Beetle found in friends work in melbourne australia
Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 3:14 AM
Hello my friend found this bettle / bug in his car dealership in melbourne australia & we cant seem to work out what type it is. It is approx 6cm in length. I really cant give you 2 much more info then that but would really love to find out. thank you
B. Marshall
essedon, melbourne Australia
Eucalyptus Longhorn Borer
Dear B,
This is one of two closely related species commonly called the Eucalyptus Longhorned Borer or Eucalyptus Tree Borer, either Phoracantha semipunctata or Phoracantha recurva. Both species which are native to Australia have also been introduced to southern California where there are numerous cultivated eucalyptus trees.
misumenoides formosipes eats butterfly
Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Hi,
I found this crab spider at my aunt’s house in central Oklahoma last summer. I’m pretty sure it’s misumenoides formosipes, but I’m not positive. I hope you guys enjoy the pictures. Thanks for the great site!
Josh Kouri
Oklahoma City, Ok
Crab Spider eats Skipper
Hi Josh,
We believe you have correctly identified your spider as Misumenoides formosipes, the White Banded Crab Spider. This is a highly variable species and simply perusing some of the images submitted to BugGuide will reveal the many color variations. It is not true that Crab Spiders can change their coloration with their surroundings. What is more likely is that the offspring that match the color of the surroundings are more likely to survive to adulthood. At any rate, your photo nicely illustrates how closely a Crab Spider is capable of matching its surroundings, and how effective this is in capturing prey. It appears the butterfly in your photo is a Skipper.
Crab Spider
Bee like Fly
Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 7:23 PM
Every day I walk by a hedge coming out of my front door and always notice bees flying around collecting pollen and nectar, you know, their daily chores. Every now and then I notice a strange pollen or nectar collector as in the picture of the one I have sent you. It appears more like a fly but behaves like a bee. He has very short antennae and an odd mandible looking mouth just under the eyes. I have also attached a second pic showing a honey bee to provide a scale of his size. I live in southern California out near the Ventura coast and it has been quite a warm winter this year and even now, the flowers are blooming everywhere and the bees are a buzzin. I know there are several species of flies that behave like bees and this must be one of them.
Bee-wildered
Southern California
Syrphid Fly
Hi Bee-Wildered,
We believe your fly is a Drone Fly, Eristalis tenax, one of the flower loving flies in the family Syrphidae. Sadly, the angle of your photograph adds a bit of uncertainty to the identification. Drone Flies are excellent Honey Bee mimics. Drone Flies are perfectly harmless and do not sting nor bite.
Correction: From Eric Eaton
The “drone fly” from southern California is indeed a syrphid, but in the genus Copestylum. Without the specimen I can’t give a species.
Eric
Update: Syrphid
Fri, Feb 6, 2009 at 6:16 PM
I wanted to thank you for your prompt help with the information on my ‘Bee-wilderment’. I was able to go onto the BugGuide site and from their pictures I was able to determine that my fly is of the Species Copestylum avidum. I have attached another picture that might confirm this but it is slightly out of focus.
Thanks again…..!
Bee-wildered
Ventura, CA
Syrphid Fly
Big Eyed Click Beetle
Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 7:25 PM
I found this large beetle today. I assume it is a Big Eyed Click Beetle? It may have been too cold out today for it to click and turn itself over.
Fred
Central Florida
Eyed Elater
Hi Fred,
You are correct. This is an Eyed Elater, Alaus oculatus, which is also called an Eyed Click Beetle. We are not certain why your individual didn’t “click” itself upright, but we do know that the larger Elaters are not as proficient at the clicking maneuver as are some of its smaller, less colorful relatives.
Eyed Elater
Peruvian amazon stinging slug caterpillar?
Mon, Feb 2, 2009 at 10:23 PM
I saw this bug in late July, 2008 in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. I’d be interested to know what you think.
JC
Puerto Maldonado, Peru
Stinging Slug Caterpillar
Hi JC,
What we think is that you are correct. This is a Stinging Slug Caterpillar in the family Limacodidae. We also think it is a gorgeous specimen and that it resembles the Saddleback Caterpillar, Acharia stimulea, from North America, and we believe it may be in the same genus. We will try to do additional research at a later date.
2
My girlfriend is scared
Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 9:04 PM
We have been finding these bugs on the carpet in the last week. We moved in to the house about a month ago. The weather has been unseasonably cold here but it is nearing the later part of winter. The house is on a crawl space and we have hard wood flooring in the living room
Concerned
Rochester Hills Mi
Camel Cricket
Dear Concerned,
This is a Camel Cricket in the family Rhaphidophoridae and it was our featured Bug of the Month last month. Though they can be a nuisance in the home, Camel Crickets are harmless. What appears to be a stinger is actually the ovipositor, the organ the female uses for depositing eggs. The Camel Crickets are probably proliferating in the crawl space and somehow finding their way inside.
Spider of Mozambique
Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 9:01 AM
Hey, I don’t normally ask for help becuase I’m britty good at identifying bugs myself(not to brag) but this species turned out to be a tough one, even if you can give me a family it belongs to, better yet, a genus, I would be grateful.
Here’s a web site were the picture is and it shows exact coordinates were the picture was taken.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_spider_in_ Mozambique.JPG
Nicholas
Mozambique
Golden Silk Spider
Hi Nicholas,
This is some species of Golden Silk Spider in the genus Nephila. We haven’t the time to identify the species as we must rush to work to give our students their final examination today. Golden Silk Spiders have extremely strong webs and can catch small birds.
Gold/green transparant beetle
Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 9:46 AM
Hi Bugman,
I live in on Grand Cayman. Whilst volunteering for the Blue Iguanas at the Botanical Park last week, this beetle came out of the bucket of leaves we had collected. I can’t seem to find it on any websites so I need your help!! I have attached some photographs which should help with the ID. The transparent shell was over the wings (but split like a ladybird) and the inner half of this was coloured gold and green and speckled with blue. It had a 3rd part to the transparent shell which went over it’s head like a shield bug. The underside of it’s abdomen was also shiny. Total length maybe about 1 centimetre. It was quite happy walking around (trying to navigate my hairy arms!) but when my frined picked it up so we could get a photo of its underside it ‘crouched’ so it was very difficult to pick up.
I’ve attached some photos for you but have lots more (including one of it about to take off!) let me know if you would like to see some more.
Thanks! Emily
East End, Grand Cayman
Geiger Tortoise Beetle
Hi Emily,
This is some species of Tortoise Beetle. Tortoise Beetles are Leaf Beetles in the tribe Cassidini. The gorgeous metallic coloration vanishes after the insect dies, so mounted Tortoise Beetles in collections are not as beautiful as they are alive. Some Tortoise Beetles are called Gold Bugs.
Update: Monday, February 6, 2009
Daniel:
This looks like a tortoise beetle in the genus Eurypepla ( Chrysomelidae : Hispinae : Ischyrosonychini [=Physonotini]). It looks very much like E. calochroma, the Geiger Tortoise Beetle, varieties of which are found in south Florida and the Bahamas. Closely related species occur in Cuba (E. vitrea) and Jamaica (E. jamaicensis). Distribution information is very hard to find and it could be any of the above. Bugguide has some excellent images of the Geiger Tortoise Beetle, under the name Physonota calochroma. Apparently the generic placement of this species has been debated for a long time, but the current trend appears to lean toward Eurypepla. The Geiger Tortoise beetle is considered a mild pest in Florida where its preferred host is the Geiger Tree (Cordia sebestena). Regards.
Karl
http://bugguide.net/node/view/81647
http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/mannion/pdfs/GeigerBeetle.pdf
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