Double red headed bug?
Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Hi,
I was mineral hounding in southern california a few days ago and found this bug(?) underneath a stone. Although the picture isn`t good, you can recognize its kind of fluffy red head, the antennae and the six legs. The the size was just below an inch.
Thank you for your help
Patrick
Riverside, California
Velvet Ant
Hi Patrick,
Your photo is blurry, and we are far from experts in the genus Dasymutilla, the Velvet Ants. Female Velvet Ants are flightless wasps that can sting painfully. The harmless male wasps have wings. If we were to hazard a guess, we would saty that this is Dasymutilla aureola pacifica based on images posted to BugGuide.
Bright Red Crab-like Bug
Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 2:21 PM
My brother found this on a house plant. He lives in Brazil. Have any idea what this is and if it’s poisonous?
Clayton Robinson
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Slug Caterpillar
Hi Clayton,
While we cannot tell you the species, we suspect this is a Slug Caterpillar in the family Limacodidae. Your specimen closely resembles the Monkey Slug or Hag Moth Caterpillar which can be viewed on BugGuide. Slug Caterpillars have stinging spines and the sting can be quite painful and stays irritated for several days.
Update:
Daniel:
I think this slug caterpillar may have been posted before (Brazilian Monkey Slug Caterpillar – December 18th, 2007). In a follow-up note, the poster (Luiz) commented that the local name was “Lagarta-Aranha” which translated roughly to “Spider Caterpillar”. That name seems to be applied to a variety of Limacodidae caterpillars in Brazil, but most commonly to Phobetron hipparchia, an extremely variable species that ranges widely throughout the tropical Americas. That’s the same genus as the North American Monkey Slug Caterpillar (P. pithecium)and they do look very similar. Regards.
Karl
Bug from Australia
Sun, Jan 18, 2009 at 4:56 PM
Never seen this before, found in front yard of my house on a Elm tree leaf, the photo doesnt do it justice it looks much more buetiful in real life thats why i ran into my house to grab the camera and it moves around so swiftly, we are in the middle of summer january 18
bkorpar
Melbourne Doncaster
Beautiful Cockroach
Dear bkorpar,
According to the Insects of Brisbane website, this is a Beautiful Cockroach or Austral Ellipsidion, Ellipsidion australe. According to the site: “This Cockroach is active at day time, running freely on the leaves and flowers. Most other cockroaches are scavengers, they feed on almost everything. We are not exactly sure what this Austral Ellipsidion Cockroach feed on, but they are always found on plants, seldom on the ground. They are believed feed on pollen, honeydew and mould fungus.”
shiny stinkbug colony
Sun, Jan 18, 2009 at 8:49 AM
dear bugman
I found a bunch of stinkbugs huddled on a leaf in a mangrove swamp.Could you help me identify them?Why are they huddled together?Are they laying eggs?
Thanks
Curious
Singapore
Jewel Bugs
Dear Curious,
In our opinion, there are Shield Bugs or Jewel Bugs in the family Scutelleridae, not Stink Bugs in the family Pentatomidae. Interestingly, the closest image we could locate online is on the Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore website, and the matching insects are identified as Calliphara nobilis in the Family Pentatomidae and indicates: “Larvae are found only on Excoecaria agallocha, feeding on developing seeds, but adults can be abundant in gregarious swarms beneath any large leaves (e.g., Rhizophora spp.) and disperse with a loud buzzing when disturbed.” The plant that is mentioned as the larval food, Excoecaria agallocha or Buta-Buta, looks identical to the plant leaf in your photo. We tried searching that name, and found a mounted specimen on an Australian Government website, but the colors are different and the spots are larger and the family is identified as Scutelleridae. The spot size may be variable and the colors may fade with death. An untranslated Asian website has many images of the species, and other than being much greener than your image, they look remarkably similar. Sadly, the species is not represented on one of these lovely stamps.
Jewel Bugs
Update: April 2, 2011
We just posted a new letter and consequently, we have identified these Jewel Bugs as Mangrove Stink Bugs, Calliphara nobilis.
tarantula in costa rica?
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 3:00 PM
hi there,
we found this one taking refuge from the rain last night in our room near san isidro, costa rica… wondering if you can tell us what it is and whether it’s f or m?
thanks so much!
kyla
san isidro, costa rica
Unknown Tarantula from Costa Rica
Hi Kyla,
After searching the images on the Tarantula Photo Gallery Website, we don’t feel that we have the necessary skills to provide you with an accurate identification. There are not enough similarities to make the Costa Rican Tigerump , Cyclosternum fasciatum, a definite positive ID. We couldn’t find a satisfactory match on the Gallery of Tarantulas webpage, but there are several species from Venezuala and Costa Rica named Suntigers. The dark diamond pattern between the red markings on your specimen is very distinctive, and doesn’t match anything we can find. After 45 minutes of unsuccessful searching, the best we can do is to post your image and hope an Arachnophile has the answers to your questions.
Update: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:52:56 -0800 (PST)
Hi, Daniel:
I suspect the ornate tarantula from Costa Rica is a juvenile specimen, in which case there is no telling what gender it is. Males do not get their secondary sexual characteristics until their final molt into adulthood. Many species can be quite colorful as immatures, while being rather “dull” in color as adults. Not sure if anyone will be able to conclude the identification if it ‘is’ a baby.
Eric
Pantry moths Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Hi, Bugman! I just spent the day cleaning out my pantry, re-packaging food, and cleaning everything down.
I am having a problem with small tan moths that I haven’t been able to identify online. I see the moths most often at night, and they seem attracted to lights. The moths are about 1/2 inch long.
The closest match I can find is the angoumois moth. As you can see from the attached pic, they do have a fringe at the ends of their wings. However, the pics I’ve seen of angoumois moths show pointier wings. And my moths all have a pair of large brown spots midway on the wings.
Erika
Pacific Northwest
Mediterranean Flour Moth???
Hi Erika,
Most Pantry Moths we receive are Indian Meal Moths, but we believe you have Mediterranean Flour Moths or Mill Moths, Anagasta kuehniella, or sometimes Ephestia kuehniella . The PennState College of Agricultural Sciences Department of Entomology has fact sheet on the Mediterranean Flour Moth with drawings, and describes the moth as: “a pale-gray color and from one-forth to one-half inch long, with a wingspread of slightly less than one inch. The wings are marked with two indistinct, black zigzag lines. The hindwings are a dirty white. When at rest, the moth extends the forelegs which raises the head and gives the body a sloping appearance. This posture is very distinctive and is a more reliable character for identification than the wing markings which may be rubbed off. “ There is also a drawing on the UK Stored Product Insects website. The larger size of your specimen is a contributing factor to our hesitant identification, but we eagerly welcome a more expert opinion on this matter. Though it doesn’t have a photo that resembles your moth, we found the very helpful Kendall Bioresearch Services Domestic Moth page.
Blue and Red Spiked Caterpillar
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 8:39 PM
Blue and Red Spiked Caterpillar
While wandering along a wooded path in northern Idaho, I found this amazing looking caterpillar in the high bushes. The colorful red and blue spikes really make it stand out, but i have been unsuccessful in identification. It was mid August and i was along the mountainous shores of Pend Orielle Lake. Thanks for your help!
Sarah
Northern Idaho
Silkmoth Caterpillar: Genus Hyalophora
Hi Sarah,
Your caterpillar appears to be one of the earlier instars of a Silkmoth in the genus Hyalophora. Caterpillars molt four times, once between each of the five instars. The instars often look quite different, and many times field guides only hshow the final or firth instar. We believe this may be the third instar of either the Ceanothus Silkmoth, Hyalophora euryalus , or perhaps Glovers Silkmoth, Hyalophora columbia gloveri , or perhaps another species without a common name, Hyalophora kasloensis. All three are found in Idaho. We are going to contach Bill Oehlke to see if he can identify your caterpillar more exactly. He may want to know the exact county and date of the sighting.
Daniel,
It appears to be Hyalophora kasloensis which may be a self sustaining hybrid of H. euryalus and H. columbia gloveri. Usually if all of the thoracic and abdominal tubercles are red, the insect gets classified as kasloensis, but could also just be a local race or variation of euryalus. It is also possible that kasloensis is a valid species, not just a self sustaining (capable of reproduction) hybrid. You could safely call it Hyalophora kasloensis
Bill Oehlke
Thanks Bill,
We considered Hyalaphora kasloensis as the most likely candidate by searching the listings for Idaho on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site, the membership only website. Readers may find out more about the site as well as seeing a photo of the adult moth by viewing the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site
Fifteen 2007 Individual Photo Finalists.
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