Cream coloured spider with red “upper legs”
January 15, 2010
Hi Bugman,
I saw this unusual spider in the middle of the night at a suburban house in Melbourne. It did not seem aggressive, in fact it did not move once while i was there. I have no idea what it is and some web searching has turned up nothing for me. If you could please shed some light on what it is this would be great!
Sorry about the photo…its not as clear as I would have liked but hopefully it is still good enough.
Cheers.
Chris
Melbourne suburbs, Vic
Garden Orb Web Spider
Hi Chris,
The Insects and Spiders of Brisbane website has numerous images of the Garden Orb Web Spider, Eriophora transmarina (Araneus transmarina) that exhibit this color pattern.
Bug ID from burrowing pattern
January 16, 2010
I was walking through a wetland forest near Brockville, Ontario when I happened upon an interesting dead tree. The pattern left behind after the bark had fallen off was quite impressive. There were no clues as to what insect made this pattern. Is there anyway to determine the identity of the bug that makes this type of pattern without having to catch it first?
Claire B
Brockville, Ontario Canada
Engraver Beetle Galleries
Hi Claire,
These are most probably the galleries of a Wood Boring Beetle, though we are uncertain if they are from the family Cerambycidae or Buprestidae. A species identification is nearly impossible. We will see if Eric Eaton has an opinion on this.
Engraver Beetle Galleries
Eric Eaton provides some information
Hi, Daniel:
The galleries etched in the trunk of the dead tree are the work of “engraver” beetles of some kind, family Curculionidae, subfamily Scolytidae. The central, vertical passage is the “egg gallery” bored by the female as she laid eggs along each side. The perpendicular tunnels are the result of the larvae boring through the wood before pupating at the end of each tunnel and emerging through the bark at the end of their life cycle. Knowing the host tree would be helpful in determining which species of beetle this represents.
Eric
Firewood bug
January 17, 2010
Hello. We received some firewood that was loaded with insect tracks, lots of bore holes and trails through the wood. Some bugs were found IN the tracks. Worried that these may be a bug that could harm the house, if we don’t burn the wood!
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide! Courtney
Central Indiana (NE of Indianapolis)
Longhorned Borer Pupa
Hi Courtney,
Your photo is of very low resolution, and when we enlarged it, the quality was further reduced. We believe this is a pupa of a Longhorned Borer Beetle in the family Cerambycidae. The family is often abbreviated as the Bycids. Without knowing the host tree, it would be difficult to pin down a species, and some trees are host to numerous species of Borers. A much clearer photo of a Cerambycid Pupa is posted to BugGuide.
Thanks very much for your work. I wish our camera was better, but alas, ’tis all we have.
Sincerely,
Courtney
Insect larvae ? aquatic.
January 16, 2010
This “being” is attached to my aquarium glass wall. It flows with the movement of the water circulation with one end attached to the glass. It looks at first glance like a grub. A teeny grub. It is at most 1/4 inch. The attached end is a dark brown and the far end has a small dark area. The body is a light color and seems (accordion shaped) slightly extend-able like a caterpillar or grub. It is somewhat bristly…to catch food?
Could this be a crane fly larvae? I recently introduced some plants to the aquarium and they may have introduced this animal. It may remain an aquatic being and therefore would not technically be an insect. The water is mostly freshwater with the slightest amount of sea salt.I’m slowly introducing salt to a red claw crab that started life in a pet store’s fresh water tank.
It may not b a bug at all and would not be fall in “What’sThat Bug” jurisdiction.
swarner
Fredericksburg Va mostly freshwater aquarium
Unknown Aquarium Creature
addendum to ” Insect larvae aquatic
January 16, 2010
Further notes. BW pics are clearer to read. The unattached area of the “being” seems to periodically expand like a balloon. It is attached with a cord like piece near the bottom of the tank and has no air available.
I’ve become obsessed and am going blind looking through a magnifying glass. I do hope you can give it a name!
swarner
aquarium…
Unknown Aquarium Creature
Dear swarner,
We are very intrigued by your creature, though we aren’t certain at this point what it might be. Creatures that appear in aquaria are a special curiosity for us. Hopefully, time will provide an identification for this creature. We strongly recommend that you attach a comment to this posting which will automatically provide a notification if someone else comments down the line.
Karl to the rescue!!!
Daniel:
I am inclined to think that this is the larvae of an aquatic moth, probably a snout moth in the family Pyralidae, which includes most or all lepidoptera with truly aquatic larvae. It is difficult to see much clear detail from either of the photos, but I think I can make out the reduced prolegs with crochets (hooks) in the black and white photo. Compare this photo to close-ups of the crochets and the terminal abdominal segment of a pyralid larva provided on the ‘Digital Key to Aquatic Insects of North Dakota’ site. The larvae of aquatic Lepidoptera are almost always associated with aquatic plants and can be stem borers, leaf miners or leaf feeders. Regards.
Karl
Please identify this bug
January 17, 2010
I could not find out what kind of bug is this, I have been looking on the internet with no result.
THank you
No thanks
West Java, Indonesia
Unknown Hopper
This is some species of Free Living Hemipteran, probably a Fulgorid Planthopper, or possibly a Lanternfly in the superfamily Fulgoroidea. Hopefully, one of our readers will be able to provide a more specific identification. Often immature specimens can be difficult to identify.
Small red bugs
January 15, 2010
Found on an avocado leaf. The bugs appear to be “newborns”. Photos were taken with an iPhone and a small magnifying glass.
Paschoal
Parana, Brazil
Hatchling True Bugs
Hi Paschoal,
These are hatchling True Bugs, though we are unable to identify the genus or species, nor are we certain of the family. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to assist in at least a family identification.
Hatchling True Bugs
Really Creepy Bug
January 17, 2010
Okay i was just walking into my house and find this huge weird fella on the bottom of my door.
I freaked out at first but i grew fascinated into catching it and just have a closer look at it.
So i did.. and i fed it a giant moth at night.. after seeing this thing eat the moth i was just scared lol
the next morning i just let it go in the forest..
please let me know what this is!!!
Josh Ryu
New Zealand
Huhu Beetle
Hi Josh,
This is a Longhorned Borer Beetle in the subfamily Prioninae, known as the Prionid Beetles. While trying to identify it, we found this nice link to information on the Giant Fiji Longhorn Borer, Xixuthrus heros, with awesome vintage images of the indigenous people of Fiji eating the grubs. Continued searching led us to a Wikipedia page on the Huhu Beetle, Prionoplus reticularis, and we verified that identification with other websites. Like many other Prionids, the grubs of the Huhu Beetle are edible, and were considered to be a delicacy among the Maori, according to the TrekNature website. The Huhu Beetle is the largest beetle in New Zealand. To the best of our knowledge, the Longhorned Borer Beetles are not predators, and we are surprised at your claim that it fed upon a moth.
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