From the monthly archives: "September 2007"
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Florida Hornworm

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moth caterpillar?
Hello Bugman,
We found the caterpillars in the attached image on a Euphorbia sp. (pedalanthous) in our butterfly garden in Hollywood, Florida. We rummaged through all your caterpillar pages and did not make a positive I.D. The darker (later instar??) caterpillar is ~90mm. long, so we think the resulting moth(???) is large, perhaps a Sphynx species. We will appreciate any assistance you or your interested readers can provide. Best regards,
Jana and Stephen

Hi Jana and Stephen,
This one has us stumped and curious. This is a Sphinx Moth Caterpillar. It looks like a member of the genus Hyles to us, but a Euphorbia feeding species that looks similar is not reported from anywhere near Florida. We have contacted Bill Oehlke and hope he can clear up the mystery. We suspect he might request permission to post your photo to his site as well. Bill Oehlke quickly responded: “Daniel, They are one of the Erinnyis species which can be very variable I suspect ello, but they could also be alope. Thanks for thinking of me. I will ask for a second opinion and get back to you. Bill Oehlke “

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Saddled Prominent

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caterpillar2
We found this caterpillar crawling on my husband’s shirt. I placed him on a hibiscus for his photo shoot. We live in south Louisiana. Thanks.
Marcie Melancon

Hi Marcie,
This is one of the Prominent Moth Caterpillars in the genus Heterocampa, probably the Saddled Prominent, Heterocampa guttivitta.

Related posts:

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Pandora Sphinx Caterpillar

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Unknown caterpillar on grape leaf
Hi-
We found this on one of our grape leaves yesterday (9/29/07) (Rochester, NY). Do you know what it is? Thanks!
Jeff
Rochester, NY

Hi Jeff,
Adult Pandora Sphinx images were common this year, and this is the distinctive caterpillar of the equally distinctive moth.

Related posts:

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Locust Borer

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Locust Borer on goldenrod.
Hey bugman,
I think its really cool that the Locust borer is the new bug of the month for October. I have seen several this season and taken some pictures. This is the best one. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy your website, which is a lot!
Mike D

Hi Mike,
Adult Locust Borers are active in the fall, and are commonly associated with goldenrod where they feed on nectar and pollen..

Related posts:

Locust Borer Locust Borer Locust Borer or Hickory Borer Locust Borer
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Chinese Water Scorpion

On · Category: Toe Biters and other Aquatic True Bugs Tagged With: · Add Comment

Water Scorpion, Toe Biter
Hi, I currently live in China and found this guy. Thanks to your site I think I’ve indentified him as a toe biter, but thought you might like the photo. The body was around 3", not including the snorkel, tail thing.
Jeremy Daum, Kunming, Yunnan, China

Hi Jeremy,
This is a Water Scorpion in the genus Nepa. Thanks for sending us your photo.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

White Spotted Sawyer

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crab spider and white spotted sawyer
I sent these pics in some time ago, though I know you’re behind. Just in case the recent net troubles led to their loss, I’ve sent again. The sawyer was in my back yard in Duluth, Minnesota. The crab spider I spotted on the side of the road, again in Duluth, Minnesota. I was walking past, and thought I spied a wasp, only to look closer and find it in the clutches of this beautiful spider. Love the site!
Heidi

Hi Heidi,
Generally, the way we post letters now is to try to quickly (though it is never a quick process) the letters that come in on a given day at the end of the day. Then we select the most interesting letters and try to post as many as possible. Some days, it can be as many as 7 letters, though most days we are lucky if we can post 3. Sadly, many interesting letters with wonderful images never make it to the site. We are posting your Spotted Sawyer image, and even though the Crab Spider photo is quite wonderful, we already have numerous Crab Spiders and their prey on our site. Thanks again for your interest.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Red Banded Crab Spider probably

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What is it?
I found this black and stark white spider on a sage bush in my backyard. I live in Manhattan Beach, California. Do you know what it is? Thanks,
Cathy

Hi Cathy,
This is a female Crab Spider in the family Thomisidae. Many spiders in this family are highly variable in coloration. We believe this to be the Red Banded Crab Spider, Misumenoides formosipes. According to a San Diego website: “The female’s color pattern is variable; the body is white to yellowish in color. The carapace has wide lateral bands and there are paired markings are on the abdomen ; the bands and markings are black to reddish in color. The abdominal markings may be pale and indistinct. The legs have reddish bands. The color pattern for males is similar to the female’s but generally with red or brown legs.”

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Joro Spider eats Ladybug

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Spider from Korea: Golden Orb Web Spider?
Hello,
I read that you’re swamped, so I apologize for making your day harder. I took some photos of this spider in southwestern South Korea. Looking through some other posts it sort of resembles a Golden Orb Web Spider found in China, but after googling it I couldn’t find any exact matches. It measured just under two inches (including legs). Here it is eating a ladybug. Thanks for your help!
Brian
Suncheon, South Korea

Hi Brian,
This is a relative of the Golden Silk Spider, Nephila clavipes, found in the southern portions of the U.S. It is Nephila clavata, and is known as the Joro Spider due to its Japanese name, joro-gumo. According to Wikipedia: “The spider can be found throughout Japan except Hokkaid?, in Korea ,Taiwan and China . Due to the large size as well as the bright, unique colors of the species of the female Nephila , the spider is well-favored in Japan.”

Related posts:

nephila_japan_keithGolden Silk Spider from Japan: Joro-Gumo Golden Silk Spider in Indonesia Golden Silk Spider from China Golden Silk Spider from China
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination