Unidentified fly (?) in AZ
Fri, May 22, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Found this evening while pruning hybrid Chilean mesquite; overall length is ~16mm. Compared with images from your website, but could not find any matches. Any idea what it might be?
AJ
Phoenix, AZ
Metallic Wood Boring Beetle
Hi AJ,
This isn’t a fly, which might explain your difficulty with the identification. It is a Metallic Wood Boring Beetle in the family Buprestidae. We believe it is in the genus Chrysobothris. BugGuide pictures a group from this genus known as the femorata species group, and there is a photo from Arizona that looks quite close to your specimen. We are not sure if Eric Eaton will be able to respond to us at the moment, but we will contact him for his opinion. The second insect in your first photo is an immature Assassin Bug, probably in the genus Zelus.
Metallic Wood Boring Beetle
Daniel:
I don’t even know if that buprestid is a Chrysobothris. I’ll try and get folks on Entomo-l listserv to respond to you, but it is the holiday weekend, of course….
Eric
Update
December 11, 2009
It is not in the Chrysobothris femorata group, as was suggested. Rather, it is Chrysobothris merkelii Horn.
Rick
Saturday, 23 May 2009, 6:32 AM
By the time we returned from Jane’s retirement party last night, the aquarium lights had timed off. The room lights did reveal that Boris and Media Luna had spawned on the leaf of an Amazon sword plant. At this rate, we may soon be overrun by growing Angelfish fry. The spawn has little chance of survival in the community aquarium. The nursery aquarium is currently empty and when Lefty and his mate’s fry grow large enough, they will be moved to the 50 gallon aquarium, which will hopefully no longer house 99 fry from the first two spawnings. Theoretically, we can move the hatchlings from this latest spawn to the nursery aquarium. As we are leaving town in 1 1/2 weeks, we are debating if we should even try to remove some of this latest spawning when they hatch Sunday or Monday. They can go to the nursery aquarium, but they will be quite young when we flee Los Angeles for humid Ohio. Photos of the new spawning may take a bit of time since the eggs do not face the front of the aquarium.
Update: Saturday 13 June 2009, 9:46 PM
This is not new news, but the aforementioned spawn was not viable and after all the eggs got fungus, they were eaten. The day before I left for Ohio, Wednesday, 3 June, Boris and Media Luna spawned again. The eggs still looked good 24 hours later, but as I was gone for a week, I do not know if they hatched and were eaten, or if they were once again infertile or otherwise prone to fungus.
Luna Moth?
Fri, May 22, 2009 at 6:43 PM
Hello! We are living in Northwest Florida now. Originally from Southern California. Lived In Hawaii for a total of 12 years. We thought we had seen a lot of amazing creatures, but this one was so beautiful! Wasn’t sure if it was a Luna Moth, but we looked at your website, and hoped we had narrowed it down. It didn’t seem to be as big as some people stated, but maybe it was young! I love your site, and refer to it for all the new things we encounter here! I found it on the back door mat.
Sheryl R.
Pensacola, Florida
Luna Moth
Dear Sheryl,
Your moth is indeed a Luna Moth. There is little likelihood that the Luna Moth would be confused with any other North American species. Since Luna Moths have an adult life of only a few days, and since the size of a Luna Moth is determined by the growth of the caterpillar and not the adult form, this moth has reached its maximum size. Not all Luna Moths are the same size and your specimen is just a smaller individual.
Unknown Moth In Michigan
Fri, May 22, 2009 at 8:38 PM
This moth “as you can see” is about the size of a 18 year old male’s hands.
He or she had red, what looked like furr on his back with a white pach “streak” going crossways on its back.
The Abdomen was also striped red black and white.
Season mid spring and time of night around 1130. The legs also being reddish color, would not know if this would help any.
Much obliged if this spicies of moth was known to anyone.
John Hayes
Michigan USA
Cecropia Moth
Dear John,
The Cecropia Moth, according to much of the information we have read, is considered the largest Saturniid Moth in the United States, though the Polyphemus Moth, a relative, might be equally as large. A primarily tropical species, the Black Witch, might be a solid contender for the species with the greatest wingspan, but the Cecropia Moth represented in your photo probably has the greatest wing surface area.
Clarification: The Black Witch is in the family Erebidae.
Can’t Find This Bug Anywhere!!
Thu, May 21, 2009 at 8:05 AM
Dear WTB:
A friend of mine and I were in the parking lot of PetCo, and this not-so-little flier landed on my friends shirt. We thought it looked pretty interesting, so we snapped a few pics with our cell phones(which is the photo isn’t the best) I have looked all over the internet and in all of my field guides and I can not for the life of me identify this one. Any ideas? Thanks!
Corey
Upstate NY, Watertown
Phantom Crane Fly
Dear Corey,
The Phantom Crane Fly, Bittacomorpha clavipes, is a fascinating looking creature. We believe the coloration helps them to appear to vanish and reappear while flying, hence the name phantom.
Periodical Cicada?
Thu, May 21, 2009 at 9:13 AM
Greetings! Early in the morning about a week ago, I noticed something white on the ground – looking closer, I realized it was a cicada freshly emerged with it’s shed casing nearby. It was on it’s back & struggling; touching bugs give me the heebe-geebes, so I just got in my car & drove away after taking the photo. When I got home that evening, I looked for it & it had gained it’s legs and changed color, but looked dead. It stayed there for a couple days then disappeared. I think it fell out of a River Birch and ‘hatched’ on the ground instead of up in the tree like it should have. I’m located just outside of Raleigh, NC. Great site!
only observe from a distance
Raleigh NC
Periodical Cicada
Trauma during metamorphosis often results in moths not being able to fully develop their wings. The same is probably true for Cicadas like your tragic example of a Periodical Cicada. We do find it unusual that you don’t mention seeing any other individuals. We find it hard to believe that only a single individual emerged in your area.
Rain Beetle
Thu, May 21, 2009 at 10:42 AM
I’m not here to ask what this is, I’m pretty sure of what it is having found your wonderful site but I did think you might appreciate a couple of pictures. I found this emerald coloured Rain Beetle in my back garden and took plenty of photos before it flew away.
Pippa
Corfe Mullen, Dorset
Rose Chafer
Dear Pippa,
Your beautiful Scarab Beetle is actually a Rose Chafer, Cetonia aurata. According to the UK Safari website: is “Found throughout the UK, although thought to be declining in numbers. Months seen: May to October.” The website also indicates: “The rose chafer is one of our larger and more attractive beetles. The upper surfaces are an iridescent emerald green and bronze colour. The underside is a bronze colour. There are ragged white marks running widthways across the wing casings which look like fine cracks. Rose chafers are usually seen in sunny weather feeding on the petals of flowers – especially roses. ”
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giant beetle
Thu, May 21, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Dear Bugman,
We live in the Republic of Panama, prime insect territory. My husband was swimming laps in the pool this morning and he found this insect floating in the pool. He brought it home to show the kids. We thought he was dead. We put him on the front porch so the ants could eat his insides and we could have a clean specimen to keep. When I returned from taking the kids to school, he was gone. I found him in a ficus tree. Is he a goliath beetle? What would he eat? What is a good site on the internet to help identify Central American insects?
He is 4 inches long not including his legs. The picture shows his width in inches.
Buggy in Panama
Republic of Panama
female Hercules Beetle
Dear Buggy in Panama,
Your beetle is not a he. this is a female Hercules Beetle, Dynastes hercules, one of the largest beetles in the world. The male is a much larger beetle, and he has two impressive horns. The Natural Worlds website has information and some nice images.
female Hercules Beetle
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