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Monthly Archives April 2010

Trap Door Spider

HUGE Red Creepy Sow Bug Killer(?) in Oklahoma
April 20, 2010
Hi,
I found this nasty looking spider about a week ago in central Oklahoma. I think it’s a sow bug killer, but the coloring looks more red than the other pictures I’ve seen. He was about an inch and a half long. His eyes were grouped tightly together and his legs and abdomen were covered in black bristles. His pedipalps were really long, almost as long as his front legs, and I think he had “claws” on the ends (I couldn’t really tell because he kept them tucked up by his fangs). When I found him, he was hiding in a burrow under a log. This guy was really calm and cooperative as I took his picture. Thanks any help with the I.D.
Josh Kouri

folding door spider josh 242x300 Trap Door Spider

Folding Door Spider

Hi Josh,
This is definitely not a Sow Bug Killer, Dysdera crocata, which you can compare to this nice photograph of a similar angle on BugGuide.  Your spider looks to us like a Folding Door Spider in the genus Antrodiaetus which is also pictured on BugGuide.  Folding Door Spiders are a group of Trapdoor Spiders that live in tubes which they close by drawing in the rim according to BugGuide.

folding door spider 2 josh 294x300 Trap Door Spider

Folding Door Spider

Thanks for the I.D. I never would have guessed he was a trap door spider. I didn’t even know we had them in Oklahoma!
Josh

Correction thanks to Eric Eaton
May 7, 2010
Daniel:
I agree the spider posted on April 21 is a type of trapdoor spider, just not in the family Antrodiaetidae.  More likely in the family Cyrtaucheniidae.  Positive, in fact.
Eric

Posted 21 April 2010 § Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Jewel Beetle from Iraq

OIF mystery
April 21, 2010
I am currently stationed in Iraq, near the town of Sinjar, approximately 30 Km due east of the Syrian border in Northwest Iraq. I was sweeping the patio area when I heard a loud buzzing and this critter made a crash landing into my head. We had just had a dust storm and I landed in a pile of dust I had just swept up after he hit me. He was approx 2 inches long, had a teal/green, iridescent shell with BRIGHT yellow wings under his shell. When I tried to help him out of the dust pile he froze up and put his front two legs in the air at me sort of like a challenge. I “think” based on the pictures in your site that he is a kind of scarab beetle, but I couldn’t find a picture of one this vibrantly colored. Help bug man! Thank you!
SGT S
Northwest Iraq

buprestid iraq s 300x222 Jewel Beetle from Iraq

Jewel Beetle

Dear SGT S,
Your beetle is one of the Metallic Wood Boring Beetles in the family Buprestidae, which are sometimes called Jewel Beetles.  Perhaps one of our readers will be able to supply us with a species name, but if they do, chances are good there will be no common name, and the species name will be polysyllabic with letter combinations that are rarely found in words that are typically used during conversations.

buprestid iraq 2 s 300x206 Jewel Beetle from Iraq

Jewel Beetle

Mole Crickets and Toe-Biters are the most common submissions we receive from the Middle East.

buprestid iraq 3 s Jewel Beetle from Iraq

Jewel Beetle

Update: February 16, 2011
Thanks to a comment from wildabug, we are able to link to a Royalty Free Stock Photo of Judolis pubescens.

Update
How can I send identification?
Website: http://utenti.romascuola.net/bups
May 10, 2011 12:42 am
Hello. I tried to send the identification for the beetle from Iraq depicted at this URL: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2010/04/21/jewel-beetle-from-iraq/
but I was unable to do it. I tried to register, but without result.
However, that specimen belong to this species:
Julodis audouinii Laporte & Gory 1835 – Coleoptera Buprestidae, Julodinae.
It lives in Iraq, W. Iran and SE Turkey. Larvae live in the soil eating roots, and adults go on any species of little tree, bush and also herbaceous plants, eating leaves and green bark of young twigs.
Signature: Maurizio Gigli

Thanks Maurizio,
We have posted your identification and linked to your website as well.

Posted 21 April 2010 § Metallic Borer Beetles ‡ Comments (2) °

Giant Stonefly

Dobsonfly or not?
April 20, 2010
Hello there,
This insect was discovered in the woods, near a creek, Port Moody, BC, several days ago. It resembles a Dobsonfly except has orangy-red colouring, anal cerci, no pinchers, and wings are held flat (not roof like) against its body. It is 52mm in length. Is it a Dobsonfly?
thanks very much for your help, Leigh S.
Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada

stonefly leigh 300x163 Giant Stonefly

Giant Stonefly

Hi Leigh,
Your observations are quite astute.  This is not a Dobsonfly.  It is a Giant Stonefly.  You may read more about Giant Stoneflies in the genus Steronarcys, also known as Salmonflies, on Bugguide.

stonefly 2 leigh 300x201 Giant Stonefly

Giant Stonefly

Posted 20 April 2010 § Stoneflies and Snowflies ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mystery: Unknown Longhorned Borer Beetle is Hybodera tuberculata

Could you please try to ID these beetles? Thanks!
April 19, 2010
These were two of many of their kind that were scurrying all over my windshield today (April 19); some were mating. Each was maybe about an inch long. I was parked directly under a mature cherry tree. The yellow on the windshield is, I believe maple pollen. Thanks for any help in IDing them – I searched this site and a few others but didn’t manage to come across it. Love your site, I refer to it all the time and it has stopped me from being quite so much of a bug-fearer!
Karen in Seattle
Mercer Island, WA

cerambycids seattle karen 300x199 Mystery: Unknown Longhorned Borer Beetle is Hybodera tuberculata

Unknown Longhorned Borer Beetles

Hi Karen,
These are Longhorned Borer Beetles in the family Cerambycidae, but we are late for work and haven’t the time to identify the species at the moment.  Perhaps one of our readers will have some free time and post a comment.

cerambycids seattle cu karen 300x258 Mystery: Unknown Longhorned Borer Beetle is Hybodera tuberculata

Longhorned Borer Beetle

Karl provides an answer
April 26, 2010
Hi Daniel and Karen:
It looks like Hybodera tuberculata (Cerambycinae: Hyboderini). The genus only has two species, both native to the Pacific coast. H. tuberculata looks closer than H. debilis. I couldn’t find much information foe either, but apparently H. tuberculata ranges further north (to British Columbia) and H. debilis ranges further south (to California). Regards.
Karl

Posted 20 April 2010 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged:

Wafer Lid Trapdoor Spider

Friend or foe?
April 19, 2010
I found this spider in my friends pool. The match book should provide a good estimate as to its size.
Aaron Grimes
Marin County, California

wafer lid trapdoor spider aaron 300x206 Wafer Lid Trapdoor Spider

Wafer Lid Trapdoor Spider

Hi Aaron,
This looks to us like a Trapdoor Spider, probably a Wafer Lid Trapdoor Spider in the genus Promyrmekiaphila which BugGuide reports from California.  It looks like a male, and male Trapdoor Spiders often drown in swimming pools while searching for a mate.  Trapdoor Spiders are harmless to humans and pets.

trapdoor aaron 300x190 Wafer Lid Trapdoor Spider

Cork Lid Trapdoor Spider

Posted 20 April 2010 § Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders ‡ Comments (0) °

Hellgrammite from Honduras

I belive this may be some type of anthropod but not really sure.
April 20, 2010
My wife and I took a cruise and after leaving Roatan, Honduras I saw this bug crawling in the hallway outside our room. It was approximately 4 inches long and was not moving very fast. I was able to get two shots of it before the cabin steward came and squashed it.
James Babcock
Roatan, Honduras

hellgrammite honduras james 300x114 Hellgrammite from Honduras

Hellgrammite

Hi James,
You encountered a Hellgrammite, the larval form of the winged Dobsonfly.  This is such a magnificent and unforgettable insect, we believe there must be some colorful name for it in Spanish as well.

Posted 20 April 2010 § Hellgrammite ‡ Comments (1) °

Cutworm Wasp

digger wasp?
April 19, 2010
i am pretty sure this is a digger wasp, but was wondering if you could tell me what kind. would be really cool if you could also tell me what kind of caterpillar it is, but not sure this picture would help as much with that. the picture was taken in the antelope valley, near lancaster, california
naaman
antelope valley california poppy reserve

cutworm wasp naaman 300x288 Cutworm Wasp

Cutworm Wasp

Dear naaman,
We believe we have correctly identified your Thread Waisted Wasp as a Cutworm Wasp in the genus Podalonia based on photos posted to BugGuide and your documentation of the wasp about to bury a Cutworm Caterpillar.  According to BugGuide they are:  “Parasitoids of Noctuidae (cutworm) caterpillars. Excavate nest after finding prey, reversal of the order for most sphecids. One caterpillar is placed in each cell. P. luctuosa has two flights per year in Michigan. Second brood overwinters in burrows, sometimes with others of the species. Other species have one generation per year.“  BugGuide does not indicate how to identify species within the genus.

Correction thanks to Eric Eaton
May 7, 2010
Daniel:
I’m quite certain the “cutworm wasp” posted on April 19 is actually a species of Ammophila rather than Podalonia.  Tough to call from that angle, but I don’t know any Podalonia that resemble this wasp.
Eric

Posted 20 April 2010 § Cutworms and Owlet Caterpillars § Thread Waisted Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Mystery: Click Beetle is Prosternon mirabilis

Click Beetle? But what kind?
April 19, 2010
Hello,
We found this unusual looking beetle on April 19, Sierra Nevada Foothills in California. We’ve never seen anything like it in 18 years living here. It has a velvety iridescent copper color with spots and does the classic click and flip when on it’s back like a click beetle. It’s about 1/2″ long. Thanks.
The Sherman Family
37°29′06″N 119°57′59″W / 37.485°N 119.96639°W / 37.485; -119.96639

click beetle sherman 300x139 Mystery: Click Beetle is Prosternon mirabilis

Unknown Click Beetle

Dear Sherman Family,
We decided to post one last letter before going to bed, but we are not sure we want to spend time researching this species before posting.  It sure is a beauty.  We will try a bit tonight and attempt more searching in the morning.  Meanwhile, we always appreciate assistance from our readership.

click beetle 2 sherman 248x300 Mystery: Click Beetle is Prosternon mirabilis

Unknown Click Beetle

Eric Eaton provides the answer
Daniel:
I tracked it down!  I’m so proud of myself:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/166340/bgimage
Prosternon mirabilis it is.  Nice click beetle!
Eric

Posted 20 April 2010 § Click Beetles ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

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