Orange and Green Spider
October 11, 2009
I found this spider ON MY 8 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER! I have seen similar spiders outside our home at night but without the green diamond on the body. I live in Miami, Florida, USA. Please identify this spider so I can either find an exterminator or leave my worries behind!
Cristi Cuadrado
Miami, Florida, USA
Orbweaver: Araneus detrimentosus
Hi Cristi,
We quickly identified your spider as Araneus detrimentosus, a harmless Orbweaver, on BugGuide. While we would hesitate to claim that this spider will never bite, we have not gotten any reports of anyone being bitten by a member of the genus Araneus. If the spider was on your daughter, it was undoubtedly a chance encounter. We would not trouble with an exterminator in this instance, and we truly believe that exposure to pesticides at a tender age would be far more detrimental to your daughter than facing the extremely unlikely odds that this spider, which is not very well represented in images and is probably not terribly common, will bite your daughter or a member of the family.
moth identification
October 11, 2009
This photo was taken in Ecuador in the cloud forest, I would really like to know what kind of moth it is.
Thais
Ecuador, Nanegal
Tiger Moth
Hi Thais,
We will contact lepidopterist, Julian Donahue, an expert in the Arctiids, to see if he can provide the species name for this beautiful Tiger Moth.
Identification by Julian Donahue
It’s a tiger moth in the genus Idalus. There are quite a few species in the genus, and I can’t give you a species name without comparing the photo to specimens in the collection (and even then there’s a chance we don’t have it there with a name). It’s similar to photos of Idalus herois posted on the Web, but there are a number of very similar species, and details of the head are not visible in this photo.
Julian
Pictures of orange Imperial Moth caterpillar
October 11, 2009
Found it crawling across my office’s parking lot during midday, 9/29/09, so it must have been looking for a spot to burrow into for pupating.
The office has many types of trees, including conifers.
Thanks to your awesome site, I was able to identify it and learn more about it.
Please feel free to use these pictures. I think they’re pretty good! There are 4 pictures I wanted to give to you, so I’ll send another message after this one with the 4th pic.
Be sure to check out the drool at the bottom of its mouth in the facial closeup! 
Thy Nguyen Cavagnaro – Barnegat, NJ
Jamesburg, NJ
Imperial Moth Caterpillar
Dear Thy,
Thanks for sending us your gorgeous images of an orange Imperial Moth Caterpillar. There are several different color variations for the Imperial Moth Caterpillar, including green, blue-green, and brown, and the caterpillar often changes color just prior to pupation. This bright orange variation is not one of the variations we see most often and it is a lovely addition to our archives.
Imperial Moth Caterpillar
Is it a jewel beetle
October 9, 2009
The Beetle Picture i took from SNGP Forest Area. First time i am saw the
beautiful insect. Pl. let me me know the id ?
Hari Iyer
Yeeor, Thane, Maharashtra, India.
Jewel Beetle from India
Hi Hari Iyer,
Yes, this is a Jewel Beetle, one of the common names for a Metallic Wood Boring Beetle in the family Buprestidae. We will see if one of our readers is able to find the exact species name for you.
Ed Note: Thanks to Karl for providing a comment identifying the genus as Sternocera, and providing several links with confirmation imagery.
IS IT A PAINTED GRASSHOPPER
October 8, 2009
I saw this insect sitting on the leaf of
Milkweek Plant. This area is a part of
Buffer area of SGNP forest. Since it’s
eyecatching i took two to three Pics.
HARI IYER
THANE, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA.
Ak Grasshopper from India
Hi HARI IYER,
Since you found this grasshopper on milkweed, we wonder if perhaps it might be one of the Toxic Milkweed Grasshoppers in the family Pyromorphidae. Sadly, we have decided we need to go to sleep for the night, and our brief internet search did not reveal a species name for your lovely grasshopper. Perhaps one of our readers will provide an answer for us.
Ak Grasshopper from India
Update: Thanks to Karl for the comment with the identification. The link provided the following information:
“Poekilocerus pictus belonging to Family Pyrogomorphinae (known for cryptic as well as bright colours hence called Gaudy Grasshoppers are also known for “Spear” shaped heads) is commonly known as Ak Grasshopper (and one of the many Painted Grasshoppers), and is one of the most colorful grasshoppers of India. The nymphs display spots of varied colours from yellow, orange to blue and green. The adults show yellow and blue striped on head and thorax, a bright red abdomen, green-yellow forewings and red hind wings which are seen only in flight. The adults grow to about 60mm and are capable of good flight.
The adults are generally seen post-monsoon and, if conditions are favorable, they swarm. The food plant for this is Calotropis sp., especially C. procera, however it is known to attack many crops (including C. gigantea – Giant Milkweed). The color in nymphs as well as adults is bright and warning and is explained due to the presence of toxic alkaloids present in Calotropis they feed on.
The eggs are laid in “pods” (each pod contains 70 – 200 eggs) during the monsoon months June to August, and the nymphs hatch around September. The nymphs are usually seen near Calotropis plants, and by October the adults are seen specifically on the food plant. I have no records of finding it in the months after monsoon, however literature says that eggs laid in the month of September to November that hatch in April – May, here the incubation period is longer than during monsoon months due to, perhaps, climatic conditions.
According to literature, the adults are also known to turn cannibalistic even in the presence of ample food – for reasons unknown!”
4
Type of grasshopper?
October 10, 2009
Found this guy on the lawn in the botanical garden near Jo’burg. Quite brightly coloured. Looks like he’s part of the grasshopper family.
Sharon
Botanical garden, Johannesburg, SA
Foaming Grasshopper
Hi Sharon,
This appears to be a Foaming Grasshopper or Koppie Foam Grasshopper, Dictyophorus spumans, one of the Toxic Milkweed Grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae. The Toxic Milkweed Grasshoppers are also known as Gaudy Grasshoppers.
1
red bug taking over my yard
October 10, 2009
This bug is invading my yard. They are multipiling like crazy. So far they are just eating weeds. But what happens when they run out. I have chickens they wont eat them, and for that reason Idont want to use poisons. I believe this is a new bug to this area and I think its going to take over.
Kim
Perris,Ca
Red Bug Aggregation
Hi Kim,
Interestingly, these really are Red Bugs. The species, Scantius aegyptius, is not native, and according to BugGuide, has only been reported from California. It does not have a common name, but is in the family Pyrrhocoridae, the Red Bugs. The UC Riverside Website lists its origin as the Mediterranean. The UC Riverside Website states: “Scantius aegyptius, an old world pyrrhocorid bug, native to the eastern Mediterranean region, was documented for the first time in North America in Orange County during June of 2009. Reports of this insect from other southern California locations (i.e., Riverside County) suggest that this insect has been established for a year or more prior to these Orange County collections.“ The website also indicates: “Damage: The literature contains very little information regarding the biology of S. aegyptius and Scantius species in general are not considered to be economically important species. In California, Scantius has been observed feeding on the developing seeds and stems of Knotweed (Polygonum spp.) and Malva (Malva parviflora). It is likely that S. aegyptius will feed on the seeds of several species of annual herbaceous plants. The most noticeable impact of S. aegyptius in California will likely be the presence of large numbers of nymphs and adults migrating from drying annual weeds into adjacent developed areas. These migrations consisting of thousands of individuals can be very conspicuous and lead to large aggregations on small patches of host plants causing concern to local residents who notice these obvious aggregations.“
Red Bugs
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