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Monthly Archives February 2010

Australian Hawk Moth

Australian Hawkmoth
February 12, 2010
Hi again Bugman. I think this time I actually was able to sort out the species myself going through your ‘hawkmoth’ search: there it was on page 11 out of 19 pages – (www.whatsthatbug.com/2006/02/16/australian-hawk-moth-might-be-coequosa-australasiae/) . I confirmed it on this webpage: www1.ala.org.au/gallery2/v/Sphingidae/Coequosaaustralasiae/coequosa_australasiae_02.jpg.html
Do you agree my identification?
Thanks in advance.

coequosa australasiae ridou 300x297 Australian Hawk Moth

Coequosa australasiae

PS. It was sitting there at night on this deck chair, and I observed it for about an hour, taking occasional photos. It came as a great surprise for me when it started spreading its ‘underwings’ that turned out to be bright orange. It was quite large, maybe 3-4 inches long.
Ridou Ridou
Sydney, Australia

coequosa australasiae ridou 2 300x234 Australian Hawk Moth

Coequosa australasiae

Hi Again Ridou,
My, you certainly are submitting some wonderful images.  We agree that your Hawk Moth is Coequosa australasiae.  We actually think a different image on the Csiro website is a better visual match to your individual.

coequosa australasiae ridou 3 300x279 Australian Hawk Moth

Coequosa australasiae

Posted 12 February 2010 § Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Blue Flower Wasp from Australia

Is this a wasp ??
February 12, 2010
Hi , I live in Mornington , Victoria . Australia, and for the last month or so we have had these insects flying around the garden , I think that they may be some kind of wasp ? If possible could you identify them for me please and tell me if I should be wary of them ? Thanks for your help.
Ingrid
Mornington , south of Melbourne , Victoria Australia

blue flower wasp australia 2 ingrid 300x199 Blue Flower Wasp from Australia

Blue Flower Wasp

Dear Ingrid,
This beautiful wasp is Discolia soror, and the common name is listed as either the Blue Flower Wasp, Black Flower Wasp or Hairy Flower Wasp depending upon the author.  The adult feeds upon nectar, and the female lays eggs on Scarab Beetle Grubs which are parasitized by the larval wasps.

blue flower wasp australia ingrid 300x264 Blue Flower Wasp from Australia

Blue Flower Wasp

Posted 12 February 2010 § Scoliid Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Update: We are doing the final edits on our book this weekend

February 12, 2010
We are very excited that we are nearing the end on writing our book, The Curious World of Bugs.  We are involved in the second round of edits, and it is time to lock the artwork content and placement.  We also need to write an introduction this weekend.  We are on schedule, and the book, which is being published by Penguin/Perigee, should be available by October.

Comment
March 11, 2010
I have been reading your site daily for about 2 years. I use it to identify insects for customers and for the general delight of myself and my family. My 7 year old daughter especially loves to catch bugs then run inside to identify them. We are very excited about your book and cannot wait until it is available for purchase!
crazyaboutbugs

Dear crazyaboutbugs,
Thanks for your kind words.  We are about to embark on perhaps the final flurry of activity regarding the book.  The final edit is scheduled to be back from the copy editor tomorrow, and we need to proof it and provide an introduction, reference list, and compile the illustrations that will accompany the text.  Once we have selected all of the imagery, the designer will create the final look of the book.  We are still right on schedule, and we expect the book to be hitting the shelves in October.

Posted 12 February 2010 § Administrative § Curious World of Bugs ‡ Comments (1) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Immature Stink Bugs in New Zealand

Garden infestation
February 9, 2010
We have these “bugs” all over our tomatoes this year. I live in New Zealand and tomatoes are in full swing. We have a variety of different fruit trees and other veges in our garden too. This is the first bug I have ever come across I couldn’t Identify easily. Can anyone identify this and tell me how to control it if at all?
Bemused
Auckland, New Zealand

stink bug nymph new zealand Immature Stink Bugs in New Zealand

Immature Stink Bug

Dear Bemused,
This is an immature Stink Bug, and may species are problematic on garden plants.  We believe this might be an immature Green Vegetable Bug, Nezara viridula, which is pictured on the Brisbane Insect Website, or perhaps the closely related New Zealand Vegetable Bug, Glaucias amyoti, which can be seen in the adult form on the Life Unseen Website.

Posted 12 February 2010 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °

Possible Scorpion Spider from South Africa

unknown spider
February 10, 2010
found this spider in our bathroom twice. We have never seen this type of spider before and would love to know what type it is.
Annest
South Africa

spider south africa annest 300x238 Possible Scorpion Spider from South Africa

Scorpion Spider from South Africa

Hi Annest,
We will attempt to identify your spider.  How large is it?

The spider was about 1-2 cm long. We have been told that it is from the gnaphosid family, but we would like a specific name….
Thanks.

The members of the family Gnapnosidae are commonly called Ground Spiders.  BugGuide has a nice representation of North American species.  Spiders are often very difficult to identify to the species level even for experts, which we are not.  An expert would rarely make a conclusive identification from a photograph without actually examining the specimen.  Your photo resembles a photo of Gnaposa bicolor from Czech Republic, but that spider has a range that is listed as Europe to Ukraine, Georgia.  Wikipedia has a list of species and locations as of July 5, 2009, and you may try to web search individual names that are listed in South Africa to see if there are images posted online that match your specimen if your level of investment includes having an exact species name.  If your request to have an exact species name is a question of whether the spider is harmless versus dangerous, the Colorado State University Spiders in the Home website indicates:  “Ground spiders, as their common name implies, are most often found under rocks or logs where they build silken retreats and emerge only to hunt. Some species wander indoors when the weather turns cold. Ground spiders are harmless to humans.“

Update: January 26, 2011
T.M. just sent us a comment identifying this unusual spider as a Scorpion Spider in the genus Platyoides and we found a photo on Snakes.co.za that supports the identification.

Posted 12 February 2010 § Scorpion Spiders ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged:

Blue Carpenter Bee from Malaysia

A blue bumble bee.
February 12, 2010
Is there such a type of bee?
kF TUNG
Malaysia

blue bee malaysia kf tung 300x275 Blue Carpenter Bee from Malaysia

Blue Carpenter Bee

Dear kF TUNG,
This is a gorgeous bee.  We will try to identify it properly, but until then, we want to post it and see if our readers have any luck with identification.

Hello Mr.Marlos,
Perhaps a few more photos of the blue bee to help you and your readers to better identify it.
KFTung.

blue bee malaysia kftung 2 239x300 Blue Carpenter Bee from Malaysia

Blue Carpenter Bee from Malaysia

Thanks KFTung,
We are thrilled to post the additional images of this gorgeous blue bee, but we doubt they will assist us in the identification.  We spent a goodly amount of time searching the web in vain, and we are going to have to depend on assistance from our readers.  Your photos are great.  The only images of a Blue Bee we found were not your species, nor were they anywhere near as gorgeous as your insect.

blue bee malaysia kftung 3 300x278 Blue Carpenter Bee from Malaysia

Blue Carpenter Bee from Malaysia

Daniel:
So sorry I’m falling behind in keeping up with the posts….
The blue bee from Malaysia is a carpenter bee, Xylocopa caerulea.  Magnificent images of a gorgeous insect!
Eric

Thanks Eric,
Armed with a name, we were able to locate a website that says:  “Carpenter bee
A large bee, reaching slightly more than 23mm. Female is mainly black. The thorax is covered with light blue hairs, making it almost fully blue except for a small black patch in the centre. The first abdominal segment and sides of the abdomen are also lined with similar but finer and more sparse blue hairs. I am not srre of what the male looks like, although he is supposed to be similar but lighter in body colour with long blue hairs on part of his head!
This species is apparently quite widely distributed across Southeast Asia, as well as India and parts of China (Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan).
This beautiful and distinctive carpenter bee is apparently found in Singapore; I have sighted it in MacRitchie Reservoir once, but was unable to catch it since I was inside the nature trail, where capturing anything is explicitly forbidden. I have also not been able to photograph it; it has been photographed a couple of times by local photographers. Having only seen it once and only for a few seconds, I hope to be able to learn more about its behaviour and nest sites in future, and to also photograph it.”

3

Posted 12 February 2010 § Valley Carpenter Bee ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged:

Snake Mantid from Australia

Australian Mantodea with yellow/red eyes?
February 11, 2010
This Praying Mantis (?) was hovering around me this morning, and then it landed close to me on our outside deck in Sydney. We see a lot of them here, but this one had such peculiar red striped eyes on yellow, with little black spots, as in an eye in an eye. I tried to find one like it on Brisbaneinsects website, with now luck. Any ideas?
Ridou Ridou
Sydney, Australia

snake mantid australia ridou 300x214 Snake Mantid from Australia

Snake Mantid

Hi again Ridou,
This presented a bit of a challenge for us, but we are satisfied that we have identified your delicate green mantis as a Snake Mantid, Kongobatha diademata, but alas, though we have a name, and we know that the Snake Mantid is found in Australia, we were unable to locate any additional information.

snake mantid australia 2 ridou 300x226 Snake Mantid from Australia

Snake Mantid

We found a matching image on the Life Unseen website, and the aerial view nicely illustrates the yellow stripe on the thorax also found in your image.  We located a second photo with no accompanying data on a site called Members Optusnet, and that image illustrates eyes similar to those in your photos.

snake mantid australia cu ridou 300x213 Snake Mantid from Australia

Snake Mantid

Posted 12 February 2010 § Preying Mantis ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Justifiable Insecticide???

Dangerous , deadly or painful bugs.
February 11, 2010
I was looking for a way to identify a few bugs in my home. It would be helpful if the search included criteria such as how many legs , wings etc.
Also , I can’t understand why you would include an unnecessary carnage page and not have a page dedicated to which insects known to man actually are dangerous , deadly or have a painful sting or bite even if they are not venomous.
It renders the UC page pointless if you don’t list all the bugs which aren’t unnecessarily killed.
Sure I love living things , but not if they bite or crawl into my ear when I’m sleeping.
So please include a list of those bugs . It’s very hard to find the information elsewhere .
TM

Hi TM,
We just might take you up on this suggestion.  We can call the page Justifiable Homicide.  We would definitely put Argentine Ants and Aphids at the top of the list.  Some creatures like Black Widows might be dangerous, but we could never include them on a Justifiable Insecticide, though they might be sub-categorized on that page.

Posted 12 February 2010 § Uncategorized ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

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