Small black & red insect

[turpentyne]

In Phoenix, Arizona, I keep encountering this bug on a leaf, holding what appears to be it two front legs in the air. Hard to photograph - very skittish.

.5 cm or less in length.
Slender body black, with two red bands across wings. Rearmost band has a v indent toward center.
Two legs raised, unknown reason


I would upload photos, but this is my first post, so i may be unable.

This is not a milkweed bug ( far too small, wrong pattern and wrong body shape)

Not a kermes scale moth ( wrong pattern, other traits wrong - but a bit closer)

hopefully these images work




flic.kr/p/2mxLvvQ


flic.kr/p/2mxJ2k9

[Adam Cotton]

Please see my post (4th down) about posting photos to the forum in the Technical Issues section:

insectnet.proboards.com/thread/4692/picture-attachment

Note that uploading photos directly to the forum is not possible.

Adam.

[turpentyne]

Oct 5, 2021 0:32:02 GMT -8 Adam Cotton said:

Please see my post (4th down) about posting photos to the forum in the Technical Issues section:

insectnet.proboards.com/thread/4692/picture-attachment

Note that uploading photos directly to the forum is not possible.

Adam.

Thank you... I've updated the main post. The pics didn't seem to embed right - but I've got the links below each.

[bandrow]

Greetings,

I'm a coleopterist, so this is just a place to start - but your bug is some species of microlepidoptera - meaning it belongs to one of the many families of small to tiny moths. It seems distinct enough that one of our lep people here can give a more refined ID...

Cheers!
Bandrow