Tobacco Moth
Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 9:25 AM
Hi WTB, could you tell me how long it takes for the hornworm catepillar (which enjoys devouring our tomato vines in late summer) to “morph” into what we call the tobacco / hummingbird moth, which we love watching flock by the 100s to our flower beds in the evening.
Jay
Eastern Carolina
Carolina Sphinx
Hi Jay,
Either the Carolina Spinx, Manduca sexta, or the Five Spotted Hawk Moth, Manduca quinquemaculatus, would qualify for the name Tobacco Moth and the two are quite similar in appearance. Both are found in the Carolinas and the larvae of both feed on the same plants, including tomatos. Your photos are of the Carolina Sphinx, at least the photo that depicts the individual with the six yellow spots on the abdomen. Pupation may be as short as a few weeks, or it may last throughout the winter in the colder portions of the species range. Your action photos are wonderful.
Carolina Sphinx
Butterfly Bird
Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 8:41 PM
10/07/06 – Phoenix, Arizona – Just past sunset – I spotted this “butterfly / hummingbird”. I remember it quite large, about the size of my fist, maybe slightly smaller (although the pictures don’t justify that) and it’s wings were moving as fast as a hummingbird. It reminded me of a humming bird in every flying sense however, it had the face of a butterfly with large antennae and beautiful (thin) wings. It let me take numerous pictures before disappearing. In many of the pictures you can see it’s long straw -like tongue.
Still Amazed
Phoenix, Arizona
White Lined Sphinx
Dear Still Amazed,
This is a White Lined Sphinx or Striped Morning Sphinx, Hyles lineata, one of the Hawk Moths. It is probably the most common Hawk Moth in North America and is found in all 48 lower states. It is a common desert species and after a rainy year, thousands of caterpillars appear. Those years, the adult moths are also quite plentiful. The caterpillar feeds on many plants, but fuschia is a favorite. The adult moths are often attracted to lights where they are found resting the following day. Moths take nectar from many flowers, including the lantana in your photo, and honeysuckle. Your action photos are spectacular.
White Lined Sphinx
2
Beetle from Cloud forest in Ecuadorian Andes
Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 8:46 PM
We just got back from Milpe in Ecuador (elevation 1500 meters) and came across this beautiful beetle. Can you ID?
BTW. We saw an almost identical Scorpion bug in the Amazon as the one noted in Thailand. I am attaching pic. Amazing how they can be found in areas so far away from each other.
Mtnchk
Milpe Ecuador
Click Beetle: genus Semiotus
Dear Mtnchk,
We not be able to ever get you a definitive species identification on your beetle, but first we need to start with the family. We are not sure if your beetle is a Jewel Beetle (AKA Metallic Wood Boring Beetle) in the family Buprestidae, or a Click Beetle in the family Elateridae. Our first thought was a Buprestid because of the coloration, but the thoracic area has us inclined to speculate that this is an Elaterid. Click Beetles get their common name from their ability to snap their bodies at the junction of the thorax and abdomen. If the beetle finds itself on its back, this ability allows it to right itself by snapping its body against the hard ground, propelling the beetle high into the air and producing an audible clicking sound. Most North American Click Beetles are drab in coloration, but some tropical species are brightly colored. We hope one of our expert contributors will be able to at least narrow the family and perhaps identify the species.
Tailless Whipscorpion
Also, thanks for including your Ecuadorean example of a Tailless Whipscorpion.
Update: from Eric Eaton
Hi, Daniel:
It is indeed a click beetle, in the genus Semiotus. The whole genus is quite colorful!
Eric
Dear Daniel,
This is fantastic. I really appreciate your quick and thorough response. What a great website you have and I have actually given you a very positive rating as a new website for “Stumble upon” where I was when I came upon your website. I hope this gives you many more hits which lead to some financial gains- you certainly deserve it!
Mtnchk (Rebecca
Update:
Hi Daniel
It goes by the common name ‘Cucuya’ in Ecuador and it is a click beetle (family Elateridae); probably Semiotus illigeri. It occurs in Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia and Ecuador. Semiotus is a large neotropical genus with 31 representatives in Ecuador. Images are hard to find but the ‘Natural History Museum of Los Angeles’ has posted a report on the genus that includes numerous distribution maps and excellent color plates (look for Figure 227). Regards.
Karl
http://www.nhm.org/research/publications/Contributions_in_Science/CS514.pdf
a bug found in Middle of Thailand.
Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 3:36 AM
we found this bug in a cave in the Middle of Thailand. It walks as the crab, and has 4 pairs of legs and 1 pair of pliers.
the of the bug is about 15cm in width and 10cm in length.
more detail in the image.
Hans Ngo – www.bikechina.org – The Ghost Rider Team
A bat cave in middle of Thailand.
Tailless Whipscorpion
Hi Hans,
We have gotten photos of harmless Tailless Whipscorpions from many places around the world. These are shy nocturnal hunters that are totally harmless since they lack venom.
Costa Rican beetle
Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 12:57 PM
We were in Costa Rica this January, and found this beetle on the floor of the patio one evening. I’d estimate it was 4 or 5 inches long. The people we were staying with hadn’t seen anything like it before. I’m curious what type of beetle it is, and if the orange “fuzz” on it is part of the beetle, or some sort of pollen or fungal infection.
Dawn
Costa Rica (Central Pacific)
Weevil from Costa Rica
Hi Dawn,
We haven’t the time at the moment to identify the species, but this is a Weevil. We are relatively certain we have identified this species in the past and it is in our Weevil archives. The fuzz is a characteristic of the weevil, and is neither pollen nor fungus.
Thanks so much for your response! I did look through the archive before writing, but missed the “earlier posts” link. It is in there, and it looks like it’s a Bottlebrush Weevil ( Rhinostomus barbirostris) .
Dawn
Thanks for doing our research Dawn. We were certain we had identified it once before.
Clarification:
Daniel:
You are quite right, this weevil has appeared on WTB before, in fact it has been posted at least twice (Jordan from Costa Rica – 12 March 2007; Lisa from Panama – 02 May 2006). It was previously identified as the ‘Bottlebrush Weevil’ (Rhinostomus barbirostris) and the Cuban Weevil (Rhina oblita). To clarify (or perhaps confuse) Rhinostomus barbirostris was formerly Rhina barbirostris, and Rhina oblita has been changed to Rhinostomus oblitus. They both look quite similar but their distributions are different. The reported distribution for R. oblitus is Cuba, Hispaniola, the Bahamas and perhaps Mexico and Brazil. R. barbirostris occurs in southern Mexico, Central America and most of South America. Based on that, I suggest it is probably R. barbirostris, the Bottlebrush Weevil. Both species feed on a variety of palms but are not considered a pest because they tend to target old or otherwise stressed trees. Regards.
Karl
¶ Posted 10 February 2009 § Weevils ‡ ° Insect
Sunday, Feb 8, 2009 at 3:48 PM
I found this insect between branches and grass. It was moving very slow and just like a spider it was able to walk on wall and similar vertical places. I would like to know what type of insect it is, because I have never seen anything like this.
Monika
Skopje, Macednia
Mantis from Macedonia
Hi Monika,
Your insect is some species of Mantis. First we needed to do a web search on your location, and now know that Skopje is in Macedonia. We thought your insect resembled an immature Wandering Violin Mantis, Gongylus gongylodes, but the information we have been able to locate indicates that species ranges in India and Sri Lanka, but that it is a popular pet species. We have not had any luck identifying a native Macedonian Mantis that resembles your specimen, and we have concluded that there are two possibilities regarding your species’ identification. Either it is native to Macedonia and possibly a close relative of Gongylus gongylodes, or it is an accidentally escaped or released pet specimen. Hopefully, one of our readers may be able to provide a more concrete identification.
Mantis from Macedonia
Update: from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
Have no idea on the mantid. They just aren’t my “thing….” I know there is at least one “mantis forum” bulletin board out there, so you might try them.
Eric
Update: Monday, February 6, 2009
Hi Daniel:
I believe this is Empusa fasciata. If go to the CamelPhoto.com forum there several wonderful pictures of a sub-adult photographed in Thessaloniki, Macedonia that looks like an exact match. Regards.
Karl
Thanks KArl,
The TrekNature Website calls this the Cone Head Mantis.
Pest on Rose Stem
Sun, Feb 8, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Hello! My sister-in-law gave me this segment of a stem from her rose bush growing in California’s central valley in hopes I could identify it. Can you please hekp me? I realize the photo isn’t very good but I am reluctant to take the stem out of the baggy for fear of further spreading whatever the pest is. Thanks so much!
HHoneybee
San Joaquin Valley, California
Katydid Eggs
Hi HHoneybee,
These are Katydid Eggs, and though Katydids eat the leaves from plants including roses, we have a difficult time considering them to be plant pests. They do not do any lasting damage to the plant and they do not spread diseases. Katydids are attractive grasshopper-like insects that are generally green, which camouflages them against the leaves they feed upon. Occasionally we find Katydids eating the blossoms of our roses, but we never kill the insects. At most, we relocate them to another plant. Adult Katydids are sometimes attracted to lights, and many species are among our most “vocal” insects, producing mating calls by a method known as stridulation. We are uncertain which species of Katydid produced the eggs in your photograph.
Thank you so much!
I have given them back to Daisy and she plans to put them back in her garden and watch them hatch.
I have a fear of bugs and I LOVE your website because you not only educate us (and fear is usually a reaction to what is not known) but also encourage a non-lethal way of dealing with them. You are doing a wonderful service with your ‘art project’!
Thanks again,
Heather
“HHoneybee”
Some kind of Leaf Footed Bug?
Sun, Feb 8, 2009 at 11:55 PM
I’ve found the attached bug on one of my rose bushes and on a pine tree. I can’t seem to figure out what kind of bug it is. Any help would be most appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Greg R.
Bristow, VA
Wheel Bug Nymph
Hi Greg,
Often the identification of immature insects can be very difficult and your specimen is a nymph. It is not a Leaf Footed Bug, but rather an Assassin Bug. We are relatively certain this is a Wheel Bug, one of the larger Assassin Bugs that is quite distinctive as an adult because of the coglike “wheel” on the thorax that is not evident in the nymph. Assassin Bugs are beneficial predators, but they will also bite humans if mishandled, and the bite is quite painful.
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