Toebiters for dinner?
Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 1:01 PM
They had these at the local Asian market
Daniel
St. Petersburg, Florida
http://www.shirtsofbamboo.com/
Product of Thailand: Toe-Biters
Thanks for sending in the wonderful photo Daniel, but you neglected to tell us how many servings of this Thai delicacy you and Lisa had for dinner.
Black and White Bumblebee-Like Relative Found near Yosemite? Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 3:12 PM
This might be some sort of mutant insect, because it certainly beats me. I found it rolling amongst the pebbles outside my mountain home near Yosemite, where many common bumblebees and honeybees flourish. Something is definitely off… Instead of mouth parts it has nostril like holes and the flesh above the undersized wings (it cannot fly) appears withdrawn, or peeled up.It’s first two segments have a white furry underbody and a shiny hard top. It’s last segment is shiny and hard. It has no antennae. It’s eyes are black with two red spots, one on the top and the other on the bottom portion. I figure mutations might not be your forte, but is this just a really weird insect? He’s also about an inch long.
Interested Mountain Girl
Coarsegold, near Yosemite Valley, CA
Rabbit Bot Fly
Dear Interested Mountain Girl,
We wonder how long you are going to maintain your interest when you learn that though it looks like a Bumble Bee, this is actually a fly, a Bot Fly to be exact. We believe it is a Rodent Bot Fly. Bot Flies are endoparasites of various mammals and they cause swellings knows as warbles, giving the Bot Fly the name Warble Fly as well. Rodent Bot Flies tend to parasitize squirrels and rabbits. In Central America, there is a Human Bot Fly.
Wow, this is actually even cooler. I hadn’t realized we had those here, but I’d not paid much attention to the insect and bug life since I moved here a few years ago. Sorry for the poor picture quality, the camera wasn’t working at it’s best, but thank you for the amazing and prompt response, you guys really are amazing bug people!
Right now my little Bot buddy is in a glass jar with a damp paper towel and a few leaves, and he seems to be getting more active by the hour! I’ll free him pretty soon, and he can go back to his biting, buzzing ways, much to the chagrin of the local voles and bunnies.
-Interested Mountain Girl
Awaiting Papilio rutulus or Papilio multicaudata?
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 7:14 PM
I tried sending these through the website but it kept failing. Hope this is OK.
We here in Montana have been long awaiting the arrival of some overwintering Papilio/Swallowtails in our garage. Try as we might, we have not been able to determine if our caterpillars were Two-tailed or Western Tiger Swallowtails. The difference will determine if they should emerge in late May or late June (around here.) We have been waiting so patiently, it would be such a shame for us to mess up the timing now. (The garage stays so cold we will probably have to move them to get them to emerge.) We have some great photos of several different caterpillar stages as well as the pupae. Attached are a few. These caterpillars fed on chokecherry leaves in late summer (found them August 20th) and pupated mid-September. The early instars were green and had a bird (swallow?) like pattern across their backs.
Swallowtail Caterpillar
As they grew, the bird pattern faded. When they reached about two inches in length they turned brown, stopped eating and became very active. Then they hung themselves horizontally from a piece of silk (appearantly called a girdle) which you can see in the photo. Then they pupated and we have been waiting ever since. We are very excited that spring is approaching here in Big Sky, Montana (although we still have quite a while to wait.) We will send photos of the adults when they emerge. It will be interesting to see which species of swallowtail they are; it is also possible they are Canadian Swallowtails. Also, we wonder if it is possible to determine the gender? Thanks for listening.
Bigskybugkids
Swallowtail Caterpillar
Dear Bigskybugkids,
This presents an interesting identification challenge. There is an image on BugGuide of a Canadian Swallowtail Caterpillar, Papilio canadensis, that illustrates the “swallow-like” markings, but it also has distinctive horns at the end of the abdominal section. Cherry is listed as a larval food on BugGuide as well. Chokecherry is specifically listed as a larval food of the Two Tailed Swallowtail Caterpillar, Papilio multicaudata, on BugGuide. With regards to the Western Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar, BugGuide indicates: “Larvae very similar to those of Pale Tiger Swallowtail, but black pupil of false eye-spot larger, and yellow spot inside eyespot entirely separated from it, not just notched.” Those two characteristics are present in your specimen, but neither cherry nor chokecherry are listed as food plants for the larvae. The images of the Two Tailed Swallowtail Caterpillars on BugGuide show a similar pupil-less eyespot and separated yellow spot, virtually identical to the Western Tiger Swallowtail. Based on the eyespot match and the food plant match, we would suspect the Two Tailed Swallowtail to be the frontrunner. Guess the adult images will have to be the final determination. We suspect DNA may be required to determine the sex of a caterpillar.
Swallowtail Chrysalis
Update:
Awaiting Papilio rutulus or Papilio multicaudata?)
Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 3:42 PM
After a refreshing 10 month nap…the swallowtails have emerged. It looks like they are Two-Tailed: you were so right. The tell-tale (tail 
) sign was the _/*thinly*/_ ringed blue/green spot inside the yellow eye spots…the Western looks almost the same but the ring is thicker. Thanks again…and, no, we still can’t tell the boy butterflies from the girls.
(ed. note: We believe this would be from Montana)
Two Tailed Swallowtail
Dear bigskybugkids,
Thanks so much for sending us the photos of your newly emerged Two Tailed Swallowtails. We will be posting them today as their own posting as well as an update to the caterpillar photos you sent in April.
Two Tailed Swallowtail
Is this a blister bug?
Fri, Apr 10, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Hello: I live in close proximity to the Chattahoochee river in NE Georgia. this is the second of these bugs that have made it into my house. I have not seen any in the yard, but I have not searched. 3/4 in. long, head to abdomen.
Michael
NE Georgia
False Bombardier Beetle
Hi Michael,
This is a False Bombardier Beetle, probably Galerita bicolor. You can compare your image to photos on BugGuide. False Bombardier Beetles are predatory ground beetles and they will not harm your home bug BugGuide indicates this “Caution: This genus has chemical defenses, see Defensive production of formic acid (80%) by a carabid beetle : Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 June 24; 94 (13): 6792–6797. “
facinating instead of creepy bug
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 3:25 AM
Hey Bugman,
today I was in my garden, enjoying the first spring sun. When I walked near our pond, I came across this creature of wich I send the photo’s. When I tried to grab it, he kept falling on his back..but got up immidiatly with his 2 long legs. Was pretty cool to see, after like the 5th time he fell on his back, he just flew away.. I’ve never seen a bug like this, but I hope you can help me identify it.
Greetingz Joël ps. excuse my bad English, I’m a Dutchguy.
Joël
The Netherlands Budel-Schoot, near water.
Water Boatman
Dear Joël the Dutchguy,
Your fascinating insect is a Water Boatman in the family Notonectidae The reason it was rather clumsy on land is that it is an aquatic insect that also flies quite well in the event its water habitat dries up or becomes otherwise unlivable. Water Boatman swim up-side-down, with their bellies up. The long oarlike legs propel them quickly through the water in a somewhat bobbing fashion. Water Boatman are predators with piercing/sucking mouthparts. You are lucky you were not bitten as the bite of a Water Boatman is quite painful, but otherwise harmless. You can read more about North American Water Boatmen on BugGuide.
Orange bug with striped legs
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 6:45 AM I have found several orange bugs about 1/4″ in length in my house. They appear to have wings and 6 legs with yellow/black stripes on them. They have 2 antennas well. I found them crawling on the edges of doors. Any info you can provide would be great. Thanks!
Lauren
Ellicott City, Maryland
Assassin Bug: Unnecessary Carnage
Hi Lauren,
This is an Assassin Bug, Pselliopus barberi, and the species has no common name. It appears as though your specimen was squashed in a tissue, and this was an example of Unnecessary Carnage, since this insect is a beneficial predator thay will not harm your home. If mishandled, it may bite.
What are these moths?
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 8:32 AM
We live in Western Pennsylvania, and seem to have found moths which have eaten some of a wool rug we have in a storage area. We started finding them a couple of weeks ago on our walls and ceilings. I have killed about 6 of them. I did my spring cleaning and found some damage on the edge of a wool rug. I am assuming these are the culprits, but I can’t find these on the web to id them.
Moth
Western Pa
Meal Moths Mating
Dear Moth,
These are mating Meal Moths and they would be feeding on your stored grain products, not your wool rugs. Generally when we get photos of Pantry Moths, it is the smaller Indian Meal Moth, Plodia interpunctella, but your moths are the Meal Moth, Pyralis farinalis. It has a worldwide distribution. According to our Audubon Guide, the “Caterpillar eats grains, meal, bran, husks, straw, and moist stored hay. … Cleanliness and frequent emptying of storage bins are the best means of controlling this insect. Its caterpillars spin tubular webs amond food, eating from an open end.” We would advise that you check the pantry to see if you have an infestation in the oatmeal or other likely food source.
6 legged orange butt black leggs
Fri, Apr 10, 2009 at 9:05 AM
Hi, My name is Sonya and I noticed these bugs on my October Maple tree about 2-3 weeks ago. I live in the Charleston South Carolina area. There is a grouping of these small 6 black legged bugs with orange butts. They tend to stay grouped together but you can find smaller groups of 2-3 in other areas of the tree. I also noted today that there was 2 larger ones that were different colors, mostly orange and some yellow with little to no black on them, they appeared to be mating with some smaller bugs with no orange on them, just black and smaller butts. When I went out with the camera a couple of hours later, after finding this site, I couldn’t find the different ones. Also since I’ve first noted the bugs their butts have changed slightly and now appear to have small black dots in the center of the rear. They also have a small nest of sorts that is dripping stuff down the tree.
Wheel Bug Eggs and Hatchlings
I hope this is descriptive enough. Thank you very much for your help. I’ve lived in SC my whole life and don’t recall ever seeing these bugs before.
Sonya in SC
South East
Wheel Bug Hatchlings
Hi Sonya,
These are newly hatched Hemipterans, or True Bugs. It is often very difficult to properly identify hatchlings, but we believe these are Wheel Bugs a type of Assassin Bug. Wheel Bugs, Arilus cristatus, are predators. The nest you noticed are the eggs laid in a distinctive cluster by the female Wheel Bug. The hatchlings stay together for a very short time and then they go rogue to hunt alone. You can compare your specimens to this photo on BugGuide. The one thing that would make us suspect these may be some other Hemipteran is that in one of your photos, the hatchlings appear to be feeding off of tree sap. We are uncertain if perhaps immature Wheel Bugs may be attracted to certain plant juices.
Wheel Bug Hatchlings
I like This