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Monthly Archives August 2009

Great Tiger Moth

Colorful Moth
August 28, 2009
What kind of moth is this? I took the picture in August 2008 in northern Utah, Heber City area up on the mountain.
Toby Cramer
Northern Utah, Heber City area

great tiger moth toby 245x300 Great Tiger Moth

Great Tiger Moth

Hi Toby,
We don’t get many photos of the Great Tiger Moth, Arctia caja, which is known as the Garden Tiger Moth in Europe.  This is a species that might need conservation since according to BugGuide it is:  “uncommon to rare in North America; European numbers have been declining in recent years“  BugGuide also indicates:  “This species, formerly common throughout the UK, has steadily declined over the past 20 years, with numbers falling by around 30%. There has been a general movement away from the south and toward the north, with climate change believed to be a contributing factor. Warm, wet winters and warm springs are followed by a decrease in the number of tiger moths the following summer (Conrad et al, 2002).  Arctia caja was a favourite with early European collectors, who selectively bred it to create unusual colours and forms.”

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Posted 28 August 2009 § Moths ‡ Comments (2) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Boris and Media Luna lay eggs again

August 28, 2009
This morning I noticed that Angelfish Boris and Media Luna laid eggs again.  Their last two spawnings had a very high mortality rate.  The spawning from approximately two weeks ago only has two fry.  The spawning from about four weeks ago has about 13.  Once the fry become free swimming, they start to die.  The most recent hatching was one of the largest hatchings, but within a week, there was a great die-off.  It is possible that the time I introduced two generations to the nursery tank together, there was a similar die-off, and I accused the elder siblings of killing their younger brethren.  I currently have 13 fry in the nursery aquarium and two in a bowl inside the nursery aquarium.  I will transfer the 13 to the grow out aquarium after taking the largest fry in there to Tropical Imports to trade for frozen brine shrimp.

Update
September 19, 2009
Much has happened since the August posting.  I never removed the fry from the community aquarium and all were eaten.  The two fry in the bowl were raised in the nursery aquarium alone after their 13 older siblings were moved to the larger aquarium.  The two fry that were alone grew quickly.  Last week they too were moved to the community aquarium after I took the the 10 largest youngsters to Tropical Imports to exchange for food about two weeks ago.  Lefty and Digitalis are still with their most recent spawning, but I think Digitalis is filling with eggs, so I should catch the fry and remove them to the grow out aquarium.  First, I have to catch the largest fry and take them to Tropical Imports.  The largest individual I had, I gave to Daryl next door to add to his aquarium.  Yesterday, Boris and Media Luna laid eggs on a leaf of a new plant I bought two weeks ago.  I have also begun to use a product to remove algae, and it is working.  The product is called Algaefix.

Posted 28 August 2009 § aquarium ‡ Comments (0) °

Luna Moth laying Eggs

Luna Moth laying eggs
August 28, 2009
Thought you might be interested in seeing the coloration of this Luna just after laying her eggs.
Boyd
A little East of Shreveport, LA

luna laying eggs boyd 300x288 Luna Moth laying Eggs

Luna Moth laying Eggs

Hi Boyd,
We are very excited to post your image of a Luna Moth laying eggs.

Posted 28 August 2009 § Eggs § Luna Moth - Rare Specimen ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mating Red Headed Ash Borers

ant like bug with balck and yellow stripes.
August 27, 2009
Ive been living imy my house for over 12 years, and my father recently found these bugs crawling all over the branches he had cut off the tree a few weeks back, that were not there when he cut them off. He has NEVER seen a bug like it.
It looks like a big ant with black and yellow stripes going down its back. I got a close of picture of two, that look like they are mating.
buggedeyed
Lancaster, CA

ash borers mating 300x218 Mating Red Headed Ash Borers

Mating Red Headed Ash Borers

Dear buggedeyed,
These are mating Red Headed Ash Borers, Neoclytus acuminatus.  The mating pair was probably attracted to the smell of the freshly cut wood.  The larvae bore in ash trees, and according to BugGuide:  “Larvae feed on the sapwood of ash and other hardwoods, and even occasionally on vines and shrubs. Larvae are commonly found feeding in downed timber with the bark left on.”

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Posted 28 August 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Monkeypod Round-Headed Borer

What’s this bug?
August 27, 2009
This was found in early August in the Ka’u district of Hawaii island (south side of the island), outside the hospital crawling on the sidewalk. The orange cap is from a urine cup it was brought to me in, the bug is probably about an inch and a half long.
Alan Laird
Hawaii

monkeypod borer hawaii 300x213 Monkeypod Round Headed Borer

Monkeypod Round-Headed Borer

Hi Alan,
We often have trouble identifying Hawaiian insects for two reasons.  One is that there doesn’t tend to be much available, easily accessible information online.  The second reason is that so many introduced species are found on the islands.  We quickly identified this Monkeypod Round-Headed Borer, Xystrocera globosa, on a Insects of Hawaii website.  There wasn’t much information, but it was indicated that it was non-native.  We then searched the scientific name and found an article on Five New Invasive Species of Longhorn Beetles in Israel.  There we learned that “X. globosa originatesfrom southeast Asia and is widely distributed inthe Oriental Region (East Pakistan, India [includ-ing Andaman Islands], Indonesia [Java, Suma-tra, Celebes], Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand,Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Seychelles), Ocea-nia (Australia [Northern Territory], New Guinea)(1,15), Hawaiian Islands (1,6)), Madagascan Re-gion (Madagascar, Rodriguez, Mauritius) (1),Caribbean (Puerto Rico) (1,6), and subtropicalareas of the Palaearctic Region (Arabia, Egypt(1), Japan (1,18), Korea, Taiwan (1)).”

Thanks!  I had searched for hours on a couple of large insect ID sites, but never thought to look locally…
Makes sense, too, because there are lots of monkeypod trees surrounding Ka’u hospital.
Mahalo!

Posted 27 August 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Jagged Ambush Bug

13mm, green, armored tank/assassin bug-like body, with mantid forelimbs and a turtle head.
August 26, 2009
Hello again Bugman!,
Love your site.
I was looking over a stand of ragweed today, admiring all the activity, when I noticed there was a dead fly on one flowerheads, so I began looking deeper, in between the flowers, for a crab spider or something like that…and found this instead. It was scrunched down between flowertops as if lying in ambush. When I spread the flowers apart, it came walking out and stepped right up onto my finger. Didn’t seem to mind me photoing it numerous times, and even let me move it to the B-B-Q grill for better contrast. It only flied away when I tried to move it back to the ragweed. It’s about the same length as my fingernail (included for scale). I’ve never seen one of these before, but it does bear strong resemblance to the assassin bugs, except for it’s head, which is entirely different, looking more like a sea turtle from a Pixar movie. It has forelimbs like a mantid, or possibly a tiny cicada. It was also pretty hard to the touch like a stinkbug, and kind of weighty for it’s t iny size.
Mostly translucent green with a dark band across it’s abdomen, and a hard bony shell of a thorax which has a couple of knobs that protrude forward and up much higher than it’s head.
In a word, handsome.
Thanks much, Jeff Volpert
Topeka, Kansas, USA

ambush bug jeff 300x205 Jagged Ambush Bug

Ambush Bug

Hi Jeff,
It would seem that Ambush Bug is an apt common name for your insect based on your letter.  Recently Ambush Bugs have been downgraded from a family to  becoming a subfamily status of the Assassin Bugs, Phymatinae.  Your specimen is one of the Jagged Ambush Bugs in the genus Phymata.

Posted 27 August 2009 § Ambush Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °

Dogday Harvestfly

Looks like giant fly
August 27, 2009
Keep seeing these all over my neighborhood.
Curiously, Sarah
Lansdowne, PA

cicada sarah 261x300 Dogday Harvestfly

Annual Cicada

Hi Sarah,
We have gotten multiple requests recently to have these giant flies identified.  This is actually an Annual Cicada, most likely Tibicen canicularis, but they are frequently called Dogday Harvestflies.  According to BugGuide:  “Explanation of Names  DOG-DAY: a reference to the hot “dog days” of late summer when this species is heard singing; at this time in the northern hemisphere the Dog Star (Sirius) becomes visible above the horizon in the Big Dog constellation (Canis Major)  CANICULARIS: from the Latin “canicula” (a little dog, the Dog Star, Sirius)  HARVESTFLY: another reference to the late season song of this species, heard during harvest time.”

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Posted 27 August 2009 § Cicadas ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

Fishing Spider

Huntsman Spider or Fishing Spider?
August 26, 2009
Hello. I live in Charleston, SC, and noticed this spider crawling up the side of the house. Biggest spider that I have ever seen around here, hands down. At first, I thought it was a wolf spider, then thought it might be a Fishing Spider. Now wonder if its not a Huntsman Spider. Can you tell me for sure what it is? And is it aggressive? Poisonous? Thanks in advance.
freekoffhisleash
Charleston, SC

dolomedes carolina 300x182 Fishing Spider

Fishing Spider

Dear freekoffhisleash,
Your spider is a Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes, most likely Dolomedes tenebrosus.  You may compare your photo to the ones posted on BugGuide.

Posted 27 August 2009 § Nursery Web Spiders ‡ Comments (0) °

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