please identify this small moth, black and orange, delta shaped body and wings
Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 1:17 AM
we found this moth on 18/01/09, mid summer, 1100am, approx 27degrees celcius, fine sunny weather, at my house near stockton beach, newcastle on the upper central coast of new south wales australia. it was on a small branch that i cut off a bottle brush tree ‘genus Callistemon’ it is approx 5cm across its wingspan and about 3cm long it is black with distinctive orange markings on its upper wing, it has 2 clear circular ‘windows’ toward its wingtips, it has an orange/pink/red underbody, it has a spiked tail and looks like it may be dangerous. could you please identify it for me, we have extensively searched the CSIRO australan moths website.and have been unsucessful in identifying it.
Dave
-32° 49′ 151° 54′ , on branch near stockton beach, newcastle, new south wales, Australia
Coprosma Hawkmoth
Hi Dave,
We actually did identify your Australian Hawkmoth as Cizara ardeniae on the CSIRO website, but there was no information on the species. Once we had the species name, we found a page on the Coprosma Hawk Moth on the Moth Caterpillars of Australia website which we had searched unsuccessfully earlier.
Cisara ardeniae
That site has many images of the caterpillars and adult moths with this description: “The moth itself is a handsome dark brown, with white edges to the wings and white bars across the wings and abdomen. It normally rests with these white bars aligned on each side to form a single stripe across the moth. This may give effective camouflage, misleading the eye to see the front and back as separate entities, neither of which is especially shaped like a moth. “ The adult moth was also pictured on a 1991 Australian postage stamp.
Coprosma Hawkmoth
I have no idea what this bug is please help
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Hey,
Me and my dad slaughtered a sheep and when after we skinned the head we split ot open and there was this little guy in there. pretty gross right? I couldn’t believe it and have no idea what it is? how it got there? what it eats? and if it transforms into anything? How does it effect the sheep?
Thanks alot Mariam
Egypt
Sheep Bot Fly Larva
Hi Mariam,
We believe this is a Sheep Bot Fly Larva, an endoparasite. We searched Bot Fly Egypt and came up with this online article on the species Oestrus ovis: “Ophthalmomyiasis caused by the sheep bot fly Oestrus ovis in northern Iraq.
Gregory AR ,Schatz S ,Laubach H .
U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Myiasis is the feeding of fly larvae on vertebrates. The sheep bot fly larva of Oestrus ovis is a mammalian parasite of the skin, nose, ears, and eyes. When the larvae infest and feed on the structures of the eye, the condition is termed ophthalmomyiasis. Most often this infestation is limited to the external structures of the eye and is referred to as ophthalmomyiasis externa. The features of this condition are severe local inflammation, positive foreign body sensation, erythema, and lacrimation. Vision may or may not be reduced, depending on involvement of the cornea. A 20-year-old white male soldier sought treatment for an inflamed eye and an irritated cornea OS. His eyelids were swollen with marked periorbital edema and conjunctival erythema OS. On slitlamp examination, small whitish organisms were viewed on the conjunctiva OS. The organisms were removed, preserved, and sent to Nova Southeastern University where they were identified as O. ovis first-stage larvae. The patient was treated with antibiotic ointment, and the inflammation resolved within 1 week. O. ovis has a worldwide distribution, and although sheep are the preferred host, humans may also serve as an intermediate host in the organism’s life cycle. This case represents one of several reports of ophthalmomyiasis in the Middle East caused by O. ovis. U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and surrounding areas are vulnerable to eye infestation by fly larvae, and health care providers need to include this condition in their differential diagnosis of anterior segment inflammatory disorders. “ You may also want to look at Dennis Kunkel’s Microscopy image of the head of a Sheep Bot Fly Larva.
¶ Posted 17 January 2009 § Maggots ‡ ° What type of sulphur butterfly is this?
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 11:29 AM
I took a picture of this butterfly while in South Florida on the edge of the Loxahatchee River. I would say the plants in the area are typical of south florida and or wetlands. I found various sulphur butterflies, but I could not find any that were the same green color and am hoping you could help me to identify it.
Madcalabrian
Riverbend Park, Jupiter Florida
Cloudless Sulphur
Dear Madcalabrian,
This sure looks like a Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis sennae, to us. According to BugGuide, the Cloudless Sulphur may be identifiede by the following description: “upperside of male wings lemon yellow or pale greenish-yellow with no markings; female forewing with small dark spot, usually a narrow blackish outer margin, and a few vague dark dots near tip. Underside of hindwing with two silver black-rimmed spots in both sexes.” This butterfly breeds in the Southern states and strays north in the fall.
Huge unknown insect from Brazil
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 3:18 AM
Thanks for identification, and here are the spider pics. Imagine this making
a run for inside you house. This is not one of the spiders I would want to
swallow in my sleep. Part of the fun of living somewhere like brazil is all
of the new things you see everyday (that and the pretty girls in bikinis)
Dave
Florianopolis, Brazil
Tarantula
Thanks for sending us your Tarantula image Dave. We are posting the image of you with the Tarantula for scale. Regarding your comment about swallowing the Tarantula, we heard in the past from entomophagy expert David Gracer that Tarantulas are edible once the stinging hairs are singed off. Finally, we always thought swimsuits were optional in Brazil.
Tarantula with Dave for scale
2
Strange Cockroach (?)
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 10:41 AM
I keep seeing these bugs in my bathroom which vary greatly in size. they run between being less than a centimeter in size to almost half an inch. They have long antennae coming out of both ends and it seems sort of furry around the head area and are yellow/gold with black/grey spots. It almost seems like an immature kind of beetle. I finally caught one to post a picture, they are unbelievably fast! Sorry the photo isn’t closer or more clear, they move like there’s no tomorrow! Can you please tell me what these creepy bugs infesting my bathroom are!?
Taylor W.
Denver, Co
Silverfish
Hi Taylor,
You have Silverfish, a common household pest. You can find much information online about the difficult to eradicate Silverfish.
Can u tell me what bug this is?
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 8:21 AM
I found this bug in my terrace today and i just want to know what kind of bug this is can you please help me
Gerard
Philippines
Katydid
Hi Gerard,
This is some species of Katydid, but we need to try to research exactly what species. That swordlike ovipositor, despite looking like a stinger, is actually used by the female to lay eggs. Your specimen is obviously a female Katydid. We have never seen a Katydid that looked like this and we are very curious to find out more information about it.
yea i have never did also thats whi i sent you the pic it even has a white patch near the front. to tell u the truth the swordlike ovipositor on the bug as i was approaching it she kind of puts her head own and sticks that tail up in the air like some sort of defense.
Small, pea-soup green, hairy critter
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 2:27 PM
See the photos
Curious
Gulf south (USA)
Asp
Dear Curious,
This is a Southern Flannel Moth Caterpillar, Megalopyge opercularis. It is sometimes called an Asp and it stings.
Asp
¶ Posted 15 January 2009 § Asps ‡ ° what´s this?
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 12:18 PM
is this a spyder?, what is it. Dangerous???, found under a pyle of stuff
gabriel
mexico
Tailless Whipscorpion
Hola Gabriel,
We never tire of posting images of the harmless, shy, nocturnal, predatory Tailless Whipscorpion. They are Arachnids, but not spiders.
I like This
