Saturday 13 June, 2009, 9:51 PM
I caught 20 of Lefty’s fry and will be moving them to the 50 Gallon Aquarium. That aquarium contains 1 Platy, 9 Rummynose Tetras, 1 Cory Cat and 99 of Boris and Media Luna’s fry. They are from two spawnings, and the fry are vastly different in size. They currently eat Frozen Brine Shrimp, newly hatched nauplii and dry food. Catching 20 fry in a planted 29 gallon aquarium is not easy. There are easily 50 fry left in the tank with the parents. I noticed one of the youngsters picking on the parent’s fins, so I figured it is time to move them. Many of Boris and Media Luna’s fry have 1 ventral fin, a birth defect or the result of trauma. The fry from Lefty’s spawning do not seem to have this problem.
I then immediately moved 10 more for a total of 30. At first I tried to catch the largest of the fry, but that proved to be nearly impossible. It is much easier in a 10 gallon tank half full of water without plants or sand, like the nursery aquarium.
Monday 15 June, 2009, 7:11 AM
Yesterday morning I tried to capture more of the fry, but after fatally injuring one of them with the net, I stopped attempting to catch them. I had only captured 1 additional small fry and moved it to the 50 gallon aquarium. There should now be 130 fry from three spawnings and two different sets of parents in the 50 gallon aquarium.
Well-camoflaged Beetle
Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 9:57 AM
Hello, A friend and I were birding at Lake Ramapo State Forest in New Jersey ( about 25 miles from NYC) when we spotted this insect, about 3 inches long, clinging to the bark of a large deciduous tree. It had speckling on its back and underside, and most notably huge false eyes on its back, the like of which I’ve only seen before on certain butterflies and moths. Our best guess is that it is a beetle, but neither of us had ever seen a similar one before.
We would love to know what it is!
Dawn
Northern New Jersey
Eyed Elater
Hi Dawn,
We have never really thought of the Eyed Elater as being camouflaged because of those enormous eyespots that make it look like a snake to many birds or other predators. We are sad we did not make the Eyed Elater, which is a large Click Beetle, the Bug of the Month for June, but we make select it for July.
Brightly Colored Beetle?
Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 5:43 PM
This past weekend was warm and sunny, so I decided to hang a comforter out to dry on our back porch railing. Musch to my suprise, later that day I discovered 20 or so bright colored bugs congregating on my comforter! They were crawling around in a small area and would stay very close to one another regardless of my probing and prodding. Later in the day, they dissappered and I’ve not seen them since! What were my mysterious visitors??
Curious, Glen Allen, VA
Glen Allen, VA
Florida Predatory Stink Bug Nymphs
Dear Curious,
We have just returned from a week in Ohio visiting family, and we have volumes of email to address. We plan to just skip around and select subject lines that catch our attention. Since we also have a neglected garden and some Euonymus, Golden Chain Tree and Iris from Mom’s garden to plant , we decided to only post one email to let our readership know that we are back. Your subject line caught our attention. Your photo of Florida Predatory Stink Bug nymphs, Euthyrhynchus floridanus, will be our only posting until much later. We love your photograph with the strong directional lighting. When Florida Predatory Stink Bugs first hatch, they stick together, but they will eventually become solitary hunters that are quite beneficial in the garden since they feed on caterpillars and beetles. This species is also sometimes known as the Halloween Bug, according to BugGuide, because of the adult black and orange coloration. We can’t help but wonder what the other side of your comforter looks like and if it is a family heirloom.
Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Thanks so much for your response! I’m glad to hear that these bugs are beneficial, and was facinated learn of their social qualities. I’ll keep an eye out for these when they ultimately mature to their black and orange adult forms!
That comforter was actually a gift from my Mom some years ago and it has held up for 15 years or so. Definately not an heirloom, but maybe it will be someday!
Unknown bug from Costa Rica
Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 7:16 AM
This bug was found in a box of bananas from Costa Rica! Any information would be great!
K. Yoder
Pa. from Costa Rica
Cockroach from Costa Rica
Dear K.,
This is a Green Cockroach, but we are not certain of the species. Not all Cockroaches are invasive pests in the home. Most species of Cockroaches are benign creatures that would much rather live outdoors than inside a house. These tropical green Cockroaches are not invasive. We are preparing you letter and image to post live to our site next Thursday at noon. We want our site to updated daily in our absence and pre-programming is a wonderful way to allow for us to take a real holiday yet keep the site current. Sadly, we will not be answering any new mail until our return next weekend.
KonaKailua Moth?
Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 9:01 AM
We were staying in Kona Hawaii in May and this Moth(at least I think it is a moth) flew onto our lanai and then camped out for 24 hours without moving. The wing span is 6-8 inches. What is it?
Lynnette
Kona, Hawaii
Black Witch
hi Lynnette,
This is a Black Witch, Ascalapha odorata, a large moth in the superfamily Noctuoidea. This is a male as evidenced by the lack of pale bands on the wings. You can read about the Black Witch on BugGuide. The Black Witch has much lore and superstition attached to it, especially in Mexico.
I found this bug, would love to know what it is
Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Me and the kids stopped off by a mountain stream at the bottom of helvellyn in the lake district on sunday and there were lots of these creatures on the rocks around the water, i would appriciate your help in finding out what type of “thing” it is – it resembled something like a flat grass hopper/ over grown earwig crossed with a scorpion, it didnt have a sting but had quite large mouth/biting bit – ithey were a good 2″ long and not particualrly friendly looking
jodie lee
lake district
Stonefly Naiad
Hi Jodie,
This is the aquatic nymph of the Giant Stonefly known as a naiad. Presumably it has crawled from the stream, will soon molt its exoskeleton, and become a winged adult. Adult Giant Stoneflies do not feed, but are relished by trout, other fish, birds and many riparian predators. Anglers use both larval and adult Giant Stoneflies as bait. We have recently posted a photo of an adult Giant Stonefly for comparison. You photo and letter will not go live on our site until Tuesday at noon. We have been preparing posts to update one a day while we are out of the office planting tomatoes.
7th grade river walk this afternoon, …
Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 3:22 PM
Left us wondering “who” this is. It was stationary, hanging onto the side of a small tree, 15 feet from the river that runs behind our school in VT. It looked to be 2 – 2.5 inches long.
Lisa
North Central VT, a couple of miles from the base of Mt Mansfield.
Giant Stonefly
Hi Lisa,
This is a Giant Stonefly in the family Pteronarcyidae. The aquatic nymphs have gills and are found in streams and rivers and they eat aquatic vegetation. We recently received an ID request that we did not post of a nymph, and we are going to try to locate it in the labyrinth of our email inbox. Adult Giant Stoneflies do not feed. Fishermen are fond of Giant Stoneflies as bait for trout and other freshwater fish. You may learn more about Giant Stoneflies on BugGuide. We are preparing your letter and photo in advance to post live to our site on Monday at noon since we will be out of the office for a week and not answering any new incoming mail. We feel an obligation to our regular readership to continue to update on a daily basis in absentia.
Big Flying Black Bee/Beetle with orange markings on it’s back
Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 3:19 PM
Was in my garage and killed what I thought was a HUGE bee looking insect. It could fly and was about 1.25″ long. Upon closer examination, it was much fatter than a bee or a wasp, had really long antenna that it moved independently was solid black except for 4 distinct orange boxes on it’s thorax which was like a little shield sitting on it’s shoulders and was about 1/4 of the insects length. It sate above the lower half of the insects abdomen which appeared to me like the thorax of a big wasp. What the heck was that!!!
Kevin
Mukilteo, Washington
Sexton Beetle (artist's rendition)
Dear Kevin,
We are totally charmed and amused with your artistic rendering of what we are 99 & 44/100% sure is a species of Sexton Beetle or Burying Beetle in the genus Nicrophorus. A pair of Sexton Beetles is capable of burying a small corpse like that of a mouse in a short period of time. According to BugGuide, the Sexton Beetles exhibit “Remarkable parental care of larvae. Adults bury a small (usually) carcass, lay eggs in it, and stay with it, feeding the young on regurgitated carrion. (Yumm!).” Since we are on holiday planting tomatoes in Ohio, we are preparing your letter in advance to post live to our site Sunday at noon. We will be including a photo sent to us by C.J. last year of a Sexton Beetle.
Sexton Beetle
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