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Monthly Archives January 2010

Elongate Bodied Springtails

Small nearly microscopic bugs in my plant
January 21, 2010
I live in New Hampshire, USA. It’s currently January 21,2010. I have an Ivy plant that was getting unruly and part of it started to die so I cut it back. When I watered the plant, I noticed that there seemed to be thousands of very tiny bugs coming out of the soil in the pot. These little bugs are so small they can barely be seen by the naked eye. Once the water was absorbed by the soil, most of the bugs went back into the soil. There is wood and compost inside the soil that was used to pot the plant. I would like to know what kind of bugs they are? Are they dangerous to my kids and pet? Will they eat my house down? And if they shouldn’t be in the house, how to I get rid of them? I have attached some pictures of the plant and the bugs. You may have to blow t he pics up a little to get a goo look. The pics were taken using a macro lens to get a good look. It was very hard to catch one standing still long enough to get a pic at all. Any help you can provide will be appreciated. Thanks.
Eric Hardy
New Hampshire, USA, indoors

springtails eric 300x204 Elongate Bodied Springtails

Elongate Bodied Springtails

Hi Eric,
We believe you have benign Elongate Bodied Springtails in the order Entomobryomorpha.  These common primitive insects have a worldwide distribution and they help organic materials in soil to be converted into humus.  You can compare your insects to images on BugGuide.

Posted 22 January 2010 § Springtails! ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Dobsonfly

Large Flying Insect with Tusk-Like Pinchers and XL Antennas
January 22, 2010
Dear Bugman
This encounter happened while visiting my family, in rural North Eastern Pennsylvania. It was July 20th, around 8:30 pm, when this bug crashed into the wall of my porch. I was startled by the noise and by the size of what landed on the 2″x6″ next to me. The bug seemed to be quite stunned from the collision as well and stayed rather still, while i made this picture. I live on a lush hillside of Mt Washington in Los Angeles and have seen some very interesting bugs, but never anything like this….Have you ever seen this bug before?
Lee Thompson
Rural North Eastern Pennsylvania

dobsonfly lee 300x166 Dobsonfly

Dobsonfly

Hi Lee,
This is the third male Dobsonfly image we posted this week, but the interesting thing is that none of the images were recent images.  We are curious what in the zeitgeist caused our readership to begin to submit old photos of Dobsonflies this week.

Posted 22 January 2010 § Dobsonflies and Fishflies ‡ Comments (0) °

Weevils

I have tiny black bugs that are crawling into my dog’s water bowl
January 21, 2010
I found a black bug on the counter one day, and then one on another counter, but ever since, they are not on counters but on the floor near my dog’s water bowl, and they keep crawling into her water. I took the bug to a professional who said it was a weevil, but I haven’t found any bugs in my food, and they are in her water every day, so I’m not sure what I have and how to get rid of it. I bought traps for the weevils, but so far they aren’t attracting them. The only bugs in the trap are the ones that I have put there.
Sherri
Indianaplis, IN

weevils dogdish sherri 300x206 Weevils

Weevils in trap

Hi Sherri,
The professional is correct.  These are Weevils.  Try checking your dogs bargain size pet food, or perhaps you have some birdseed stored nearby.  Both are likely sources for the infestation.

Posted 21 January 2010 § Pantry Beetles, Grain Weevils, Spider Beetles, Meal Worms and Carpet Beetles § Weevils ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Sheetweb Spider from New Zealand

long legged spider
January 21, 2010
hi,
i found this big fella when i was trimming my wisteria. i havn’t seen him since. hes quite big about 10 cm from foot to foot ive tried looking for something similar but i cant seem to find anything. ive also tried looking for him again (rather timidly) curiousity got the better of me but i havnt seen him.
cheers julie
12ks out of ngaruawahia, new zealand

spider new zealand julie 300x289 Sheetweb Spider from New Zealand

Possibly Huntsman Spider

Hi Julie,
In attempting to answer your question, we discovered a Museum of New Zealand spider website, but your specimen is not represented.  We believe this is some species of Huntsman Spider because of the size and the leg span.  It looks somewhat similar to a Shield Huntsman, Neosparassus salacius,  pictured on the Insects of Brisbane website.  We located another Australian Huntsman website, but again, nothing looks exactly like your specimen.  There is some concern about the introduction of Australian Huntsman spiders to New Zealand, not because the spiders pose a threat to humans, but because of how they might feed upon native insects, upsetting the biodiversity in New Zealand.  Here is a link to a news story.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck with the identification of your spider.

spider new zealand 2 julie 300x234 Sheetweb Spider from New Zealand

Sheetweb Spider

Update from Karl
Hi Daniel:
I think this may be a sheetweb spider (Stiphidiidae) in the genus Cambridgea. The genus is endemic to New Zealand and there are apparently about 30 species. The size of this one suggests that it could be C. foliata, New Zealand’s largest spider. The Museum of New Zealand spider website you mentioned does not have a very useful photo, but it does provide good information about the group. Regards.
Karl

Posted 21 January 2010 § Huntsman Spiders ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged:

Granary Weevil

Please identify tiny bugs in my carpet
January 20, 2010
I just returned from vacation to find several dozen little bugs in my bedroom carpet. They are dark brown, oblong, with six legs and what appears to be a proboscis between their antennae. They measure approximately 3 mm. No wings that I can see. Many are dead, the others seem to be wandering aimlessly on the floor. I’ve looked up carpet beetles but these don’t resemble the pictures of those I found. Any ideas?
Bugs in NYC
New York, NY

weevil new york Granary Weevil

Granary Weevil

This is a Weevil, and there are several species that infest stored food products.  Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide us with a more specific identification.

Eric Eaton provides information
The tiny weevil is indeed a “granary” weevil in the genus Sitophilus.  Great image, too!  They often infest birdseed, so that might be the source.
Eric

Posted 21 January 2010 § Pantry Beetles, Grain Weevils, Spider Beetles, Meal Worms and Carpet Beetles § Weevils ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Leather Jackets evacuated in the rain

larvae (I think), gray-brown, hundreds of them, most around 1 inch long, 1/4 inch diameter, have two little spikes at the back and a little head in the front.
January 19, 2010
Found after the rain under the carpet on front porch. I brushed them all off the porch. Today again hundreds of them under the rug. No idea where they come from. Cement porch meets soil on one side.
Marianne
Van Nuys, California

leatherjackets marianne 300x225 Leather Jackets evacuated in the rain

Crane Fly Larvae: Leather Jackets

Hi Marianne,
The threat of a flooded habitat due to our Southern California series of deluges has caused the mass evacuation of these Leather Jackets from your garden.  Leather Jacket is a common name for a Crane Fly larva.  According to Charles Hogue in his wonderful book, Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, “The stout worm-like larvae (called leather jackets because of their thick dark skin) live in damp loose soil or leaf mold and feed on the root of herbaceous plants  In the spring, when such food supplies and moisture abound, large larval populations may develop and produce swarms of adults.”  The adults look like giant mosquitoes, but they are harmless.  BugGuide has numerous images of Crane Fly larvae, but nothing that resembles your phenomenal aggregation.

leatherjackets cu marianne 300x203 Leather Jackets evacuated in the rain

Crane Fly Larvae: Leather Jackets

Thanks so much. I hope as many as possible survive the “flood”. They look pretty ugly, but I googled a picture of an adult, and I think they are very beautiful, so delicate.  It’s so great to have your site available! Thanks again.
Marianne

Comment:
January 22, 2010
Thanks for posting this!  I live in Canoga Park, and I too had literally hundreds of these worm like larvae on my back patio, trying to invade my home!  I am glad I was able to identify them!  -
Rich

Update:  NOT (see next comment) Invasive Species
February 2, 2010
Daniel
Great work as always!  Just some info regarding leather jackets.
There are two invasive European Crane Flies on the loose here in the US and they are serious pests. Most crane flies are harmless but these larvae can cause serious damage to lawns and seedlings.  The post on January 21st is definitely one these pests spp.  It is not uncommon for invasive species to be found in large numbers.
We have both spp. here in Michigan.  Both are new state records for 2009.
Some of your earlier crane fly posts are the exotics spp. as well such as on Oct 20,2009 where you mentioned they are harmless ( not to humans yes but to plants).
The links below have good information and some ID keys as well.
Links:
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/cranefly/tipulaid.html
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/cranefly/index.htm
Just thought your readers should know.
Faithful Reader
Brian Sullivan

Chen Young responds
February 6, 2010
Hi Daniel,
Good to hear from you.  I have looked both of the images and none of them are the introduced European crane flies.  Noticed the middle lobes of the larvae are very dark and sharp which is not the character for the European crane flies.  The middle two lobes of the European crane fly larvae are soft and flesh like.  I don’t have an image with me now at home but I will send you one Monday when I get to work at the museum.  By the way, we are having a big snow storm and everything is closed for that matter thus I don’t think I will venture out to the museum  to get the image.
As for adult flies you can also check here http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/cranefly/tipulinae.htm#Tipula_(Tipula)_paludosa for comparison of the two species.  These two species have also been reported recently in Michigan, New York, New England states, and Utah.  It will eventually in Pennsylvania.
Okay, I will send you image of the European crane flies on Monday.
Chen

Posted 21 January 2010 § Crane Fly § Maggots ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged:

Cutworm in the Snow is Winter Cutworm

January 18, 2010
Live caterpillars in the snow, New England.
Hi – I found about a dozen of these caterpillars – live caterpillars – on the top of the snow this morning.  It was a windy stormy night, temps in the high 20′s.  Most of the trees in this area are oak trees.   We are in Dover, MA, about 15 miles just southeast of Boston. Can you please tell me what kind of caterpillars these are?
Thanks,
Judy

cutworm snow judy 300x218 Cutworm in the Snow is Winter Cutworm

Cutworm in the Snow

Hi Judy,
This looks like a Cutworm, a member of the subfamily Noctuinae.  Perhaps one of our readers will have more information on what species might be found in the snow.

Comment from Karl:
It’s probably a Winter Cutworm, the common name for the caterpillar of the Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba). It’s an immigrant species from Europe that has become a pest in much of eastern North America.  According to the book, Caterpillars of Eastern North America (David L. Wagner), “The caterpillars are active during thaws throughout the winter – commonly turning up on sidewalks, sauntering into garages, or crawling along banks of snow. If someone brings you a cutworm in the dead of winter – this is it.”  There are some good photos and information at: http://www.pestid.msu.edu/InsectsArthropods/NoctuaPronuba/tabi/73/Default.aspx

Posted 21 January 2010 § Cutworms and Owlet Caterpillars ‡ Comments (2) °

Larder Beetles

Small Brown bug with white/yellow stripe
January 21, 2010
We have been finding these bugs in our kitchen and family room area. The bugs look like a beetle type, they are small dark brown almost black, with a white or yellow band on their backs. We normally find them in the morning laying on their backs on the hardwood floor. I want to spray for these and I am fearful that they are wood eaters. We live in a timber frame home from the early 1970s.
Jeffrey Feiler
South Central Pennsylvania

larder beetles jeffrey 300x206 Larder Beetles

Larder Beetles

Dear Jeffrey,
Your wooden house is safe, but you are sharing your food.  It is time to clean out the pantry and search for the source of your Larder Beetle, Dermestes lardarius, infestation.  According to BugGuide, this cosmopolitan species will eat food stuff and museum specimens.  You may also need to check your trophy stag heads hanging above the fireplace or the bearskin rug on the floor in the den.  Generally, you need to find the source of the infestation to rid yourself of pantry beetles and general extermination is just a waste of money as it cannot target the source, especially if the Larder Beetles are in edible foods.  You should also check that bargain bag of dog food.

Daniel,
Thank you so much for the help. I thought they didn’t look like wood eaters, but we just moved down to PA from NH. Up there you had just mosquitoes and black flies (which ate my flesh and blood alot). Nothing else survived the winters for the most part. Southern PA has a zillion bugs, especially the annoying STINK BUG which I am convinced will survive nuclear holocaust, those things are more hearty then roaches.
Thanks Again,
Jeffrey Feiler

1

Posted 21 January 2010 § Pantry Beetles, Grain Weevils, Spider Beetles, Meal Worms and Carpet Beetles ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

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