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Monthly Archives January 2010

Western Conifer Seed Bug

Need insect ID
January 14, 2010
My husband gets this bug on his desk in his 3rd floor attic office about once a month. It is very slow moving. We live in Woodinville, Washington which is about 20 miles east of Seattle.
Susie
Woodinville, Washington USA (Seattle)

western conifer susie 300x279 Western Conifer Seed Bug

Western Conifer Seed Bug

Hi Susie,
We just finished posting another letter of a Western Conifer Seed Bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis, that had been smashed, so it is nice to follow that with your photo of a living specimen.  Western Conifer Seed Bugs are native to the Pacific Northwest, so this is a local native insect for you.  Adults often seek shelter indoors when the weather begins to cool.  They will hibernate and become active again when the weather warms in the spring.  They are a benign species that will not harm you, your home or its furnishings.  Adults and nymps feed on the sap from the cones of conifer trees, so they don’t even damage the host trees.

Daniel,
Thank you so much for the ID and the helpful information.
Susie Egan
www.cottagelakegardens.com
cottage lake gardens 300x76 Western Conifer Seed Bug

Posted 15 January 2010 § Leaf Footed Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Western Conifer Seed Bug killed because of a distant relative

Crawling on the TV in my Daughters room
January 15, 2010
I had woken up at around 3:30am and checked in on my daughter. When I turned on the light I saw this little example of mother nature crawling his way to wherever he was going. So I did what all mothers do when they feel thier children are in danger, and whacked it with a shoe till it stoped moving. I took a close look at it and realized it has a close resemblence to a kissing bug. Which got me very scarred. I like in a well maintained apartment building in Peekskill, NY and it’s the middle of January. Could it really be one of those nasty little blood suckers, or do I owe it a apology and a mtachbox burial. I am very concered because it was so close to my daughters bed. Please if someone could get back to me I would greatly appreciate it.
Sincerest thanks
Karla B. T. (surname withheld to preserve anonymity)
Peekskill, NY 10566

western conifer carnage karla 300x196 Western Conifer Seed Bug killed because of a distant relative

Western Conifer Seed Bug smashed with a shoe

Hi Karla,
This is a Western Conifer Seed Bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis, one of the Leaf Footed Bugs that somewhat resemble another family, the Assassin Bugs, which includes the problematic Kissing Bugs or Bloodsucking Conenose Bugs in the genus Triatoma that may spread Chagas Disease.  You were astute to recognize the resemblance since they are in the same order of insects, Hemiptera, which includes all True Bugs.  The Western Conifer Seed Bug is a benign species that is native to the Pacific Northwest, but since the 1970s its range has increased greatly to include much of the Northeast and Canada, and very recently, portions of Northern Europe.  We are going to tag this entry as Unnecessary Carnage, and in order to prevent any retaliations, we are not including your surname in our posting in order to allow you to maintain anonymity.  We are doing this because we have received threats in the past from folks whose letters were tagged as Unnecessary Carnage that accused us of libel and warned us they would take legal action against us with frivolous lawsuits.  We do not blame you for your first reaction, and we understand your fear of a perceived threat.   We hope in the future you will recognize that Western Conifer Seed Bugs, which often seek shelter indoors as the weather cools, are benign, and then promptly relocate them rather than squashing them.  A matchbox burial would be sweet, but we think it is unnecessary.  We would happily restore your surname to the posting if you give us permission.

Posted 15 January 2010 § Leaf Footed Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Spotted Apatelodes

January 15, 2009
Thanks! You identified a Spotted Apatelodes Moth for me.  No description or photo would fit it. I kept saying that it looked like bark. I may have seen a butterfly the other day that resembled it, but this morning was cool, and it was tired. I was able to pick it up, and was able to get a close look at it. Still looks like bark, but I noticed the feather antennae, and the curved abdomen. This evening I found your site.  So I am very excited. You will look long and hard for an image of it, because… it looks like bark. I put it onto an arbor vitae, so maybe I’ll be able to get a photo tomorrow, if it is still there. Peace!
kathy

apatelodes john rotate 300x137 Spotted Apatelodes

Spotted Apatelodes

Hi Kathy,
We are thrilled that you have used our website to identify your Spotted Apatelodes.  We are including a photo submitted previously to post with your letter.  We haven’t received any recent images of this unusual moth and we hope you are able to locate and photograph the individual you saw.

Posted 15 January 2010 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Our Field Trip Today: Natural History Museum

January 14, 2010
Our fellow college professor Sharon from the Speech Department accompanied us to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles today where Lila Higgins was gracious enough to give us a tour.  We met with Karen Wise who is in charge of Public Programs, and Dr. Brian Brown was kind enough to show us many interesting butterflies and beetles in the insect collection as well as an Ant Decapitating Fly he was viewing under a microscope.  We also went behind the scenes at the Insect Zoo where Lisa remembered meeting us at the UC Riverside Insect Collection several years ago.  Our trip was thoroughly delightful, and perhaps the high point was the rarities in the insect collection that are locked away for safe keeping.  There we saw several bilateral hermaphrodites of moths and butterflies that are male on one half and female on the other, an oddity made even more obvious when the species exhibits sexual dimorphism.  We look forward to future collaborations with the North Campus garden at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

Correction courtesy of Eric Eaton
Daniel:
Was reading the entry on WTB about your trip to the natural history museum.  I hate to point out an error, but….
The half male/half female specimens are NOT bilateral “hermaphrodites.”  They are properly called bilateral gynandromorphs.  They are rare and spectacular indeed!
Eric

Posted 14 January 2010 § Administrative ‡ Comments (0) °

Blister Beetle

Appears to be Nemognatha sp
January 13, 2010
Found in the holes bored for Mason Bees
Want to know if this is Nemognatha or another sp. If Nemognatha what species?
Jay Hurlbert
MacMinnville OR

nemognatha 6 72 jake 300x199 Blister Beetle

Blister Beetle

Hi Jay,
We are going to contact Eric Eaton, who lived in Oregon, to see if he knows what species of Blister Beetle you have found.  The genus Nemognatha is one in which, according to BugGuide, the “Females lay eggs on flowers, larva attach themsleves to bees when they visit flowers and are then carried to bee nests where they eat bee eggs and stored food.“ That would explain finding this specimen in a Mason Bee nest.

Hi Daniel
I think it also may be Tricrania (stansburyi), a closely related genus, as I did a little more research after sending it to you. It sure would be nice to find out for sure,
Jake.

Eric Eaton concurs
Hi, Daniel:
I agree with Jake, this is a specimen of Tricrania stansburii (spelling taken from Hatch in Beetles of the Pacific Northwest).  Nice find!
Eric

Posted 14 January 2010 § Blister Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Black Flower Wasp from Australia

Large black wasp type bug, with rather pretty wings
January 14, 2010
We have a tree in our garden that has just come into flower, and as we’ve only been here for 9 months, it’s the first time we’e seen this. Of course it’s covered in your normal run of the mill bee ( that usually drink at my bird bath, or drown if they fall or get pushed in), but I also noticed a bug I’ve never seen before. It’s about twice the length of a bee, and completely black, with oil like black wings. Oil, as in like oil mixed with water and how it swirls – they change colour depending on the light to having purple, gold and blue swirls on them. The photos I took show that it has what seems to be a small stinger on the end of its tail. As I’ve never seen this before, the only thing I know is that it likes the flowers on our tree, and moves quite quickly on the tree. I’m pretty sure it’s a wasp, just not sure which one. The pics I got were the best I could get, they moved on pretty quick, from one bunch of flowers, around the tree, then to another bunch. Not sure if this is a native to Australia or not, but they don’t look too friendly anyway, being all black. If anyone knows, thanks icon smile Black Flower Wasp from Australia
Sarah
Shepparton, Victoria, Australia

black flower wasp australia sarah 300x271 Black Flower Wasp from Australia

Black Flower Wasp

Dear Sarah,
This is some species of Scoliid Wasp in the family Scoliidae, commonly called Flower Wasps.  The adults feed upon nectar, and the female lays her eggs on Scarab Beetle Grubs similar to the White Grubs we just posted.  Though we don’t like to base scientific identifications on Flickr pages, we found an image entitled a Black Flower Wasp, Discolia soror, on Flickr that looks like your wasp.  A photo on the Botanic Gardens Trust government website supports that identification, so we are comfortable saying this is a Black Flower Wasp.  According to BugGuide, Scoliid Wasps can be recognized because of their large size, dark coloration and hairy bodies.  Csiro has a wonderful fact page, but alas, only a photo of a mounted specimen and we much prefer your excellent photos of a vibrant, living specimen.  The site indicates:  “Female black flower wasps can sting but rarely do, as they are not aggressive. It is not necessary to control them.”

black flower wasp australia sarah 2 300x238 Black Flower Wasp from Australia

Black Flower Wasp

Your photos are so lovely, we are posting all of them.

black flower wasp australia sarah 3 300x217 Black Flower Wasp from Australia

Black Flower Wasp

Posted 14 January 2010 § Scoliid Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

better photo of same Ceanothus Silkmoth from the photographer

Moth like wings spiny red legs
January 14, 2010
Hi,
Found this bug on the outside of our house. It is about the size of the palm of your hand and has wings that look like a moth’s, but spiny crab-like legs. It didn’t move from the same spot for 3 days, and just today was gone. Any ideas? Thanks!
Not a big bug fan
San Diego, CA

ceanothus silkmoth sandiego res 201x300 better photo of same Ceanothus Silkmoth from the photographer

Ceanothus Silkmoth

Dear Not a big bug fan,
Interestingly, your friend L sent us this exact photo yesterday, but it was a lower resolution and we were lamenting to ourselves that the resolution was so poor.  L will probably be disappointed to find out you already know the answer.  We didn’t tell L the scientific name is Hyalophora euryalus, or that the natural range is from Baja to Canada along the westernmost portion of North America. Here is what we wrote back to L a few minutes ago.
This is a Ceanothus Silkmoth.  With more Southern California Landscaping being mindful of drought tolerant plants, especially native vegetation, we expect to be getting more reports of sightings of Ceanothus Silkmoths each year.  Your letter does not indicate if your friend lives near any natural open space, as this native moth, which does not feed as an adult and only lives for a few days, long enough to mate.  The Ceanothus Silkmoth develops from a large caterpillar that feed on the leaves of ceanothus, a plant sometimes marketed as California lilac.  BugGuide reports California sightings from March through August, so this January appearance is uncharacteristically early, but it may also be a result of our unseasonal rains this past October.

Thank you!  You solved the mystery, you guys sure know your bugs icon smile better photo of same Ceanothus Silkmoth from the photographer . Very interesting looking moth.

Posted 14 January 2010 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) °

Sow Bug Killer

Red Spider with Large Brown Shiny Abdomen
January 13, 2010
Found in the garage this morning next to a box that had been in storage for a long time and had been taken out.
It seems “shy” – it prefers to stay motionless with its legs drawn tightly to the body. I wasn’t even sure it was a spider at first since the abdomen resembles some kind of seed.
To take the photo and get it to extend its legs I had to shake the container a bit.
MAK
Malibu, CA

sowbug killer mak 300x237 Sow Bug Killer

Sow Bug Killer

Hi MAK,
Your spider is Dysdera crocata, and BugGuide calls it by three different common names that refer to variations on the common name of its prey.  The names on BugGuide are Woodlouse Hunter, Sow Bug Hunter and Pill Bug Hunter, though Charles Hogue, in his wonderful book Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, refers to it by the even more accurate name Sow Bug Killer.  The Biosecurity of New Zealand website calls this species a Slater Spider because Slater is a common name for the prey in New Zealand and Australia.  According to that site:  “Slater spiders originate in Europe but are now common throughout much of the world. They may be found throughout New Zealand and are common in suburban gardens.“

Posted 14 January 2010 § Sow Bug Killers ‡ Comments (0) °

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