What is this bug? Is it a pest?

[url=javascript:void(0);][/url]" />Hi! I'm new to gardening and am learning to identify and organically control garden pests. This bug is on all of my plants. It is hopping everywhere in my yard and driveway. They hop on us, too! They are brownish-black with 2 parallel orange stripes across their bodies. I've searched insect identification sites and haven't found it. I live about 30 miles SE of Atlanta in a rural area.

My picture doesn't show but when I clicked on the link it's there. I'm new to this forum & not technically savvy. Sorry

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Did you try bugguide.net ? It's hard to tell from here but is it a beetle?

Two-Lined Spittlebug (Prosapia bicincta) ??

It looks unusual because only 2 pairs of legs are visible in the photo. I'll post the link in a second reply.

Two-Lined Spittlebug

https://www.google.com/search?q=Two-Lined+Spittlebug+%28Prosapia+bicincta&client=firefox-a&hs=9xY&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=uWXYUYfQMeL1iwKB9IC4CA&ved=0CFUQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=630

Good job sanderson! Here is the bugguide.net info about this creature.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/517

I did try their site but couldn't find it. I think it is a beetle. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep looking! Something is eating my bean plants but that bug is the only one I've seen on them. However it goes onto all of the plants: tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cukes, broccoli, cabbage, peppers, herbs. I have loopers & snails attacking the broccoli & cabbage so I've been handpicking and dusted with BT. I ordered DE to help with the snails.  The eggplant had flea beetles but neem oil took care of them. I've sprayed the beans with neem oil but it didn't help. I'll put DE on them when it comes. We've had so much rain the snails are a big problem! Thanks again!

Hi Joann, you did well getting the photo posted! If you look at the few previous replies, there are posts with links to information. sanderson found the ID of this creature.

I am totally amazed at how quickly that little bugger was identified! Thank you so much Sanderson! It's been raining every day here for awhile & I never saw any spittle so I didn't look at the spittlebugs on that site. That's a lesson, just one of many I'm learning. NEVER stop checking the garden even when company is here.   Websites say it eats grass but will also eat other plants. Would you recommend insecticidal soap? These guys are hopping around everywhere.

It is unlikely they are harming your vegetable garden plants. Treating for them doesn't seem advisable and may even harm beneficial insects.

http://pep.wsu.edu/hortsense/scripts/query/displayProblem.asp?tableName=plant&problemID=152&categoryID=

http://drystonegarden.com/index.php/2010/04/spittle-bug-season/

Two lined spittlebugs are very common in the South. Whenever I harvest veggies I usually have one or two ride into the kitchen with me. They make a nest that looks like a bunch of bubbles, and the young grow inside this protective mass.

I've never seen any sign that they do any damage, so I don't pay a lot of attention to them.

Likewise for flea beetles on eggplants. They almost always outgrow the flea beetles, so I don't bother them. We had flea beetles on our young plants this year, but the younger leaves have no damage at all, and we have the earliest and biggest crop of eggplants I've ever had. They must like all the rain. Our tomatoes are splitting and rotting as they ripen.

I do not routinely use pesticides - even organic ones like Neem or DE on my veggies, because I rely on my "good" bugs to eat my "bad" bugs. If I lose them, I've lost control. I haven't seen a squash bug or cucumber beetle in years. Japanese beetles usually come by, maybe a half dozen each year, and they get eaten. They used to destroy my grapes.

Once in a great while I see some hornworm droppings, but never find the hornworm, as they are usually snatched by an assassin bug or paper wasp before the damage is significant. No bean beetles. No white flies. Very few aphids.

The only pest insects that give me fits are squash borers and pickleworm.

I wish tomato disease were as easy to control as most insect pests.

Thanks for the advice and links. I'll leave the spittlebugs alone. But I still can't see what has done all the damage to my beans. The damage started before the invasion of the snails. I have only seen the spittlebugs and ants on them. No sign of aphids or anything else. My tomatoes are splitting as well, Pollinator.  Thanks again everyone. As a new gardener, I really appreciate the friendly advice.

joann, post some photos if you can.