The critter is looking straight up at me; it seems to be saying "Why are you bugging me? You've taken about 20 pictures of me! Leave me alone, already!" I find this insect incredibly cute! I know, I'm weird.
All Photos by Liora Leah taken 9-1-2008
Friendly Critter on my backyard potted plant. Going to post it on BugGuide
http://bugguide.net/node/view/220834/bgimage
to see what it is...
Looks like it's a fork-tailed bush katydid, Scudderia furcata! But wait! the plot thickens! It also might be a Mexican bush katydid, Scudderia Mexicana! This would make sense, as Southern California neighbors Mexico--the naturalist says you can't tell for sure without looking at the corresponding male, as the male has a projecting upper plate that identifies the particular species.
Not sure, but I think it's a female--you're supposed to look at the end of their thorax to tell...yep, it's a female! The little curved anatomy at the end of the body is called an "ovipositor" where the ovum, or eggs, descend when being laid; males don't have this.
More information on Fork-Tailed bush katydids--some nice photos here. Did you know some katydids are a pink color?
http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/063a.htm
More information on Mexican bush katydids:
http://zipcodezoo.com/Animals/S/Scudderia_mexicana/
Related Blog: Photos: Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!
http://www.curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=976588#i