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Monthly Archives December 2009

Blue Black Spider Wasp with prey

Shiny purple wasp with wolf spider for thanksgiving feast!!!
December 13, 2009
Hi,
My family went camping over Thanksgiving this year and while we were sitting around the campfire I saw this wasp. It was searching for the wolf spider that it had paralyzed. When it finally found the spider it tried to drag it up the side of the fire ring. The spider was too heavy, and the wasp kept slipping back down. I got the wasp to drag its prey on to a stick and then took them both out of our campsite. The wasp was about an inch long, with shiny black wings and a metallic purple-blue body. The spider was also about an inch long, had two dark brown spots on its head and three on its abdomen, and brown spots on the underside of its abdomen. Do you know what species these are? Thanks,
Josh Kouri

spider wasp prey josh 266x300 Blue Black Spider Wasp with prey

Blue Black Spider Wasp and Prey

Hi Josh,
You normally write from Oklahoma, but you didn’t indicate if your camping trip was elsewhere.  We believe this is a Blue Black Spider Wasp, Anoplius depressipes, which, according to BugGuide, has been reported from nearby Arkansas.

spider wasp prey josh 2 218x300 Blue Black Spider Wasp with prey

Blue Black Spider Wasp and Prey

We will contact Eric Eaton to see if he can confirm this identification.

Sorry,
We were camping at Robber’s Cave State Park, which is in southeast Oklahoma.
Josh

spider wasp prey josh 3 300x282 Blue Black Spider Wasp with prey

Blue Black Spider Wasp and Prey

Update from Eric Eaton
Hi, Daniel:
Great images indeed!  I agree that this is a spider wasp in the genus Anoplius, but not Anoplius depressipes, which preys mostly on fishing spiders.  The prey here is a wolf spider of some kind, family Lycosidae.
Eric

Posted 16 December 2009 § spider wasps § Wolf Spiders ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

A New Book on Entomophagy

book for sale
December 16, 2009
Hi Daniel,
Here’s that new entomophagy text as per our conversation [please let me know if there's any trouble with the attachment, I could send some digital images]:
JUST ABOUT IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS 2009!  A NEW BOOK ON ENTOMOPHAGY!!!!!!
A very new addition to the literature on human insectivory, this reprint of the Food Insects Newsletter is PACKED with wonderful information.  Orders welcome.
Thanks a lot!
Dave
www.smallstockfoods.com

food insects newsletter 250x300 A New Book on Entomophagy

The Food Insects Newsletter

Hi Dave,
WE are happy to post a notice on this bound edition.  We hope our readership checks out the ad and snaps this up for the holidays.

Posted 16 December 2009 § Uncategorized ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Tailless Whipscorpions in Costa Rica

Family of spiders living in my shower!
December 14, 2009
I recently moved back into my old room in Costa Rica, after living 9 months in Australia. One day, all of a sudden, a pretty big spider came out of my shower drain. I don’t really like to kill bugs so I just let her share the shower with me. A couple of days later I saw two of them… but it wasn’t until I saw THREE of them staring at me that I really freaked out. I must say I’m used to worms, spiders, ants and pretty much any bug you can imagine, but I had never seen these spiders here before… and neither has my family. Any clues? Please don’t tell me I brought them from Australia!!!!
Karla
San Jose, Costa Rica

whipscorpion costa rica karla1 300x168 Tailless Whipscorpions in Costa Rica

Tailless Whipscorpion

Hi Karla,
These beautiful Tailless Whipscorpions are native to Costa Rica.  They are harmless nocturnal predators that will help keep your house free of cockroaches and other unwanted visitors.  In Mexico, the Tailless Whipscorpion is called a Cancle and it is erroneously believed to be poisonous when it actually lacks venom.

whipscorpion costarica 2 karla 300x245 Tailless Whipscorpions in Costa Rica

Tailless Whipscorpion

Posted 14 December 2009 § Scorpions, Whipscorpions and Vinegaroons ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Peacock Pansy from India

beautiful small butterfly
December 14, 2009
I took this photo of a butterfly with my mobile camera after following it for quite some time. the time was around 4:30 pm on september 28 ,2009.I took this photo outside the hospital where I work ,which is about three miles from the coastline, close to Cochin,Kerala,South India. the small flower near the butterfly is Tridax procumbens,(Family Compositae) which is about the size of a fingernail.I just thought this butterfly was so cute and would love to see the picture in a book if you ever decide to use it
kiran
Cochin,Kerala,South India

peacock pansy india kiran 300x241 Peacock Pansy from India

Peacock Pansy

Hi again Kiran,
Your butterfly so closely resembles the North American Buckeye Butterfly, that we did a web search for the genus and quickly identified the Peacock Pansy, Junonia almana, on a comprehensive website.  Wikipedia also has some information.

Hi Daniel,
that’s really fast and indeed they are a very beautiful genus.I know very little about butterflies,but now my knowledge is increasing by the minute.I will surely keep an eye open for new ones,and definitely send you more pictures.thanks a lot.
kiran

Posted 14 December 2009 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) °

Warf Roaches: Marine Isopods

Trilobites?
December 13, 2009
These guys live on the rip-rap (rocks to prevent erosion) along my Grandma’s property. My Grandma lives on a brackish river leading into the Chesapeake Bay. They appeared about five years ago and have almost completely replaced the snail population. They cover the rocks but scurry away when you approach (impossible to catch). I also saw one swim a short distance. I’ve decided they are Trilobites back from extinction, but I suppose there could be a better explanation. Please help!
Thank you, Kriddie
Whitman, MD (eastern shore, Chesapeake Bay)

warf roach kriddie 300x176 Warf Roaches: Marine Isopods

Warf Roaches

Hi Kriddie,
These are Marine Isopods commonly called Warf Roaches, Ligia exotica, an introduced species that has become common from New Jersey to Florida.  You may read more about it on this website.  A slightly smaller species, Ligia oceanica, is called a Sea Slater.

warf roach 2 kriddie 300x225 Warf Roaches: Marine Isopods

Warf Roaches

Posted 14 December 2009 § Crustaceans § Sow Bugs, Pill Bugs, Isopods, Lawn Shrimp and Amphipods ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Grizzled Mantid

Mantis?
November 29, 2009
Hi Daniel,
I went to Middleburg, Florida (Jacksonville area) for Thanksgiving.  This critter was right outside the front door of my son’s home.  I’d never seen anything like it, but the head shape made me think of a mantis…WINGS???  All pages on your site have been viewed.  Found a Gonatista grisea – Grizzled Matis on BugGuide, but again…WINGS???
Everyone I left in Florida is waiting for an identification.  Hoping you can help so I don’t disappoint anyone.
Many thanx,
R.G. Marion
Great Smoky Mountains

grizzled mantis renee 300x222 Grizzled Mantid

Grizzled Mantid

Hi R.G.
Sorry for the delay.  We were just wrapping the first draft manuscript of our book when you wrote, and today we are trying to answer a few older emails.  We believe your identification of the Grizzled Mantid is correct.  The male has well developed wings.  The species is also called a Lichen Mimic Mantid.

Posted 13 December 2009 § Preying Mantis ‡ Comments (0) °

Two Picture Winged Flies including Black Onion Fly and a Signal Fly

3 different flies with patterned wings
November 29, 2009
Here are 3 similar but different flies that were all sitting near each other. Two were perched on squash leaves in a vegetable garden. The very black one (in the last photo) was nearby on a wall near a sunflower. I took the photos on July 23rd and it was a warm sunny day. They were all smaller than the common housefly. And the black one was larger than the other two. They all look related but the wing patterns are different on each one. The 2nd pic fly is eating a bird (or teeny lizard) dropping. Could one (or more) of them be a walnut husk fly? Our neighbor has a walnut tree. Is it just a coincidence that they are hanging out together?
I aalso have photos of a green jumping spider protecting her eggs…I photograghed daily until the eggs hatched, little spiderets everywhere and mom had left. I don’t need any identification, just wondering if you’d like me to send some pics of the process.Thank you……
swarner
Fredericksburg, VA

black onion fly swarner 300x300 Two Picture Winged Flies including Black Onion Fly and a Signal Fly

Black Onion Fly

Hi swarner,
We have been very busy recently, and today we are randomly selecting older letters to look for good postings.  Your photos are awesome.  We believe all three of your flies may be Picture Winged Flies in the family Ulidiidae, and we have conclusively identified the Black Onion Fly, Tritoxa flexa, on BugGuide.  The species if found over much of North America, and it is associated with cultivated garlic.

picture winged fly swarner 300x272 Two Picture Winged Flies including Black Onion Fly and a Signal Fly

Picture Winged Fly

A second Picture Winged Fly is Delphinia picta, also found on BugGuide, and it breeds in compost piles.  The two white triangles on the leading edge of the wings is a distinguishing feature.

signal fly swarner 272x300 Two Picture Winged Flies including Black Onion Fly and a Signal Fly

Signal Fly

Continued searching revealed your final fly to be a Signal Fly in the genus Rivellia.  According to BugGuide, they are found on foliage feeding on feces, exactly as your photo depicts.

Posted 13 December 2009 § Signal Flies ‡ Comments (0) °

Mantisfly

foud a very unusual bug looks like a cross between praying mantis,damsel fly,wasp.
December 2, 2009
I live in new york.Long Island to be specific.I found a strange very hard to identify bug,damsel fly, praying mantis … WASP?)looks like a mixture of the first two .Has only four legs,two hands or pincers in front like a praying mantis(fold in just like a praying mantis.The eyes are separated like a damsel fly.Only two wings that lay down towards back when resting(but dragon fly or damselfly in appearance),longish body more like a wasp body than a dragon fly body.The bug is aprox.3/4 in long from had to end of body/aprox.1in. from head to end of wings. I just cant identify this bug.My son thinks it’s a mutant.Please help me identify it!I have videos of it and photos.
Annette lubczenko
USA/New york,long Island

mantisfly annette 300x181 Mantisfly

Mantidfly

Hi Annette,
This is a Mantidfly, and it is related to Lacewings and Antlions.  We believe it is Leptomantispa pulchella, based on images posted to BugGuide.

mantisfly annette 2 300x160 Mantisfly

Mantidfly

Posted 13 December 2009 § Neuropterans: Lacewings, Antlions, and Owlflies ‡ Comments (1) °

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