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Monthly Archives April 2009

Western Grape Leaf Skeletonizer

iridescent blue flying bug
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 9:38 PM
I found three of these iridescent blue bugs in my back yard. Two were mating and the other had fallen in a bowl of water. They are iredescent blue with the exception of their neck which is red. For size comparison, it is on my finger in the first image. At first I thought they were wasps, but there was no visible stinger and I didn’t get stung when it landed on my finger.
Adriana
Phoenix, Arizona

grapeleaf skeletonizer adriana 270x300 Western Grape Leaf Skeletonizer

Western Grape Leaf Skeletonizer

Dear Adriana,
We are sad you didn’t provide a photo of the mating pair of Western Grape Leaf Skeletonizer moths for our Bug Love page. The Western Grape Leaf Skeletonizer, Harrisina metallica, has a species name that refers to the iridescence you describe. This species has brightly colored caterpillars that can defoliate grape vines if present in sufficient quantities. BugGuide refers to this moth by the compound word common name Western Grapeleaf Skeletonizer. Though they are not Wasp Moths, the species does mimic certain wasps, hence your early confusion.

Daniel,
I’m sorry I didn’t get the picture of them mating for your site. This all
explains why they were in my yard AND what those very pretty, very damaging
caterpillars turn into after they are done devouring my grape vines. I
usually pick them off of the vines each year.
I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question and hope you
enjoy the pictures I did provide.
Adriana

Thanks for the followup confirmation Adriana,
We did enjoy your photos, and your letter and one of the images was posted to our site yesterday.

Update: Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 7:14 PM
Here’s your wish come true.
Adriana

skeletonizers mating adriana 300x244 Western Grape Leaf Skeletonizer

Grape Leaf Skeletonizers Mating

Thanks Adriana,
Our internet connectivity was down, so we were unable to post yesterday.

skeletonizers mating adriana 2 300x293 Western Grape Leaf Skeletonizer

Grape Leaf Skeletonizers Mating

Posted 10 April 2009 § Moths ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Shining Leaf Chafer: Paracotalpa puncticollis

Weird green metallic beetle with white fur
Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 7:52 PM
I came across this bug while on a hiking trail in Sedona, AZ the other day. I’ve never seen anything like it and was wondering if I could get some help identifying it.
Michelle
Sedona, AZ

paracotalpa puncticollis Shining Leaf Chafer: Paracotalpa puncticollis

Shining Leaf Chafer

Hi Michelle,
We identified your Shining Leaf Chafer as Paracotalpa puncticollis on BugGuide, but the species has no common name.  Paracotalpa puncticollis is a new species for our site and it is not well represented on BugGuide either.  It is reported from California, where it was found on Juniper, and from Nevada where one photo shows it feeding on what appears to be juniper as well.  Thanks for sending your exciting image to our website.

Posted 09 April 2009 § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Snakefly

Jaws of a beatle, wings of a cicda, and a needle like tail?
Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 12:59 PM
I happened to notice something in my door jamb so I grabbed my camera a took a couple of photos. I didn’t mess with it because it looked like it could bite or sting me, lol. I live in Concord, CA and there is an abundence of insects that I have never seen. This being the most interesting one I’ve ever seen. I hope the image will provide enough info for you.
Thank you so much for looking, Brodie
Northern California Concord, CA

snakefly brodie 300x284 Snakefly

Snakefly

Hi Brodie,
This is a female Snakefly in the order Raphidioptera.  Snakeflies are harmless predators and the stinger is actually the ovipositor of the female insect.

Posted 09 April 2009 § Snakeflies ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Dobsonfly from India

A huge insect from North-East India
Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Hi! This 14 cm long creature was calmly resting at the verandah of our hotel in Shillong, Meghalaya state (North-East India). Apparently he came attracted by very bright lights at night. He stayed at the same spot overnight, lazily responding to our attention with very slow motions of his head. In the morning, we took a piece of paper and managed to make him move and step on it, so that we could put him under a tree in the pine-tree forest which’s around. Half an hour later he was still there, but looked more jovial and was climbing over some grass.
Tatiana
Shillong, Meghalaya state; altitude: 1800 m.

dobsonfly india 300x115 Dobsonfly from India

Dobsonfly

Hi Tatiana,
Wow!!!! That is an impressive Dobsonfly. Beginning in May and continuing for a few months, We get reports of smaller Dobsonflies from North America. We have also had Central and South American specimens submitted to our site, but to the best of our recollection, this is the only Asian submission. Dobsonflies are impressive insects. Your specimen is a male, as evidenced by his greatly developed mandibles. The female Dobsonfly, though her mandibles are not as impressive, is a more adept biter, and she will bite if threatened, but all that will result is a pinching sensation. The insect is quite harmless. The aquatic larval stage is known as a Hellgrammite.  According to the New World Encyclodedia online, there are numerous species in India, and we cannot provide you with an exact species name.

dobsonfly india 2 300x259 Dobsonfly from India

Dobsonfly

Posted 08 April 2009 § Dobsonflies and Fishflies ‡ Comments (0) °

Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

lousiana grasshopper
Sun, Apr 5, 2009 at 11:31 PM
Dear Bugman,
I worked at a volunteer camp in St. Bernard, Louisiana for a couple of years and these huge grasshoppers were always a source of wonder! When they are little, they’re half and inch long and slowly roamed around in packs of 20+.
A few weeks later, they were about four inches long and traveled solo. They are so large that they can’t even really jump! When they tried, they often landed on their sides.
In the pics, the big guy looks like he is all black, but I am pretty sure he had the red and yellow marks like the little ones do.
They really creeped out all of the out-of-town recovery volunteeers. The locals called them Devil Horses. Any idea about these grasshoppers?
Sarah
St. Bernard, LA

lubber sarah 300x233 Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

Hi Sarah,
What a delightful written account of your encounters with the Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, Romalea microptera.  This large species is distasteful to predators, which is why it has such slow lazy movements, there is no need for it to try to escape.  According to BugGuide:  “Common name lubber means “a clumsy or lazy person” (from Middle English lobre meaning lazy, or lout, related to lob ). The use for this grasshopper likely refers to their slow movements–with ample chemical defenses, this grasshopper does not need to move quickly. “  The species has variable coloration, with one morph appearing as a bright yellow-orange form.

lubber nymphs sarah 300x225 Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

Eastern Lubber Grasshopper Nymphs

Posted 06 April 2009 § Grasshoppers ‡ Comments (0) °

Snakefly

Unknown Northern California Bug
Sun, Apr 5, 2009 at 3:06 PM
Hello. We live in Palo Alto, CA and have recently stumbled across this ugly bug. It is approximately an inch long, has what looks like a stinger, long wings, and a long neck. My husband thought it might be a sort of baby praying mantis, but after looking at it longer, we agree it must be something else. Does it sting is my question. We recently had a really bad gnat problem on our balcony and I feel like these bugs are living off of the dead gnats. Here is a picture, I hope it helps!
Concerned Stanford Family.
Palo Alto, California, USA

snakefly ca 207x300 Snakefly

Snakefly

Dear Family,
There is no cause for concern or alarm.  This is a Snakefly in the insect order Raphidioptera.  Both larval and adult Snakeflies are predators so they are beneficial insects.  The “stinger” is actually the ovipositor of the female insect, and is used in the egg laying process.  It is not an organ of defense and the Snakefly does not sting.

Posted 06 April 2009 § Snakeflies ‡ Comments (0) °

The Painted Ladies are Migrating!!!

Butterfly
Sun, Apr 5, 2009 at 7:53 PM
We noticed a bunch of these butterflies today. It was sunny and quite warm for the Oregon coast. Temp about 70 degrees.
Our location is Bandon, Oregon, about 70 miles up the coast from the California border.
The width of the butterfly is about 1.75 inches across the wingtips.
Andy Christensen
Bandon, Oregon, USA

painted lady andy The Painted Ladies are Migrating!!!

Painted Lady

Hi Andy,
You witnessed the annual spring migration of the Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui.  According to Geffrey Glassberg in Butterflies Through Binoculars:  The West “Each year Painted Ladies stream out of northern Mexico during March and April in often impressive swarms to repopulate the West.  Numbers of butterflies, and the extent of the territory they reach, vary widely from year to year.  This is the most cosmopolitan butterfly in the world.”

Posted 06 April 2009 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) °

Oak Treehoppers

White and Red Horned bug
Sun, Apr 5, 2009 at 11:48 AM
We live in Jacksonville, Florida, there’s a tree in the back yard, small leaves, and nuts. These small bugs, maybe half an inch long at most, litter the low lying branches. These pictures are of the same group, it’s April now, and they’ve been there for no less than a month, getting bigger, horns growing all the while. They look, if the pictures don’t show it so well, like tiny Cicada, with the addition of the horn atop their heads.
Keegan R. Gilmore
Northern Florida, US (Jacksonville

oak treehoppers aggregation keegan 206x300 Oak Treehoppers

Oak Treehoppers

Hi Keegan,
These are Oak Treehoppers, Platycotis vittata. The tree you describe sounds like an oak, though the fruit is generally called an acorn, not a nut. According to BugGuide there are several color variations, and they are described as: “Grayish spotted with yellow, or turquoise with red stripes and red eyes. With or without a thorn-like horn.” BugGuide also indicates: “Hatching occurs in Spring in the South, and in late Spring in the North. Larva pass through five instars, and adults and larva form aggregations along oak twigs of up to 100 individuals. Females seem to exhibit protective behavior, keeping predators away from the young” and that it “Does almost no damage to the host trees—leaves only a few twig scars from oviposition. “  Treehoppers and Cicadas belong to the same superfamily, Cicadoidea, in the insect order Hemiptera, which explains the resemblance you noticed.

oak treehoppers cu keegan1 300x269 Oak Treehoppers

Oak Treehoppers

Posted 06 April 2009 § Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers ‡ Comments (0) °

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