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Monthly Archives July 2009

House Centipede rescued because of WTB?

Found your site; saved a bug!
July 27, 2009
Dear WTB,
Today I had the wonderful experience of settling down comfortably at my computer…and promptly having a house centipede fall on me from my ceiling.
I’ve never seen one of these little guys, and as fond as I am of bugs (I tend to release them on my patio if they seem intimidating, or if my cat tries to eat them and I spot them before he can), I had a bit of a panic trying to figure out what it was. I only counted 10 legs (poor little guy seemed to have lost a few, according to descriptions of it having 15) and it didn’t seem too recognizable compared to anything else I’d seen.
Your website helped me figure out what it was, and what good it does in my household. I released it a bit aways from where I like to relax so it wouldn’t bother me, and it could hopefully go around eating pests I don’t like in my house. I’m so glad that I didn’t squish it out of initial fear; it didn’t do me any harm, no more than a little shock, and it turns out that it’s like a little buddy keeping things that bite away. But ,browsing through your site and finding it, did me a world of good. It’s always comforting to know what you have isn’t unusual or harmful, and whether or not you should be releasing it far away or just letting it mosey along on its own business.
I’ve been browsing your site and I love all the good you’re doing by spreading knowledge about insects and encouraging people not to kill them on sight. Hopefully I’ll find an interesting bug to take a picture of for one of your posts!
Many thanks for helping me identify my new housemate,
~Jenny~

Posted 27 July 2009 § Centipedes ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Barklice

Clusters of tiny striped insects
July 27, 2009
On a walk with my dog outside my house, she began to sniff the trunk of a tree ~3′ off the ground. I went to investigate and found a series of insect clusters. They were each approximately 1/4″ long and have seemingly long antennae (roughly 2x their length). They didn’t have wings from what I could tell, and had very straight alternating black and yellow striping on their bodies.
The photos I’m attaching are as close as my little point and shoot would allow me to go in macro mode, they’ll require a zoom to see more clearly
Steve
Upstate NY

barklice steve 226x300 Barklice

Barklice

Hi Steve,
Despite the name Barklice, and despite the large number on a tree, these Cerastipsocus venosus are benign.  They feed on lichen growing on the tree and are not injurious to the tree.  These are immature nymphs.  Adults have wings.

barklice steve cu 300x206 Barklice

Barklice

Thank you!  I just noticed a very similar submission on your site after doing a simple search for Barklice.
Your knowledge is invaluable.
Thanks again,
Steve Kreis

Posted 27 July 2009 § Booklice and Barklice ‡ Comments (0) °

Wasp: Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus

Wasp
July 26, 2009
Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus. Identified by John S. Asher at Bug Guide.
Terry
Mound, MN

bicyrtes terry 300x210 Wasp: Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus

Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus

Thanks again Terry for contributing an underrepresented species on our site.

bicyrtes terry 2 300x233 Wasp: Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus

Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus

Posted 27 July 2009 § Wasps and Hornets ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Golden Silk Spider

Golden Silk Spider
July 26, 2009
I took this picture today and I was excited that it turned out so nicely. I wanted to share it with other bug enthusiasts.
He (or she) is hanging around in my back yard and is welcome to stay as long as he/she likes.
Sharon Pleasants
Monroe LA

nephila clavipes sharon 244x300 Golden Silk Spider
Golden Silk Spider

Hi Sharon,
Thanks for sending us your photo of a female Golden Silk Spider, Nephila clavipes.  The female is about 100 times the size of the male who would probably go unnoticed except that a male or males are often found sharing the web of a female.  We also just posted a photo of a relative in the same genus from Indonesia.

Posted 27 July 2009 § Orb Weavers ‡ Comments (0) °

Harlequin Stink Bug in Mount Washington

July 26, 2009
While photographing the Bagrada hilaris mating on our kale, we noticed this Harlequin Stink Bug, Murgantia histrionica, on our collard greens.  They look quite similar in terms of color and markings, but the Bagrada is much smaller.

harlequin stink bug 20090726 300x282 Harlequin Stink Bug in Mount Washington

Harlequin Stink Bug

We went back out with the camera, placed two specimens in the freezer to slow them down, and took the following size comparison photo between Bagrada and Murgantia.

bagrada murgantia compare 300x255 Harlequin Stink Bug in Mount Washington

Bagrada (left) and Murgantia size comparison

Posted 26 July 2009 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °

Painted Bugs from Africa mating in Mount Washington: Bagrada hilaris

July 26, 2009
We noticed some tiny Stink Bugs on our kale and collard greens yesterday, so today we took out the camera and shot some photos.  According to BugGuide, this is a new Invasive Exotic species from Africa, Bagrada hilaris.  It is a very small Stink Bug, about a quarter of the size of the similarly marked Harlequin Stink Bug we also photographed today.  We should try to get one more photo as a size comparison.

mating bagrada hilaris 20090726 300x185 Painted Bugs from Africa mating in Mount Washington: Bagrada hilaris

Mating Invasive Exotic Stink Bugs in our own garden

We went back out with the camera, placed two specimens in the freezer to slow them down, and took the following size comparison photo between Bagrada and Murgantia and then posted the images to BugGuide.

bagrada murgantia compare 300x255 Painted Bugs from Africa mating in Mount Washington: Bagrada hilaris

Bagrada (left) and Murgantia size comparison

The Natural History of Orange County website has a nice page documenting the life history of what the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commissioner is calling the Painted Bug in a posted pdf entitled Bagrada_hilaris.

Update:  We wrote to Stephanie at the US Department of Agriculture
Hi Stephanie,
Apparently this new African Stink Bug was first documented in Los
Angeles and Orange Counties last year.  Does anyone need specimens
before I squash what is feeding on my collard greens and kale?
Daniel Marlos

Thanks so much for letting us know. Apparantly, it has been widespread in California for a while now and has been found in La Crescenta, Altadena, Eagle Rock, Pico Rivera, Bell Gardens, Los Angeles, and Long Beach, which are in a roughly 27 x 10 mile swath north-south within the Los Angeles basin in Los Angeles County, California.
Go ahead and squash ‘em. However, I won’t have to put you on the nasty reader list now, would I?
Take care,
Stephanie

Ed. Note:  On killing insects
We need to clarify several things here.  Nasty readers are people who are rude to us, not people who kill harmless insects and other arthropods out of fear or ignorance.  We strive to educate the public regarding fierce looking, but harmless or beneficial creatures that are often squashed or that become unnecessary carnage by other means.  We have no ethical problem with the killing of problematic species, and invasive exotic Stink Bugs feeding on our garden crop would be one of those exceptions.  We are putting ourselves on blast here:  Yes, we will squash all the Bagrada hilaris we find on our produce since we don’t use insecticides in our vegetable patch.

Posted 26 July 2009 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: ,

Great Golden Digger Wasp

Great Golden Digger Wasp
July 26, 2009
Oh no! Not Terry again! Yes it’s me. And I have another wasp. This one was Identified by John S. Asher as the Great Golden Digger Wasp. Sphex ichneumoneus. Thanks.
Terry
Mound, MN

great golden digger terry 300x172 Great Golden Digger Wasp

Great Golden Digger Wasp

Hi again Terry,
The only reason we are allowing you to monopolize our postings today is that you have excellent images and several of your insects are not well represented on our site.  We have posted about three other examples of Great Golden Digger Wasps in the past two weeks, including images of three individuals taking nectar from our own blooming onions in Los Angeles.  We want to head outside now to photograph the tiny Stink Bugs that are mating on our collard greens.  We also will need to identify them.

1

Posted 26 July 2009 § Thread Waisted Wasps ‡ Comments (0) °

Mating Banded Longhorns, or closely related species

fiber optic penis?
July 26, 2009
I knew that subject line would get your attention. I recently took some pics worthy of your BUG LOVE page, but I didn’t know what kind of beetles they were. Then today I checked your site and there it is- a banded longhorn. If you care to zoom in a bit you’ll understand the subject line.
Vince
Northern Indiana

mating typocerus vince 300x288 Mating Banded Longhorns, or closely related species

Mating Longhorns

Dear Vince,
These mating beetles may be the Banded Longhorn, Typocerus velutinus, or they may be one of the 15 other members of the genus identified on BugGuide.  According to BugGuide:  “Prominent genus of flower longhorns. Many, if not most, have a zebra-like or spotted pattern. This is probably mimicry of hymenoptera. Several are distinctively marked on elytra: T. velutina, zebra, lunulatus. However there is some variability, some T. velutina, in particular, are weakly marked. Other species must be identified under magnification or from very high-quality photographs. These include T. acuticauda and T. deceptus.“  Thanks for sending your graphic photo of a mating pair.

Posted 26 July 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

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