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Monthly Archives April 2010

Thistledown Velvet Ant

Is it an ant? Thistledown velvet ant?
April 18, 2010
Hi Bugman, thanks for this website! I found a strange insect in Baja California (Cabo Pulmo) and i think that he may be an ant. He was alone between stones. His abdomen mouved a little (up and down). One centimeter long. He looks like other pictures of “Thistledown Velvet Ant”. Can you tell me if i’m right?
What a strange and beautiful animal!!!
Sorry for my poor english, i’m french.
Have a good day
Niea
Baja California Sur

thistledown velvet ant baja niea 300x200 Thistledown Velvet Ant

Thistledown Velvet Ant

Dear Niea,
Please do not apologize for your English, which is better than that of many native speakers.  Your identification is correct.  This is a Thistledown Velvet Ant, Dasymutilla gloriosa, and you may read more about this species on BugGuide.  There are some inaccuracies in your letter.  A Velvet Ant is not a true ant, but instead, a flightless female wasp.  He is actually a she.  The pain associated with the sting of a Velvet Ant is reported to be severe.

Posted 18 April 2010 § Velvet Ants ‡ Comments (1) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Elm Sawfly

hairless bumble bee?
April 18, 2010
Dear Bugman,
I have been collecting insects for about 9 years. I have been able to identify all of them except for this one. I found it on a log , and when I went to catch it, it did not try to fly away.
Aaron
Sullivan county, Pa

elm sawfly aaron 300x249 Elm Sawfly

Elm Sawfly

Hi Aaron,
You have been having difficulty with your identification because this is not a Bumble Bee.  It is an Elm Sawfly, Cimbex americana, the largest North American Sawfly.

Posted 18 April 2010 § Horntails, Wood Wasps and Sawflies ‡ Comments (0) °

Mystery: Unknown creature from Hawaii is a Water Strider

Purple beach bug
April 17, 2010
I was on the beach yesterday and noticed a lot of these little critters flopping about. I was right near the water line, and I’m not sure if these were water critters that were getting beached or if they were beach critters that were getting swamped. They are small, about 2-3mm in length. As you can see, they have long appendages, but I couldn’t tell you for sure whether they are all legs or legs and antennae. Between the wind and the water, I couldn’t get one to stay still long enough to really see. Any ideas?
Dreamybee
Windward/North shore, O’ahu, Hawaii

beach bug hawaii 296x300 Mystery: Unknown creature from Hawaii is a Water Strider

Possibly Water Strider

Dear Dreamybee,
Many things in the world of insects and other arthropods resemble other creatures and mimicry is often used as a survival strategy.  Our first impression, before lightening your image, was that this might be a Harvester missing a few legs, but we quickly ruled that out.  The creature does appear to have six legs and antennae which is consistent with it being an insect.  The front legs appear to be raptoral, a characteristic of many true bugs including predatory aquatic bugs.  The behavior you describe was key to our hypothesis that this is some species of Water Strider in the infraorder Gerromorpha which is represented by several families on BugGuide.  The inhabitants of family Gerridae are known as the Water Striders, and according to BugGuide the habitat is the  “surface of temporary or permanent ponds, and slow-moving areas of streams and rivers.“  One of the photos posted on BugGuide looks very similar to the shape of your creature.  Another family in the infraorder Gerromorpha is Veliidae, and the inhabitants are called the Broad-Shouldered Water Striders.  One image posted to BugGuide from Florida and it is listed as a Marine Water Strider, Trochopus plumbeus.  While we do not think that either of the images on BugGuide are your species, we do feel that they are close enough in appearance and behavior to lend credence to our hypothesis.  We eagerly welcome more authoritative assistance with this identification.

Eric Eaton provides information
April 19, 2010
The “unknown creature” from the Hawaiian beach is indeed a water strider, possibly of the genus Halobates, which are pelagic (“open ocean”) water striders.  There are, however, at least a couple of other genera of marine water striders in Hawaii.  The person who sent the image might consult the Bishop Museum in Hawaii to see what they have to say.
Eric

Posted 18 April 2010 § Water Striders ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: ,
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Preying Mantis from Saudi Arabia is Checkered Mantis nymph

What kind of mantis is this ?
April 16, 2010
I found it in the desert on in a sandy area.
Jeddah diver
Western Saudi Arabia desert

mantis saudi arabia jeddah 297x300 Preying Mantis from Saudi Arabia is Checkered Mantis nymph

Unidentified Preying Mantis

Dear Jeddah,
Our initial attempts to identify your Preying Mantis have not produced any results.  Hopefully will will have better luck with additional searching, or perhaps one of our readers can provide an answer.

Update:  April 18, 2010
Thanks to Ben’s comment, we now know that this is a Checkered Mantis, Blepharopsis mendica, though the insectstore website indicates common names Thistle Mantis and Devils Flower Mantis.  Here is some content from that website:  “This species originates from all over Asia and Africa, in countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Ethiopia, India, Israel, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, and Cyprus. Females rarely exceed lengths of 6cm, males a few millimetres shorter. The wings cover the whole abdomen in both sexes. Sex determination is the usual, 8 segments for the male, and 6 or 7 for the female. Another sexual dimorphism is the difference on appearance of the antennae. The males have more feathery, split antennae, and the females long, thin and straight.  As adult, if kept humid, the Blepharopsis will moult into a beautiful lime green specimen, with white dotted wings. They can also take a green form as nymphs; however, it is more common that before adult, they are a light brown, or beige colour.  The abdomen is covered in small, rubbery spines. This helps to camouflage the body within dry bushes or reeds. Nymphs spend most of their lives with their abdomens curled up to their body. It is only as adult that they uncurl, and die to the formation of wings, are then unable to re curl. When gently blown, they will slowly rock from side to side. This is typical behaviour or most cryptic species. This swaying is mimicking a dried leaf or branch swaying in the wind. In a swaying bush, this behaviour could make the mantis go completely unnoticed.”

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Posted 17 April 2010 § Preying Mantis ‡ Comments (3) °

Mating Southern Cyan Tiger Moths from Costa Rica

Interesting Costa Rican Wasp Moths – Part 3
Interesting Costa Rican Wasp Moths – Part 3
To round out my little set of Costa Rican Wasp Moths, here is a pair of Southern Cyan Tiger Moths (Macrocneme chrysitis). This is another day flying Ctenuchid (Arctiidae: Ctenuchinae) and an obvious wasp mimic. The species ranges throughout the tropical Americas, as for north as south Texas. These were also photographed at the Las Cruces Biological Station/Wilson Botanical Gardens. Regards.
Karl

macrocneme chrysitis mating costarica karl 300x255 Mating Southern Cyan Tiger Moths from Costa Rica

Mating Southern Cyan Tiger Moths

Hi again Karl,
We wrote back the day you sent this and indicated we would post it upon returning home from work, but political activism got in the way, and it wasn’t until this morning that we were reminded that we had neglected your wonderful submission. Since the quantity of mail we are receiving has drastically increased with the arrival of spring, we had to dig back several pages to locate you awesome image.  Sorry for the delay.  According to the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) website, the species may also be found in Texas.

Posted 17 April 2010 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Promethea Moths Mating and laying eggs

What kind of moth is this?
April 16, 2010
The reddish moth showed up two nights ago, and this afternoon I noticed she (I’m assuming she’s a she) had begun to lay eggs on a deck post. This evening the darker moth (the male?) landed next to her, and they seemed to connect at the thorax in bit of “nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more” moth love. I’ve found about four different moth identifications that could be this moth, but I’m curious what you think it is.
Michael
Landrum, South Carolina

promethea mating michael 300x213 Promethea Moths Mating and laying eggs

Promethea Moths Mating

Hi Michael,
What marvelous photos you have submitted.  These are mating Promethea Moths, Callosamia promethea, also known as Spicebush Silkmoths.  BugGuide has information on the identification of the species.  The female is the lighter larger moth, and the male is the darker smaller moth.  Your letter and wonderful photos almost got overlooked because it has the same subject line as a letter we posted the day before, and the archiving of our email system in WordPress combined them in our inbox.

promethea mating eggs michael 300x155 Promethea Moths Mating and laying eggs

Promethea Moths Mating

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Posted 17 April 2010 § Eggs § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Tropical Fowl Mite

Please help me identify this bug
April 16, 2010
I have taken microscopic photos of these small specs that were picked up with clear tape from ceiling in room and where they fell on bunk bed below. There appears to be clusters on the ceiling. There’s a cable hole in wall where there are dark speckles, and dark cluster around the hole. Exterior of house is pigeon poop we are continuously cleaning off. Please help me identify these things so we know how to prevent or clean. I don’t think they’re bed bugs? Could they be some kind of dust mite? Thank you
sz
ocean beach, california

tropical fowl mite sz 300x230 Tropical Fowl Mite

Tropical Fowl Mite

Dear sz,
This is a mite in the genus Ornithonyssus, and BugGuide has a very good photograph of a specimen found in San Diego County.  Our guess is that it is a Tropical Fowl Mite, Ornithonyssus bursa, which is profiled on the Featured Creatures website.  The site indicates:  “The tropical fowl mite, commonly found on birds, has become a pest to man in areas of high bird populations or where birds are allowed to roost on roofs, around the eaves of homes, and office buildings. Nesting birds are the worst offenders. After the birds abandon their nests, the mites move into the building through windows, doors, and vents and bite the occupants” and “The bite is irritating to man and some individuals react to the bite with prolonged itching and painful dermatitis. Several to many reports are received each year of mites invading homes. The mites are usually the tropical fowl mite found in the central and southern areas of the state. The northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini and Fanzago), a close relative, is also found in Florida.“  Your visitors may also be a closely related species, the Northern Fowl Mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum. According to Charles Hogue in his book, Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, both species “infest the nests of urban birds, such as House Sparrows and pigeons, and may invade homes and buildings in droves.”

tropical fowl mite 2 sz 300x206 Tropical Fowl Mite

Tropical Fowl Mite

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PROMPT REPLY!  Have a great weekend, sz

Posted 17 April 2010 § Mites ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Rove Beetle

Found in the Back Yard – ???
April 16, 2010
We live by a creek, and my first thought was that it looks like something that spends its larval stage in the water. This was found on 4/4/2010, after we’ve had mayflies and at the same time with craneflies and dragonflies.
It didn’t seem to like being out on the concrete; it ran and buried itself in the mulch as quickly as it could. It flew around a little, but didn’t fly away.
It’s about an inch long, and sturdily built; it has a very unusual combination of features: wasp-like glossy black wings, muscular thick body, big head. It doesn’t show well in the pictures, but the rear of the abdomen almost looks fringed when it is moving.
Michael
Dallas, Texas (Oak Cliff / Southern Dallas)

rove beetls michael 300x225 Rove Beetle

Rove Beetle

Dear Michael,
Your beetle is a Rove Beetle in the family Staphylinidae.  This is a large family, and BugGuide has numerous pages with subfamilies and genera.  We will try to identify the species in the future.

rove beetle michael 2 300x219 Rove Beetle

Rove Beetle

Eric Eaton identifies the species
April 19, 2010
Daniel:
The rove beetle from Texas is Platydracus maculosus.  Here’s a link with more info and images:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/14441
Eric

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Posted 16 April 2010 § Rove Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

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