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Update: Our Book is back from the Copy Editor

March 16, 2010
Yesterday, we received the proofed manuscript of our book, The Curious World of Bugs, from the copy editor with all the spelling and grammar errors corrected.  We have two weeks to provide an introduction, a reference page, and a list of illustrations and their placement within the manuscript.  This has to be a priority for us, so between now and the beginning of April, we may not be able to answer and post as many letters, but we vow to post at least one new letter per day.

Posted Site News § Administrative ‡ Comments (0) °

BUG OF THE MONTH March 2010: Snowfly and a Snow Flea

Ed. Note: February 28, 2010
Selecting the Bug of the Month each month is always a careful decision, and we like to try to select a recent submission that is timely in its appearance.  Insects that appear while there is still snow on the ground are unusual, but not at all rare.  This Snowfly is a creature that may be encountered by a sizable portion of our readership in the coming month.

Snow bugs?
February 24, 2010
Sorry to bug you all again (pun not intended, I assure you!)
But today at the river getting some photos of the snow, I saw these black things scurrying across the top. On a closer look, I noticed they were some kind of flying insect. Some were hitching a ride on another (or mating, not sure). I was careful not to step on any of them. (I hope I didn’t!). I’m sorry the photos aren’t great, but I don’t have the right lens for that. To be honest, they looked like miniature Dobson flies! Some were about almost an inch long. They were only at the river. What are these little guys?
Thanks a bunch, Terra
River, Massachusetts

Snowfly

Hi Terra,
Despite the snow, many insects are active during the winter months.  In the winter we frequently get images like yours of Snowflies, a group of Winter Stoneflies in the family Capniidae.  Though we do not refrain from posting photos that our readership takes during the summer months when the short cold days of winter allow people kept people indoors to work on the computer more, we much prefer timely postings like yours.  According to BugGuide Snowfly:  “nymphs live beneath rocks and gravel on the bottom of streams and rivers adults are often seen on snow, or resting on concrete bridges over streams” which explains your sighting near the water in the snow.  We wish you had provided an image of a mating pair for our Bug Love section.  One of your images contains a tiny Springtail in the genus Hypogastrura, and the species that are found on the snow are known as  Snow Fleas.  You may read more about these in our archive as well as on BugGuide.

Snowfly and Snow Flea

Wow! Thank you so much for the fast reply! I’m quite interested to hear more about these guys- they’re quite cute!
I’ll have to have a read on them, thank you!
(And sorry for the quality of the images- it was dark out!)

Ed. Note: After posting this letter and photos, a second photo of a Snowfly resulted in a request from the Xerces Society to use the image in an Endangered Species Act petition .  Read about that here.


Posted § Springtails! § Stoneflies and Snowflies ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged:

WTB? Makes List of top 25 Entomology Blogs

What’s That Bug?
January 27, 2010
Hi,
I just published an article on my site, “Top 25 Entomology Blogs” ( http://www.onlinedegree.net/top-25-entomology-blogs/ ). First, I am happy to let you know that your site has been included in the article and if you have any questions about that article, how your site is described, etc. I wanted to let you know that you should feel free to email me. In addition, I thought I would bring it to your attention in case you think your readers might find it interesting and consequently would consider giving the article a mention on your site.
In any case, thanks for your time!
Best,
Anna Miller

Hi Anna,
Thanks for including us on your list and we have posted the link on our homepage.  It will eventually archive to fanmail.  We checked out the competition, and we are proud that unlike most of your awardees, we actually post daily.
Daniel

Posted § Administrative ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Unknown Preying Mantis from Pakistan

Praying mantis
March 18, 2010
Need help in correct identification of this species of praying mantis. They open their arm only when they walk, otherwise the look like you see in picture.
birdy
Pakistan

Unknown Preying Mantis

Hi Birdy,
We are posting your Preying Mantis, though we are unsure of the species.  Perhaps one of our readers will be able to assist in the identification.
We wonder, perhaps, it it might be a Dead Leaf Mantis, Deroplatys Dessicata, which is profiled on the Insect Store website.  We wish you had provided additional photos.  Websites with numerous mantis images include Mantis and Dragons and MantisUSA.

Posted 19 March 2010 § Praying Mantis ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Valley Carpenter Bee

Valley Carpenter Bee?
March 18, 2010
Found this beautiful carpenter bee pillaging my flower garden. I’m pretty sure it’s a valley carpenter bee, but thought you might like the pics…
David
Los Angeles, CA

Valley Carpenter Bee

Hi David,
You are correct in your identification of this female Valley Carpenter Bee.  We currently have several gathering nectar from our wisteria, and when the sweet peas bloom, they gather nectar from them as well.  We have yet to see a golden male this year.

Valley Carpenter Bee

Posted 18 March 2010 § Valley Carpenter Bee ‡ Comments (0) °

Tailless Whipscorpion from Costa Rica

Very fast strange spider
March 18, 2010
Hi i was in the mountains of costa rica a few mounths ago, in a village near Atenas, while there we saw a couple of these spiders. it appeared to have “pinchers” instead of fangs which you would expect on a spider, i have searched all over the internet and cannot find another picture like it can you help?
not sure what you mean here
Costa Rica, Atenas

Tailless Whipscorpion

Dear not sure,
This is a harmless Tailless Whipscorpion.

Posted 18 March 2010 § Scorpions, Whipscorpions and Vinegaroons ‡ Comments (0) °

Striped Hawkmoth from Syria

ALL I KNOW THAT IT’S A MOTH
March 18, 2010
i found this beautiful and cute moth,just 1 meter from my front door.she was shaking and did not fly away as i held it.
i noticed the beautiful orange hidden wings…
i wanted to know what is it…so you are the best ones to ask buggy buddy..!!
BTW , we see these moth in coastern cities of syria,but i found this one in a dry area.
WAEL
ALEPPO,SYRIA,MIDDLE EAST

Striped Hawkmoth

Hi WAEL,
Your moth is a Striped Hawkmoth, Hyles livornica, and it very closely resembles a North American species, the Striped Morning Sphinx, Hyles lineata.  Both species occasionally have population explosions.  Just over a year ago, we received a letter from Iraq with a photo showing hundreds of Striped Hawkmoths that had been attracted to the lights on an oil drilling rig.

Striped Hawkmoth

Posted 18 March 2010 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (1) °

Kiawe Round Headed Borer from Hawaii

spotted flying insect with red legs
March 18, 2010
On a visit to Hanauma Bay on Oahu last summer, I took a picture of a bug I havent seen before. This was my first and last time seeing this creature. I think the bug was about 2-3cm long.
curious
hawaii

Kiawe Round Headed Borer

Dear curious,
Two months ago we received a letter with a photo, and we identified a pair of mating Kiawe Round Headed Borers, Placosternus crinicornis, the same species depicted in your photograph.  Like many creatures on Hawaii, the Kiawe Round Headed Borer is not native, and it can be found on the Invasive Species website.

Posted 18 March 2010 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Katydid from Guatemala

A Katydid?
March 17, 2010
Hi Daniel,
Eric Eaton sent me to you and he believes the picture I am attaching is a katydid. At first, thought it was some sort of kissing bug because I live in Antigua Guatemala and woke up one morning to this bugger on a spray bottle in my kitchen. It was huge and scared the daylights out of me! I’m also attaching another picture of a spider my husband found (he works in the Peten in the middle of the jungle.) Was wondering if it is a species of Wolf Spider? (it was the size of my husband’s hand.) Any help would be appreciate.
Natasha
Guatemala

Katydid

Hi Natasha,
We will address you identification requests in different postings.  This is definitely a Katydid, but we do not know the species.  It is a female.  We will contact katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki to see if he recognizes the species.

Hi Daniel,
This is a female of Nannonotus alatus (Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae), a species common at mid- to high elevations  (especially in Alajuela and San Jose Provinces), where it can be found under bark of tall trees.
Cheers,
Piotr

Posted 18 March 2010 § Katydids ‡ Comments (0) °

Unknown Spider

orange spider
March 17, 2010
My name is Brianna. I was wondering what kind of spider this was. it has large palps. its legs are black and its body is a neon reddish orange color. I found it hanging of the railing of my open porch.
Bri
Clinton, TN

Unknown Spider

Hi Bri,
This really is an unusual looking spider.  We are posting the photo before we attempt to identify it.  We are a bit busy now and we hope one of our readers will be able to provide an answer.

Posted 17 March 2010 § Spiders ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Feather Horned Longicorn from Australia

Loved this Longicorn
March 17, 2010
Hey there, I can’t find a picture of this longicorn anywhere to ID it. I fell in love with him.
Colour is drab, but cute factor is enormous (see pic 2)
Body 17mm, antennae 25mm. (one appears to be broken short)
Lived in my flat for a week. After looking up a similar bug to find what habitat he would like I realised how obvious it was – his markings and antennae shape are perfect camouflage for aussie leaf litter.
Photos are my attempt to coax him onto paper with moist woody bits . Instead he just dragged some onto himself. Ah, gotta love em.
Lisa
Sydney Australia

Feather Horned Longicorn

Hi Lisa,
Just over a year ago, we received two requests to identify this awesome Feather Horned Longicorn, Piesarthrius marginellus.  The Csiro Science Image website has a photo for comparison, as does the Worldwide Cerambycidae Photo Gallery.

Feather Horned Longicorn

Dear Carlos
Thankyou so much for your reply, it was incredibly helpful. When I looked at the previous request you directed me to, here in this vast Australian continent, I was amazed to see the post was from my suburb.
Lane Cove, although close to the city, extremely built up and urban, is lucky to back onto Lane Cove National park – a diverse old ecosystem. Perhaps this odd variety evolved there, the coincidence is extraordinary.
Highest regards
Lisa

Ed. Note: We can’t help but to wonder who Carlos is.

Hey Daniel …Carlos.. whatever.
I rolled around laughing at your succinct reply.
I am sure who Carlos is.
Unfortunately, he is a rather nasty criminal who was being blabbed about on the news when I was writing that email!
The phonetic association with your surname must’ve sprung a coil in my very huge and tightly wound brain.
Humblest apologies. But gee I enjoyed the gaffaw.
Hope if sometime I write to you again, there’s a report on Einstein or Gandhi in the noise space.
Dear Albert…
Lisa
..must go fix that darn loose cranium spring…mutter mutter.

Posted 17 March 2010 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Tiger Swallowtail, but what species???

Canadian or Eastern Tiger Swallowtail?
March 15, 2010
This picture was taken May 2009 in upstate NY (near Albany). I’ve narrowed it down to either a Canadian or Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly and wondered if you could help with a specific identification. Thank you!
Naomi
Albany, NY

Which Tiger Swallowtail???

Hi Naomi,
We haven’t the necessary skills to differentiate between the various Tiger Swallowtails without doing research.  Perhaps one of our readers can supply the answer in the event we cannot immediately turn our attention to the answer.  In the meanwhile, we are experiencing lilac envy.  We planted two lilacs in our garden last year that were bred to bloom in Southern California which does not have the necessary cold winter for the most lilacs.  We are still awaiting the spring growth, and at this time, we are uncertain if we will be getting any blooms.

Posted 17 March 2010 § swallowtails ‡ Comments (1) °

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