewelweed growing next to my driveway.  One was a lot smaller than the others.  They weren't exactly colored the same as the one at Garden in the Woods, but they were very close.  When I looked at the closeup photo, this time the head reminded me of a stink bug.  I searched on line for stink bug relatives, and "voila" - Green Stink Bug Nymph appeared and matched my mystery bug!

By the way, stink bugs do have wings when they are adults, but the nymphs do not.....so do they belong on Things with Wings or not?  As long as I'm learning something new, I say include them!

Green Stink Bug Nymph

Jewelweed

Jewelweed is everywhere around my yard.  It has a very waxy, delicate (easy to break) stem and blooms almost the entire summer with small orange flowers.  Unless you look at them closely, you might miss how similar to an orchid the pretty blooms are.  The red spots attract the pollinators.  Hummingbirds and bumblebees love these flowers!  Once I noticed how popular they were with the hummingbirds, I developed more tolerance for them.  

Today I learned another reason to like this plant.  Jewelweed serves several medicinal purposes, including ...... treating poison ivy!  If you know that you got into poison ivy, split open the stem of jewelweed and rub the juice wherever you had contact.  Even if you didn't realize you were exposed to poison ivy, you can still use the juice and it should cure you of the rash sooner.  It can also be used to treat hemmorrhoids, acne and even bug bites.  I'm thinking this plant is pretty amazing!!   I'm definitely trying it next time I get a poisonous rash.

Oh, by the way, jewelweed is not named for its pretty flowers, but for the way water beads up on the surface of its leaves and sparkles like tiny jewels!