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What is this bug?
September 13, 2009
The maintenance man removed this on wednesday and today I woke up and it was on the wall again. I noticed antennas coming out of the top of it but I’ve never seen the the actual bug. It’s above the sink in the kitchen and it’s really freaking me out.
J. Santiago
Mesa, AZ

Hi J.,
This is evidence of Termite Infestation, probably Subterranean Termites based on an image posted to BugGuide.  According to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, the Western Subterranean Termite “requires high humidity” and it often travels between “subterranean galleries and the wood through protected cracks in mortar or concrete foundations, or through earthen tubes that it constructs from soil, saliva, and chewed bits of wood.”

Thanks a lot. The maintenance made it like I was crazy and said it was nothing. He just rubbed it off the wall with a tool and put plaster on it. I’ll get it someone to take a look at it. Thanks again.
Jennifer Santiago

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