Make plans for your own local National Moth Week event!!!
Posted February 1, 2012
What's That Bug? will be working the the…
creepy crawler unidentified
Location: Horjul, Slovenia, EU
January 31, 2012 8:21 am
Found this thing trying to eat my hardwood floor! The noise…
Stink Bug
Location: Elyria, Ohio
January 2, 2012 10:47 pm
Hi,
We live in northern Ohio. Every winter we get Stinkbugs in the house.…
Local Lepidoptera: Butterflies and Moths of the L.A. Region with Daniel Marlos
When Sat, February 25, 2012, 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Where Theodore…
November 12, 2011
What's That Bug? is profiled on High Country News.
Rock star status
November 14, 2011 11:22 am
Dear Daniel, Thanks for…
Stumped by a backyard find!
Location: Wake Forest, NC
February 3, 2012 5:34 pm
My dog found this insect in our backyard yesterday 2/2/12. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m hoping you can help tell me what it is!
Thank you!
Signature: Megan
Eastern Carpenter Bee
Hi Megan,
This sure appears to be an Eastern Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa virginica. You can view higher resolution images on BugGuide for comparison.
Roach..
Location: in my living room ( Maine)
January 30, 2012 10:19 am
This is a colony of false death head roaches. I have had them for a year. They turn out a good product. Im used to the hard case of eggs that they deposit….but now i see this crazy thing…What is it? its soft like ..skin
Signature: Happy Haunting 
False Death's Head Cockroach in captivity
Dear Happy Haunting,
We learned on the Worm Man website that False Death’s Head Cockroaches, Blaberus discoidalis, are native to Mexico and Central America and they are raised as live food for other exotic pets. In our opinion, this is a freshly laid oothica or egg case that has still not hardened.
Brilliant Blue Bugger
Location: North San Francisco Bay Area, Inland
January 27, 2012 9:48 pm
I’ve searched your site, and the net in general, but haven’t found a good match for the subject of my attached image, recorded May 7, 2011 in mid-afternoon. Taken in macro mode, when viewing ”actual pixels” the effective magnification is about 4.5X. Body length, excluding legs, is 13/32” ±1/32, or about O.40”.
Our photogenic friend’s carapace has an irridescent metallic sheen that can range from royal blue to teal to green. Here it appears to be royal blue with light blue speckles on the top, while it’s lower hemisphere is teal. At other angles the body appeared green and the tail blue.
Might this be a wasp of some sort?
Signature: zzwerzy
Cuckoo Wasp
Dear zzwerzy,
While it is an easy enough matter for us to identify your lovely insect as a Cuckoo Wasp in the family Chrysididae, it is quite another matter for us to be able to provide you with a species identification. According to BugGuide: “they are most diverse in the west: 166 spp. are found in CA alone (10% of all our spp. are CA endemics)” and we haven’t the necessary skills to differentiate between the species. BugGuide also states: “The name ‘cuckoo wasp’ refers to the fact that these wasps lay eggs in the nests of unsuspecting hosts” and clarifies that with this information: “Parasitoids feed on the larva of the host and cleptoparasites ‘steal’ the host’s food. The food-stealing behavior of cleptoparasite species resembles that of the cuckoo bird and gave rise to the cuckoo wasp’s name. Hosts of parasitoid species include bees, sphecid wasps, potter wasps, sawflies, silk moths, and the eggs of stick insects. Cleptoparasitic species feed on provisions of sphecid wasp nests, which may include dead spiders, true bugs, aphids, or thrips.” BugGuide describes Cuckoo Wasps as having a “Body metallic blue or green, usually with coarse sculpturing (many pits in surface).”
What Moth Is This?
Location: Jinotega, Jinotega, Nicaragua (12°55′N 85°55′W)
February 2, 2012 3:13 pm
Dear Bugman,
Could you try to identify this moth so I can try to find better image of it?
This is in Jinotega, Nicaragua, during the rainy season in the last week of July 2010.
Signature: Cheers! SRW
Pool Player with Giant Silkmoth
Dear SRW,
The photo you submitted does not provide much detail in the moth, but we decided to attempt an identification. We first found a moth that looks like a good match on the Evolutionary Biology webpage, but it is not identified and the caption reads “Nightlife at Lake Apoyo.” You need to scroll down the page a bit to see the image. We continued to search and we believe this image of Arsenura armida on FlickRis a good match. Over the years we have posted several aggregations of Central American caterpillars that have been identified as the larvae of Arsenura armida.
Possibly Arsenura armida
ladybug’ish with stripes
Location: Houma, Louisiana, USA
February 1, 2012 1:57 pm
I found this bug on my back door and I have never seen one like it before. We have warmer weather than usual so I thought maybe that is the reason for the unusual bug. It looked like a ladybug in shape and size, but its color was kind of reddish brown with gold stripes. Any ideas?
Signature: Karla
Leaf Beetle
Hi Karla,
We thought this resembled a Leaf Beetle in the genus Calligrapha, and our suspicions proved correct when we matched your individual to images posted to BugGuide of Calligrapha (subgenus Bidensomela) bidenticola.
Caterpillar in January?
Location: New Jersey Shore
February 2, 2012 12:56 pm
Found this Caterpillar crawling along by porch in New Jersey. What type is he and why is he out at this time of year?
Signature: Mr. Green
Winter Cutworm
Dear Mr. Green,
Your caterpillar is a Winter Cutworm, Noctua pronuba, the larva of the introduced Large Yellow Underwing according to BugGuide. The Winter Cutworm is native to Eurasia, but it is now found in much of North America.
Two insects in the house
Location: New Jersey
February 1, 2012 9:40 pm
We have these two separate small insects in our house. Neither bites. The small winged one doesn’t appear to fly. The small ticklike one (it’s not a tick) seems to congregate around our baseboard heat. I’ve tried all the websites but haven’t come up with a name.
Thanks in advance for any info…
Signature: Elaine
Aphid
Hi Elaine,
Both of your insects are Aphids, and they are most likely the same species. The winged individual is a sexually mature adult. Immature aphids and females that reproduce by giving live birth to clones without the need for a mate are generally wingless. Aphids are common pests on a wide variety of plants, including rose bushes, and you should be able to find much online information. We often hear of Aphids being brought indoors on Christmas trees, and that could be the source of your current sightings. You may have also brought Aphids in on plants that were brought indoors to avoid cold weather or even on fresh flowers from the florist or on fresh produce. Aphids will not harm your home.
Aphid
Thanks so much for your quick response. This answers alot of our questions!!
No related posts.
dragonfly
Location: Missouri River – Nebraska City, NE
February 1, 2012 4:46 pm
I took this photo on July 2nd, 2011 in Nebraska City, NE. the Missouri River was flooded and the dragonflies grew huge.
it was about 2” long and had a 4” wingspan.
any idea what species it is?
thanks!
Signature: Jake
Widow Skimmer, we believe
Hi Jake,
We often have a great deal of difficulty with the identification of Dragonflies to the species level, but we will do our best. We believe this closely resembles a Widow Skimmer, Libellula luctuosa, which we found pictured on BugGuide. The description on BugGuide is: “Mature males have a large basal area of brown on each of the four wings, and each wing also has a whitish area roughly at the middle. Their brown bodies become increasingly pruinose (whitish) as they get older. Females and immature males have the same brown wing bands as the mature males, but not the whitish areas. Wings usually have a brown tip. A dorsal view of the abdomen shows a brown band at center with a yellow stripe running along each side.” Since there are no white patches on the wings, we suspect this is most likely a female or an immature male.
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