Subject: Moth dreaming it’s a Butterfly
Location: Costa Mesa
May 25, 2012 3:01 am
Hey Bugman,
I found this little white beauty hanging out on a bush by a steetlight. It looked like a moth, acted like a moth, went for light like a moth and was out at night like a moth. However, it liked to hold its wings like a butterfly – I presume to annoy people who are trying to identify it. It’s stumped me, certainly. I’m pretty sure its a moth and not a butterfly who happens to be a night owl, but nothing looks like it on the website I reference for regional moths.
Signature: butterfly dreaming she’s a moth hobbiest
Geometrid Moth
Dear butterfly dreaming she’s a moth hobbiest,
It is a fallacy that all butterflies rest with wings folded over their backs and all moths rest with their wings flat, but it is a generalization that is often true and it is one of the characteristics that is frequently cited so that the average person can distinguish a moth from a butterfly. Here is a photo of a Mourning Cloak Butterfly resting with wings flat and a Polyphemus Moth resting with its wings folded, both breaking the generalized rule. Your moth is a Geometrid Moth in the family Geometridae, but we are uncertain of the species. A quick browse through BugGuide shows how many similar looking species there are in North America.
Subject: Banded Huntsman Spider
Location: Near Cusco, Peru
May 24, 2012 6:51 am
Buenas Dias, Daniel! This beauty appeared in our kitchen 3 days ago. We see these guys all the time, they also come in solid black. This one is much larger and fatter than the usual, so we believe she is a female, possibly pregnant? We found her mate, maybe, dying on the windowsill. She is a little more coffee colored than this photo shows, but you get the idea. We’ll keep an eye on her for spiderlings. Loving your book, thanks for writing it!
Signature: offthegridinperu
Huntsman Spider
Dear offthegridinperu,
Thanks for sending us your photo of a South American Huntsman Spider. We have been informed by Eric Eaton that the bite of some South American Huntsman Spiders can be dangerous to humans. We are happy to hear you are enjoying The Curious World of Bugs.
Subject: Possible Fishing spider? Please help!
Location: Rome, Maine
May 24, 2012 7:20 am
Dear Bugman, We found this large furry spider hiding under a pillow on our ourdoor bench. He has rather long banded legs that seem to have white on them underneath, but he is mostly black and brown. He is about 2 1/2 inches leg to leg and really fast.
Signature: A bug loving family, in the woods of Maine
Fishing Spider
Dear bug loving family,
This is indeed a Fishing Spider and we believe it is most likely Dolomedes tenebrosus which you will find described on BugGuide.
Subject: European Bumblebee
Location: Belgrade, Serbia
May 23, 2012 3:26 pm
Dear Bugman,
I am trying to distinguish this bee: Is it a white-tailed bumblebee or a buff-tailed bumblebee? I photographed it in my driveway last weekend in Belgrade, Serbia.
Thank you!
Signature: Bill Kralovec
Bumble Bee from Serbia
Dear Bill,
Thanks for sending in your request. Bumblebee.org indicates: “The queens Bombus terrestris and B. lucorum are usually the first to emerge in the spring. B. terrestris queens are the largest bumblebees we have in the UK. It is fairly easy to differentiate between B. terrestris and B. lucorum queens - the yellow thorax hairs of terrestris are more dull orangey while those of lucorum are more lemony [.] B. terrestris has a brownish orange tip to her abdomen while B. lucorum’s is white – hence the common names.” Bumblebee.org also indicates: “The workers of both species look like smaller versions of the lucorum queen. See the worker on the left. They are almost impossible to tell apart without dissection. The size range can vary quite a lot, but usually the smaller workers are from the earliest laid eggs. Bombus lucorum workers range from 0.04 – 0.32 g and the queens from 0.46 – 0.70 g; B. terrestris workers range from 0.05 g – 0.40 g.” Our guess is that this is a queen White-Tailed Bumble Bee. We are basing that on the information provided on the website we cited. The early emergence and large size would indicate the bee is a queen. Though many internet references use a single word Bumblebee, we are following the naming convention used on BugGuide.
Subject: Beautiful nightly visitor
Location: Austria
May 23, 2012 5:12 pm
Dear Bugman,
I’ve just been visited by one of the most beautiful insects I have ever seen and wanted to ask you if you could identify my nightly guest?
One strange thing I noticed is it had what seemed like three extra eyes on the top of its head right between the two big eyes, on the base of its antennas.
A pretty exciting sight, I don’t see such exotic looking insects around here very often.
Greetings from Austria,
Michael
Signature: Michael
Ichneumon
Hi Michael,
We really enjoy getting requests from people who think insects are beautiful that other folks might find repulsive. This Ichneumon is a parasitic wasp that preys upon other insects and arthropods. The female lays her eggs within the host by using an ovipositor. Some wasps have evolved so that the ovipositor has adapted into a stinger and many Ichneumons have very long ovipositors. A group of North American Ichneumons in the genus Megarhyssa can have ovipositors as long as five inches in length and they are known as Stump Stabbers since the female uses her ovipositor to lay her eggs in wood that is infested with wood boring insects.
Promethea ranching
May 23, 2012
Location: South Illinois
4th and 5th instar. It is interesting having them staggered out like this. When I raised polyphemuses outside they were usually within a day or three of eachother developmentally. Keeping prometheas indoors I have a 2 week spread between the advanced class and the stragglers. Will be interesting to see if the slow ones will get there in the end.
Bert
Promethea Caterpillars: Fourth and Fifth Instars
Hi Bert,
Thank you for continuing to document your previous submissions. We love seeing the result of the mating Promethea Moths that visited you this spring.
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