Tree Cattle

On · Category: Booklice and Barklice · Add Comment

Subject: True Bug Colony?
Location: Coastal San Diego County
May 22, 2013 6:24 pm
Found these in my neighbors back yard…
Signature: SJD

Tree Cattle

Tree Cattle

Dear SJD,
Though this resembles a Hemipteran aggregation, it is actually a colony of Barklice or Tree Cattle.  The look to us like Cerastipsocus venosus which BugGuide identifies as an eastern species, though the genus is reported from Arizona.  We have not been able to substantiate any California sightings in our quick search, so they might have been accidentally introduced to your area.  Barklice are benign creatures that feed on lichens and they will not harm trees and plants.  Adults are winged and nymphs are boldly striped.

Tree Cattle

Tree Cattle

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mantis Oothica Hatches

On · Category: Preying Mantis · Add Comment

Subject: Preying Mantis Oothica hatched
Location: Ypsilanti, MI
May 22, 2013 2:03 pm
Hi there bug guys,
A few months ago I submitted a pic and you kindly replied that it was a Preying Mantis Oothica. I kept checking the one surviving Oothica and I was lucky enough to catch them hatching. I have some other shots w my cameras ( this is one from my iphone) but wanted to pass this along  Many many babies, yay!
Thank you again and I love your site
RR
Signature: Rachel

Mantis Oothica Hatches

Mantis Oothica Hatches

Hi again Rachel,
How nice to hear your oothica has hatched.  Just this past weekend we saw a tiny Mantis hatchling scuttling across the carob tree.  We have never found an Oothica in the yard, but we find several California Mantids each year.  We are so happy our garden is home to native Mantids and not an invasive species.  Though organic gardeners often purchase commercially available Oothica so that they can grow foods organically without pesticides, we feel that the larger and more aggressive species like the Chinese Mantids and European Mantids might displace smaller, less aggressive, native species.

 

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Giant Snowball Mealybug from Australia

On · Category: Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers Tagged With: · Add Comment

Subject: Found at work
Location: Victoria, Melbourne
May 22, 2013 8:39 pm
Hi, just wondering if anyone knows what this is please?
Signature: Kim

Snowball Large Mealybug

Giant Snowball Mealybug

Hi Kim,
The first time we received a photo of a Snowball Large Mealybug in the genus Monophlebulus, we had no idea what it was as it looked so very primitive, and Eric Eaton eventually identified it as a Giant Scale Insect.  Several years later when we received another photo, we learned that the Snow Ball Large Mealybug in the genus Monophlebulus at which time Karl who frequently contributes to our site did some wonderful research.  There is a nice photo on Life Unseen and the Brisbane Insect Website has some marvelous photo of members of this genus with the white cottony covering found on so immature Hemipterans.  We have taken the liberty of making the grammatically confusing common name more acceptable by using the compound word and moving the adjective in front of the noun:  Giant Snowball Mealybug has a much better ring to it.  As Karl noted in the previous posting, Ground Pearl is a name for the encysted nymph that is noted on the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Department of Entomology Ornamentals and Turf page.  

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Exemplary Photo of St. Anthony Dune Tiger Beetle

On · Category: Tiger Beetles · 1 Comment

Subject: St. Anthony Dune Tiger Beetle (Cicindela arenicola)
Location: St. Anthony Dunes, Fremont County, Idaho
May 22, 2013 7:59 pm
I thought that you guys might enjoy a picture of this guy.
Signature: Dune Crawler

St Anthony Dune Tiger Beetle

St. Anthony Dune Tiger Beetle

Dear Dune Crawler,
This piebald beetle is a lovely species and your photograph is exemplary.  Thank you for providing us with our first photo of a St. Anthony Dune Tiger Beetle.
P.S.  We rotated your image a quarter of a turn counterclockwise so it would fit better on our site.

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Stout’s Hardwood Borer

On · Category: Powder Post Beetles · Add Comment

Subject: Stout’s Hardwood Borer
Location: Central Hollywood
May 22, 2013 7:56 pm
This is an insect I understand is under represented on your site. I have seen tow of them in and around my apartment. I think it is kinda cute, but it’s jaws scare me a little. I put him outside by the big OLD tree. I hope he is happy there.
Signature: Jessica Brecker

Stout's Hardwood Borer

Stout’s Hardwood Borer

Dear Jessica,
We felt obligated to lighten and crop your image.  We are very impressed with your graphic composition.  You have good sense to be cautious about the mandibles of the Stout’s Hardwood Borer.  It chews its way out of dead wood including, we suspect, telephone poles when it ecloses into an adult.

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Female California Trapdoor Spider

On · Category: Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders · Add Comment

Subject: Chillin’ California Trap Door Spider Beauty
Location: San Pedro, CA
May 22, 2013 7:09 pm
Look who I found! A big beauty in San Pedro in April, 2013. My friend called me and said she’d found a pipe in her bare-earth backyard. She then called back and said it was a tube. I came by to investigate. We gently opened a few trap doors and this beauty clung to the top of her trap door, so I gently removed her. After a weak threat display, I picked her up, took photos, and gently placed her back, thanking her and closing her trap door.
Signature: Darlene King

Female California Trapdoor Spider

Female California Trapdoor Spider

Dear Darlene,
Thank you so much for sending us this exciting posting.  Though we have numerous photos of male California Trapdoor Spiders, Bothriocyrtum californicum, photos of females are noticeable absent on our site.  We believe your identification is correct because of the resemblance to this California Trapdoor Spider on BugGuide.  Up until recently, the information page on BugGuide has been quite spare, but this marvelous addition is quite fascinating: “According to Guinness World Records, as of 2009, this is the strongest spider. It has been able to resist a force 38 times its own weight when defending its trapdoor. This equates to a man trying to hold a door closed while it is being pulled on the other side by a small jet plane!(1) Unfortunately, the Guinness book doesn’t mention if it’s the strongest North American spider or if it’s the strongest in the world. Also, one thing to think about is whether or not every spider’s strength has been measured. I guess one can safely say that the information is flawed in that aspect, but it still asserts the fact that these spiders ARE very strong.”Because of habitat loss in urban areas, California Trapdoor Spiders are becoming scarcer in many parts of their range, including Los Angeles, where the preservation of more open space might be a necessity for their survival.  Our own nearly 36 acre natural gem, Elyria Canyon Park, is likely a contributing factor in the presence of California Trapdoor Spiders where males frequently fall into swimming pools at the start of rainy season.  Me must say we are quite impressed with your handling of this large but benign spider.  Trapdoor Spiders wait patiently in their lairs to pounce upon any small arthropod or possibly even small vertebrate that crosses their perimeter. 

Female California Trapdoor Spider

Female California Trapdoor Spider

We like the use of the dogs for scale.

Almost as big as a dog: Female California Trapdoor Spider

Almost as big as a dog: Female California Trapdoor Spider

 


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Mating Crane Flies

On · Category: Crane Fly Tagged With: · Add Comment

Subject: what kind of bug is this
Location: manchester,connecticut
May 22, 2013 6:45 am
This was found at 9am in Connecticut. It had rained pretty hard with thunder and lightning the night before. I legt to bring the kids to school and daycare. Which took about 30 minutes and it was in the same position when I got back.
Signature: norm delaura

Crane Flies Mating

Crane Flies Mating

Hi Norm,
These are mating Crane Flies in the infraorder Tipulomorpha which can be browsed on BugGuide if you want to try to determine the species.  Because of their long legs, Crane Flies were named after the long legged wading birds called cranes.  Crane Flies are mistakenly called Mosquito Hunters in some parts of the country.  Most Crane Flies do not eat as adults and they do not bite humans.  We will contact Dr. Chen Young who runs the Crane Flies of Pennsylvania website to see if he is able to provide a species identification.

Dr. Chen Young responds:
A mating pair of Tipula trivittata.
Chen

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Clavate Tortoise Beetle

On · Category: Uncategorized · Add Comment

Subject: Weird bug with turtle shape
Location: Southern Connecticut
May 21, 2013 1:09 pm
The bug crawled over to my friend, and we both hadn’t seen anything like it. She immediately noticed what looks like a turtle on the back of the bug, while the edges are semi-translucent. We brought it outside and it disappeared shortly after.
Signature: AF

Clavate Tortoise Beetle

Clavate Tortoise Beetle

Dear AF,
Obviously the Clavate Tortoise Beetle is aptly named if you thought it resembled a turtle.

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