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Monthly Archives March 2010

Male Valley Carpenter Bee

Is this a Beetle?
March 23, 2010
Hey there,
I was out in my backyard in Glendale, Arizona when I stumbled on this odd looking bug.
What exactly is it? Is it dangerous in any way? I searched your site and googled a description, but I couldn’t find any info on this bug.
Thanks for your time!
Joe
Glendale, AZ (USA)

carpenter bee male joe 300x233 Male Valley Carpenter Bee

Valley Carpenter Bee

Hi Joe,
This is a perfectly harmless male Valley Carpenter Bee.

Thank you for the quick reply!!
Man, that bee is huge!  I’ve never seen one like that before.
Thanks again, we were a little nervous because we have a 2 year old who runs around a lot in the back yard.
Joe

Posted 24 March 2010 § Valley Carpenter Bee ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Luna Moth

Male or Female Luna Moth?
March 23, 2010
I commented earlier on Susan’s Luna moth and wanted to share my photos of the one I saw the same day, except late in the evening. Susan is from Houston and I live about 30 miles east of Houston out I-10. I just thought it was incredible someone saw one so close to me when I’ve never seen one my entire life. It was truly an awesome experience. I wish I’d know how lucky I was to see one because I would have tried to keep it more protected and then saved it for my grandkids when it died. Bummer. I think this is a male, but thought I’d ask just to make sure. One other thing that I didn’t realize until after reviewing the photos later in the evening, was in the pictures you can’t see 2 of the spots on the wings, but I clearly remember seeing them several times. Is this something they can activate as a defense? Kind of turn em on and off?
Juju
Hankamer, TX (Between Baytown and Beaumont)

luna juju 285x300 Luna Moth

Luna Moth

Hi Juju,
Based on the feathery antennae, we agree this is a male Luna Moth who uses his antennae to sniff out the pheromones of a female.  The eyespots are a natural feature that are not turned on or off.

Posted 23 March 2010 § Luna Moth - Rare Specimen ‡ Comments (0) °

Andean Insect: Walkingstick Perhaps

Andean insect with funny tail
March 23, 2010
Found this guy In the Ecuadorian Andes mountains around 12 or 13,000 feet. He seemed to be looking down into a hole in the moss and moved very little. No other bugs present that I could see. Saw one other walking but didn’t take a picture. It seems that the tail lays flat when they walk.
Samuel
Cajas National Park, Cuenca, Ecuador

andean insect samuel 300x214 Andean Insect: Walkingstick Perhaps

Possibly Walkingstick

Hi Samuel,
We wish you had a photo from the front as well as the rear.  We don’t know for certain, but we believe this may be a Rove Beetle.  We hope to get some confirmation.

Update: January 4, 2011
An identification request that just arrived leads us to believe that this is more likely a Phasmid or Walkingstick than a Rove Beetle.

Posted 23 March 2010 § Walkingsticks ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

German Yellow Jacket Nest

nest
March 23, 2010
This nest is in our attic. I have never seen anything like this before and it totally CREEPED me out when I noticed it in the attic. It can not bee seen from outside the house. I didn’t get to close to it. Please help…. major heebie jeebies right now.
Andrea
Renton Washington USA

hornet nest andrea 300x225 German Yellow Jacket Nest

German Yellow Jacket Nest Nest

Hi Andrea,
This appears to be the paper nest of a Bald Faced Hornet.  The nests are only used for one season, and the colony dies shortly after new queens and males are produced.  After mating, the queen builds her own nest and the old nest is not reused.  The European Hornet, an introduced species, is not reported from Washington, according to BugGuide.

Correction Courtesy of Eric Eaton
March 28, 2010
Hi, Daniel:
Here are a couple of other corrections:
The “bald-faced hornet nest” in the attic in Washington state is definitely not built by Dolichovespula maculata.  They nearly always build their nests in exposed situations on the exterior of buildings, in trees, blackberry canes, etc.  This attic nest is almost certainly that of the German yellowjacket, Vespula germanica, which is now firmly established in Washington state.
Keep up the great work, Carlos…I mean Daniel:-)  LOL!  I loved that post from Lisa….
Eric
P.S.  Hey, next year, when your book is out, we should go in on a table at the Bug Fair and do signings!

Possible Correction
possible misidentification of a wasp nest in an attic
April 8, 2010
RE: Post by Andrea March 23, 2010
Renton Washington USA
Having removed several similar nests – both live and old – from attics, both near Renton WA (Kent) and here in Ellensburg, WA, and judging by the redish colors [cedar?] and the ornate, curly-Q sculpting of the paper I suspect that this nest is probably made by Vespula vulgaris, “the Common Yellowjacket.” The “German Yellowjacket”, Vespula germanica, which also nests opportunistically in attics and crawl spaces tends to construct nests of grey paper.
Shawn

Thanks for this information Shawn.

Posted 23 March 2010 § Hornets and Yellow Jackets ‡ Comments (0) °

Master Blister Beetle

Anza Borrego Bug
March 23, 2010
Greetings,
I came across this bug while hiking in the Anza Borrego State Park, near the Salton Sea, in Southern California in the afternoon of March 13th, 2010.It was about 100 yards from a blooming Ocotillo plant. I found it quite beautiful and would like it identified. Your help would be much appreciated.
Ashley Bacon
Anza Borrego State Park, Southern California

master blister ashley 296x300 Master Blister Beetle

Master Blister Beetle

Hi Ashley,
Each spring, we get reports of sightings of Lytta magister, the Master Blister Beetle, from the Mojave and Colorado deserts in California and Arizona.  Though BugGuide reports them from Nevada and Utah as well, we have not received any reports from those states.  Your photo is the first one this year.  Blister Beetles are a diverse family with numerous species living in the desert areas of the Southwest.  Generally the adults are seen each year for a short period of time, usually in the spring when they feed on new plant growth.  The larvae are parasitic on grasshopper eggs or the eggs of solitary bees.

Posted 23 March 2010 § Blister Beetles ‡ Comments (1) °

Toe-Biter from Argentina: Another image of the same dead bug!!!

Flying biting fly thing
March 22, 2010
I recently moved down to Argentina, and there was an attack on a person by these flying things. The people do not know what type of bug it is, so I thought I might ask here. I know it’s not North America, but maybe you can help. The attack happened by a river, and they bit the person.
Tanya
Necochea, Aegentina

toebiter argentina tanya 300x177 Toe Biter from Argentina: Another image of the same dead bug!!!

Giant Water Bug

Hi Tanya,
We received another photo of this same dead bug yesterday, and the letter was in Spanish.  Giant Water Bugs are called Toe-Biters in the U.S. and they will bite if carelessly handled.  We are most curious about the details of the attack you mentioned.  Were there multiple insects involved?

Posted 22 March 2010 § Toe Biters and other Aquatic True Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Arrowhead Spider

Neat Looking Red and White Bug
March 22, 2010
I found this bug on the side of my car a few years ago around September. It was about the size of a dime, maybe a little bigger but not by much. I live in a rural area in eastern Virginia and have seen many bugs but never one like this. No one else I talked to could identify it either. I was so excited when I discovered your website and am hoping that you’ll be able to solve this mystery. Thanks for your help!
Grace
eastern Virginia

arrowhead spider grace 300x249 Arrowhead Spider

Arrowhead Spider

Hi Grace,
We haven’t posted a photo of an Arrowhead Spider, Verrucosa arenata, in years.  You may see additional images on BugGuide.  The Arrowhead Spider is one of the Orbweavers, and it is not dangerous.

Posted 22 March 2010 § Orb Weavers ‡ Comments (0) °

Cicada from Malaysia: Tacua speciosa

Black moth with yellow stripe on ‘neck’
March 22, 2010
Hi, my dad found this moth on a tree in our garden in Malaysia (tropics). Rainy season had just started, humid, temperature around 29C. Wing span was about 12 centimeters. Hope you can help identify this moth. Really curious! Thanks.
June, Malaysia.
Penang, Malaysia

tacua speciosa black cicada malaysia june 300x140 Cicada from Malaysia: Tacua speciosa

Cicada: Tacua speciosa

Hi June,
This is not a moth, but rather a Cicada, and it is gorgeous.  We did a web search for black cicada in Malaysia, and we found a match on the ExoInsects website of Malaysian insects for sale where it was identified as Tacua speciosa Rare.  We then found a photo of a living specimen on Ch’ien C. Lee’s Nature Photography of Southeast Asia website.

Posted 22 March 2010 § Cicadas ‡ Comments (0) °

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