Another Australian Flying Bug
February 11, 2010
Another Australian Flying Bug
Your letter to the bugman Hello again, Bugman
I’ve been trying to identify this one, but I’m not sure if it’s a fly or something else.
Ridou Ridou
Sydney, Australia
Orchid Dupe Wasp from Australia
Hi again Ridou,
This is not a fly, but rather, a Hymenopteran, a member of the order that consists of Ants, Bees and Wasps. We believe this is Brachonid, a parasitic wasp that can be identified in part through the long and slender antennae. Braconids are quite similar to Ichneumons, another possibility. We have not had any luck finding a matching photo, and we will continue to search. There are some beautiful Braconids posted on the Brisbane Insect website, but none that match your specimen.
Thanks Daniel, I think you’re right. Apparently there’re about 800 species of Braconid (or Brachonid) in Australia! I found this site (this is the google cached version of it, since the actual page didn’t load) with a drawing of a similar species to mine:
74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:UmIoSwzWsWEJ:www.faunanet.gov.au/wos/factfile.cfm%3FFact_ID%3D232+Brachonid&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au
Hi Ridou,
We couldn’t get your link to work, but we did find images of both Braconids and Ichneumons on the Life Unseen Website. We now believe your wasp is an Orange Dupe Wasp, Lissopimpla excelsa, one of the Ichneumons. One photo in particular looks identical to your specimen. The Oz Insects website calls this species the Orchid Dupe, and indicates: “The Orchid Dupe Wasp is a medium sized wasp with mainly orange body and dark wings. The abdomen has broad black band with four white spots on each side. The long thin antennae curl upwards at the ends. Females have a stout black ovipositor that is about half the body length. It is called the Orchid Dupe because some species of orchids mimic the odour and appearance of female Lissopimpla wasps. The male Lissopimpla wasps mistake the flowers for females pollinating the orchid.“
Jumping insect, Sydney, Australia
February 11, 2010
G’day, I live in Sydney Australia and my workplace is surrounded by bush, and every lunch time our lunch tables outside have these little brown bugs that jump when the long spikes/hairs/not sure what they are, are touched. They are well camouflaged, about 10mm long and fast (when they jump). Do you have any idea of what they are? Cheers, Angela
Angela, Bug enthusiast
Marsfield, Sydney, Australia
Wattle Hopper Nymph
Dear Angela,
Your photos are of an immature Gum Hopper or Wattle Hopper in the family Eurybrachyidae. The Brisbane Insect Website has numerous species depicted, and all have similar nymphs or immature stages.
Wattle Hopper Nymph
Unidentified wood insects
February 11, 2010
My lecturer asked whether does anyone knows what insect is this as he doesnt even know what it is due to the weirdness of the insects.Please help?What is this insect then?
TheSafira
Malaysia
Fruit Piercing Moth Caterpillar
Dear TheSafira,
This appears to be a caterpillar, and possibly a Noctuid or Owlet Moth. How large is that Caterpillar? Though it appears enormous, we suspect the use of a wide angle lens has distorted the perspective. What plant was it found on?
Karl Identifies this Fruit Piercing Moth Caterpillar
Hi Daniel and TheSafira:
This looks like another fruit piercing moth (Noctuidae: Catocalinae). The three functional prolegs (the first pair is rudimentary) are characteristic and the caterpillars typically move in a semi-looping motion. With the striped head, pale stripes along the body, darker dorsal spots above the prolegs, and the two small yellowish protuberances near the back end this looks very much like Ophiusa (=Thyas) coronata. The larvae apparently reach a maximum length of 70 mm, considerably shorter than the impression given by the photo, but I assume you are correct about the lens effect. I can’t be certain about the species, but if it is O. coronata, the larvae feed on the leaves of Sea Almond, apparently Malaysia’s most abundant urban tree, and the adults are a pest on citrus fruits. Regards.
Karl
Fruit Piercing Moth Caterpillar
Dear bugman,i think the caterpillar is around 10-15cm long?But im sorry as i cant specified which plant that my lecturer found this caterpillar on.Anyway,i love this website.This is awesome!
TheSafira
Malaysia
Is it a moth?
February 11, 2010
Large dragon fly and moth cross breed on my sisters farm in the semi desert Great Karoo region of South Africa. They came out at night to outside lights. The cat likes to eat them.
karoo
South Africa, Great Karoo
Antlion
Dear karoo,
Wow, that is a large Antlion. Antlions in the family Myrmeleontidae are not closely related to either Dragonflies or Moths, but rather, they are classified in the order Neuroptera, which included Lacewings and Owlflies. We tried a websearch of “Antlion South Africa” and we found ourselves on an interesting Discover Life page that allowed us to check various descriptions, and results popped up. We checked “abdomen color red uniformly” based on one of your photos, and we got a list of four species. We did not get any images, so we decided to web search the names individually. Palpares immensus is listed on a website, the Antlion Pit, as being: “Another ‘giant’ antlion; found in South Africa.“ While we are uncertain of the species identify of your Antlion, we would wager a guess that Palpares immensus might be your Antlion. At least we had success with finding a nice Kruger Part Times page on Antlions.
Antlion
Spider, I think
February 10, 2010
Saw another one just like this about twenty yards away. Both in spider webs. So I think it’s a spider. Date was Friday, February 5, 2010. Weather clear. WHAT IS THIS???
Robert Lutman
Heritage Gardens, Wailuku, Maui, HI.
Asian Spiny Backed Spider
Hi Robert,
This is a spider, and more particularly, it is an Orbweaver, though we are not certain of the species. We will continue to research this unusual find. Additional research on the Hawaiian Bugs page of BugGuide revealed that this is a species we receive with great frequency, Gasteracantha cancriformis, the Crablike Spiny Orbweaver, though we have never seen this color variation. Perhaps it is specific to Hawaii, where an isolated population may have diverged noticeably from its closest relatives on the mainland. The more commonly seen color variations are posted to BugGuide, which indicates additional common names for this species: “Spinybacked Orbweaver, Crab Spider, Spiny Orbweaver Spider, Crab-like Orbweaver Spider, Crab-like Spiny Orbweaver Spider, Jewel Spider, Spiny-bellied Orbweaver, Jewel Box Spider, Smiley Face Spider.” We rarely doubt BugGuide, but in this case we were having problems, so we decided to continue to research this spider by searching for the species in Hawaii. We found an Organisms of Hawaii website that included another member of the genus, Gasteracantha mammosa, and those photos posted online are a direct match to your spider. The Insects of Hawaii website lists this species as the Asian Spiny Backed Spider. The Guide to Common Singapore Spiders refers to this species as the Double Spotted Spiny Spider. The Hawaiian Biological Surveys section of the Bishop Museum Website also calls Gasteracantha mammosa the Asian Spinyback Spider, and indicates it is native to India and Sri Lanka, and that it was introduced to Hawaii in 1985. The museum gives it a “bad guy” frown face because of its non-native status, and indicates: “This spider is more harmless than it looks. It builds a typical spider web but can cause some annoyance to those who accidentally walk into their webs that are strung up across trails and in between trees. It is uncommon on O`ahu because of the introduced red-vented bulbul (also from India), which is its natural predator. In Hawai`i, the bulbul (see card no. 26) is found only on O`ahu.”
Please identify
February 9, 2010
Hi
I found this insect when we were trekking in Maharashtra, India.
Thanks for the help
Swati Babaria
Naneghat, Maharashtra, India
Hornworm from India: Hippotion celerio???
Hello Swati,
This is a Hornworm, the caterpillar of a moth in the family Sphingidae. We looked on the Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic website, and it looks similar to the caterpillar of Hippotion celerio. We then verified that with a photo on the Butterfly House of Australia website. If it is not Hippotion celerio, then we believe it is a closely related species in the same genus. We will try to contact Bill Oehlke to see if he has an opinion on this caterpillar.
Very, very tiny black caterpillar with white spots
February 8, 2010
‘Ello Bugman!
Today I found a very, very tiny black caterpillar. He’s approx 3mm long and has tiny white spots which first I thought were stripes across his body.
I live in Australia in NSW and it is currently Summer (although has been wet and rainy for a week now).
I don’t know what the plant is. It self-seeded from somewhere and I don’t mind if he eats it all up.
It would be interesting however, to find out what he is, how big he will get and what he is to become.
Thanks!
Bronwyn
Penrith (Western Sydney, NSW Australia)
unknown Inchworm from Australia
Hi Bronwyn,
We can say for certain that this is a Spanworm or Inchworm caterpillar in the family Geometridae, but we would need additional time to determine the species. Since it is so small, it is an early instar, and it may undergo five additional molts before pupating. Each molt or instar may have different markings and coloration. Generally, most caterpillar photos are of the final instar, and it can be quite difficult to properly identify the earlier instars. Knowing the food plant often helps, but alas, we do not recognize your plant. As the caterpillar grows, molts and changes, you may send additional images in the hope that would assist in identification.
Host Plant
Small, wasplike black fly
February 8, 2010
I cannot get a good picture of it, as my camera is not of good quality. But upon studying this strange little insect, I noticed physical characteristics of both a wasp and a fly. This small, black insect flies around our kitchen on occasion, it is about 3/4 of an inch in length, with a black wasp shaped head. It has six legs, the joints on all are an off white color, as well as a few tiny stripes on the sides of the thorax. The back set of legs are thick, almost cricketlike, but are about the same length as the rest of the legs. It has a single set of flylike wings, and the abdomen is elliptical, coming to a small point at the tip. I did a rough digital sketch of the insect, but I do not think I did it justice. I simply wish to know what it is, if it is dangerous, how to be rid of it, ect. Your help would be appreciated.
Thank you, Felicia Wise
Rhode Island, Wintertime
Ensign Wasp Drawing
Hi Felicia,
Though your drawing is perfectly charming, there is a bit too much creative license for us to use it for any identification purposes, however your letter contains one important clue that has led us to believe you have Ensign Wasps. The hind legs of an Ensign Wasp are cricket-like. Ensign Wasps parasitize the oothica or egg cases of cockroaches, and the presence of Ensign Wasps might indicate that you have roaches, but the wasps will help to control future generations as the Ensign Wasp larvae feed on the eggs. We have numerous images of Ensign Wasps in our archive, and you may use our search engine to find additional ones.
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