Perhaps in your childhood, you may have made paper doilies? Folded paper with delicately cut holes that when unfolded revealed a symmetrical pattern? Imagine for moment that your skill level at this particular pass time was so great, that you could produce a spectacular piece of art in miniature - perhaps as small as a quarter inch long. If you have such fine motor skills, then you are well on your way to making your own fake lace bug. Real lace bugs are fantastically ornate true bugs (Hemiptera) in the family Tingidae. In retrospect, and on hearing my own audio as I edited out my "em"s and pauses, "Tingidae" sounds like something I made up; or perhaps mispronounced because I grew up in Athlone, where "th" is rarely pronounced. But Tingidae is a very real family of insects so small as to be easily overlooked. But if your azaleas are looking a little shabby this year, it is possible that lace bugs are the culprits. Rather than reaching for a toxic spray, grab a clip on macro lens for your cellphone camera, you may be rewarded with a view of a spectacular little fellow traveler. Episode art is from Wikimedia Commons uploaded by Louisa Howard of Dartmouth College.