Maremask Walking Stick
Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Hi Bugman! I love your website without it I would not have been able to figure out what this bug was! I was letting my dog out one night and found this on my patio…I thought it was a stick at first then I looked closer and discovered it was a weird bug…so I immediately came in the house and went to what’s that bug! So I thought I would send it to you! Great pic huh?
Kajun Kate
Louisiana
Two Striped Walkingsticks Mating
Dear Kajun Kate,
These Two Striped Walking Sticks are also known as Muskmares. Theoretically, only the female would be a Muskmare and her mate should be a Musksire or Muskstallion. Two Striped Walkingsticks, Anisomorpha buprestoides , are able to spray a noxious substance with amazing accuracy into the eyes of any perceived threat.
Bug or beetle
Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 7:18 PM
April 16, 2009 at 10:15 p.m. on our back porch. It was pulsating as we watched it. It was about three inches (3″) long.
Jill
Southeast of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Toe-Biter
Hi Jill,
We never tire of posting photos of Toe-Biters which are true bugs, not beetles.
aussietrev wasp foodchain pic
Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 7:08 PM
Hi guys,
Walking along and this wasp came buzzing out from a small shrub and landed on a grass stem to finish off this caterpillar, which I think is one of the Geometridae. Taken in the Capricornia region of Queensland.
aussietrev
Qld, Australia
Paper Wasp captures Caterpillar
Hi Trevor,
We believe this is one of the social Paper Wasps, possibly Polistes tepidus, and we also believe it has captured the caterpillar to feed to larval wasps back at the nest. The Brisbane Insect Page has photo documentation of a Polistes Paper Wasp skinning and “packaging” a large caterpillar into manageable portions for travel. It states: “The wasp cut a large piece from the caterpillar and carefully pack it into ball shape for easy carrying. Then she started to fly back home to feed their larvae. We noticed that the wasp circle around over the caterpillar body a few time before she disappear. We believed she did that to recognize the location so that she could come back after deliver the meal.” Perhaps one of our readers can substantiate this.
moth
Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 2:26 PM
I noticed this moth on my back porch and can not find out what type of moth it is. Any ideas?
CP
Savannah, Georgia
Tersa Sphinx
Dear CP,
This gorgeous streamlined moth is known as a Tersa Sphinx, Xylophanes tersa. We frequently get reports of the distinctive caterpillars feeding on Pentas. According to BugGuide the caterpillar has: “One large eyespot and six smaller ones progressing down the body, with a light stripe roughly bisecting the eyespots. Black “horn” on rear end. Both green and brown forms are known. In earlier instars, smaller eyespots are barely visible and striping more pronounced.”
Tersa Sphinx
Please confirm ID of moth photo attached
Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 11:12 AM
This beautiful moth was found at 7:30 a.m. 4/15/09 in south central Florida in a transition area between pine flatwoods and hardwood hammock. From one other photo on your site, I believe it to be a Sweetbay silk moth (Callosamia securifera). Our moth is lighter in color though and markings seem a bit different. Can you please verify if this is indeed this species or if not, what species you think it might be? This is the first time I’ve seen this particular moth here.
Ranger Dorothy
Sebring, Florida (Highlands County)
Sweetbay Silk Moth
Hi Ranger Dorothy,
We agree that this is a Sweetbay Silk Moth, Callosamia securifera. According to BugGuide: “Spring femles in the extreme south are often yellowish-orange.
Sweetbay Silk Moth
Males are darker than females and often missing hind wing cell spots.” Your female specimen is one of the most delicately beautiful moths we have received in a very long time. Thanks so much for sending in the images.
Sweetbay Silk Moth
Green horned beetle
Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 2:39 PM
Hi,
We found this cute guy on our deck. He sat there and let me photograph him for awhile. I have been doing bug photography for 3 years and cannot get enough. However I cannot identify this one
Caroline Farrell
Easley, SC
Rainbow Scarab
Hi Caroline,
This is a male Rainbow Scarab, Phanaeus vindex, a species of Dung Beetle. Only the male has the impressive horn.
Moth
Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 6:54 PM
Just want to double check this is a “hawk moth”. We had a huge rain and this thing showed up on our screen. We live on Daytona Beach.
Thanks for your help!
Holly
Daytona Beach, Florida
Banded Sphinx
Hi Holly,
We sometimes confuse two species. We believe this is a Banded Sphinx, Eumorpha fasciatus, which can be viewed on Bill Oehlke’s excellent website. The species we confuse it with is the Vine Sphinx, Eumorpha vitus, which can also ve viewed on Bill Oehlke’s excellent Website. Our money is on the Banded Sphinx. Yesterday we lost our internet connectivity and were unable to post any new letters. Today we are running late and have a very long work day, 14 hours, so we are struggling to post your letter before driving (we usually take the train).
Yellow caterpillar in South Africa
Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Good day,
A week ago we encountered a big yellow caterpillar in our garden and we have never seen anything like it before. We spotted it walking quite fast across a slab of slate towards a flowerpot.
It is just over 90mm in length. We picked it up and placed it in the garden underneath a bush, where it climbed onto a thin twig (see photo’s – I held a South African R2 coin next to it) and stayed there for the night and following morning. Sometime during the day it disappeared not to be seen again. Could you please help us to identify this creature?
Many thanks
Linda Pollhammer
Boksburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa
Death's Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar
Hi Linda,
This is the Caterpillar of a Death’s Head Hawkmoth, Acherontia atropos. The adult moth is pictured on the movie poster of the Academy Award winning Silence of the Lambs and played a role in the narrative of that film. Regarding the d erivation of name , a ccording to the Biodiversity of South Africa website: “The Death’s head hawk moth is so called because of the skull-like pattern on the thorax . As far as the latin name is concerned, according to Pinhey (1975) : ‘Atropos, one of the Fates, was a daughter of Nox and Erebus and was illustrated… with veiled face and a pair of scissors to cut the thread of life. This is the thoracic pattern of a mask with scissors below it. A sinister but undeserved portrait.’” Excellent information and more photos can be found on the Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic website. The downward curve of the horn is distinctive in the mature caterpillar and is evident in one of your photographs. By needs, we are presuming you want to raise the caterpillar to maturity. Your photo of the yellow caterpillar indicates it is mature, or fifth instar and that it will soon pupate. You should continue to feed the Death’s Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar with leaves of the plant on which it was found, and provide it with several inches of loose soil, not too moist and not too dry. The caterpillar will dig into the dirt to pupate. When its metamorphosis is nearly complete, the pupa will wriggle to the surface, the skin will split, and an adult moth or imago will emerge.
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