Huge amount of bugs on rose bush.
May 27, 2010
There are hundreds of these appeared on one of my rose bushes. Can you tell me what it is and what I should do ? Is it harmful to my bush ?
Barbara W
Greenville, Texas 75401
Boxelder Bugs
Dear Barbara,
These are Boxelder Bugs, and other than them being numerous and an annoyance at times, they are harmless to your plants. We have never heard of them aggregating on rose bushes, since they feed on the seeds of maple trees. Perhaps they are just being opportunistic.
male long-jawed orbweaver
May 28, 2010
I searched WTB for “long-jawed” and found only the long-jawed beetle; I thought perhaps you might like these images of a male long-jawed orbweaver. These were taken in my backyard in northwestern New Jersey on this coolish late-spring morning (5/28/10). I love spiders and was thrilled to find this guy out walking about.
jeannie
newton, new jersey
Long Jawed Orbweaver
Hi Jeannie,
Your photos of a Long Jawed Orbweaver in the genus Tetragnatha are gorgeous. BugGuide does not provide any information on the info page, and browsing reveals 9 different species, but we aren’t certain which species is represented in your photos.
Long Jawed Orbweaver
Your photos are so nice, we are posting all three.
Long Jawed Orbweaver
black bug reminds me of a lightening bug with no light
May 27, 2010
I have recently seen these black bugs in my home. it only started after it warmed up, which was later than expected here in michigan. i have 2 small children and am concerned if they were to get bitten.
email
Michigan, Mid
Soldier Beetle
Dear email,
This is some species of Soldier Beetle in the family Cantharidae, but we have not had much luck determining the exact species based on the images posted to BugGuide. According to BugGuide: “Adults eat nectar, pollen and in some cases other insects, particularly aphids. Larvae are generally carnivorous and feed on small soft-bodied insects.“ They will not harm your children.
Crazy mystery scorpion/worm thing?
May 27, 2010
I vacuumed this out of the bottom of our pool in the piedmont of North Carolina. Its got a hard jointed shell, 6 legs, and what looks like a pincher or feeler on the end of its tail. Curled when found dead but would probably measure 3.5″ long when flat. What is this!?
Sarah in NC
Iredell County, North Carolina
Glowworm
Hi Sarah,
If it was alive, and if you observed it at night, you would find that this Glowworm was bioluminescent.
Its a real live glow worm??
Sorry my first email was so pointed but I grew up with the stuffed play glow worms and never thought they were real. We’re lovers of nature and life of all kinds but we’d never seen anything like this!
Hi Again Sarah,
We are not trying to yank your chain. This is a Glowworm in the genus Phengodes. You may verify this on BugGuide. It is a larva. Unlike Fireflies which glow as adults, with the Glowworms, it is the larvae and the larviform females that are bioluminescent and emit light. According to BugGuide: “Phengodid adult females and larvae feed on millipedes” and this poor Glowworm must have fallen into the pool during its nocturnal hunting. Glowworms are also known as Railroad Worms, and we once received an awesome photo of a glowing Glowworm.
1
Bug with wispy secondary set of antenna
May 27, 2010
Dear WhatsThatBug,
I found this interesting little guy on the ceiling in my kitchen. It is currently Spring where I live and the outside temp is about 80 degrees. I took some pictures after I caught him in a jar and then a few outside when he was released. I found him to be especially intriguing due to the fact that he has a small pair of antenna and then large ones that I would describe as feather-like. Initially I thought they were wings coming of his head, but upon closer inspection I saw they were whispy thin antler-like antenna. So please tell me…What’s that bug?
Kari
New Jersey
Fire Colored Beetle
Hi Kari,
What gorgeous images of a Fire Colored Beetle, Dendroides concolor. Here is what BugGuide has to say: “Adults are active at night, and may be attracted to lights. Some species may be attracted to fermenting baits. Male pyrochroid beetles seek out blister beetles, climb onto them and lick off the cantharidin the blister beetles exude. Not only have these beetles developed a resistance to the cantharidin, they use the blistering agent to impress a female of their own species who then mates with them, whereupon most of the cantharidin is transfered to the female in the form of a sperm packet. The eggs the female subsequently lays are coated with cantharidin to protect them from being eaten before they hatch.
… Jim McClarin”
Fire Colored Beetle
What’s this moth?
May 27, 2010
This handsome creature was hanging around our grapevines the other day (May 24, to be exact). It was maybe an inch nose to wingtip, not counting the antennae. Can you tell me what it is? Thanks.
Linda C
Accomack County, VA
Eight Spotted Forrester
Dear Linda,
Your Eight Spotted Forrester really is a beautiful moth. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of a few different vines, including grape. You can read more about this diurnal Owlet Moth on BugGuide.
Bark Mimicing Grasshopper
May 27, 2010
Hi guys,
Nearly stood on this guy (Coryphistes ruricola). It didn’t move when I picked it up and I thought it was dead then it gripped onto my finger. When these are on a Wattle or Ironbark tree they are virtually impossible to see.
aussietrev
Queensland. Australia
Bark Mimic Grasshopper
Hi Trevor,
Thanks so much for sending us your wonderful images of Bark Mimicing Grasshopper.
Bark Mimicing Grasshopper
Cottonwood Borer?
May 27, 2010
Found this guy wandering about last night at a friend’s house. He’s has one heck of a grip & a serious set of mandibles. Is it in fact a cottonwood borer?
We’re located 50 miles south of New Orleans.
Lindsay
Southeastern Louisiana
Cottonwood Borer
Dear Lindsay,
You are absolutely correct. This is a Cottonwood Borer, Plectrodera scalator. This is one of the most beautiful images we have received this year. Your photograph put a bug in our head to produce a 2011 What’s That Bug? calendar. We last produced a calendar for 2006 in 2005. That was quite a project, but with finishing the book, we wouldn’t mind a small visual publication. Would you mind terribly Lindsay, if we wanted to use your image in a 2011 calendar? Your photo is exactly what we love in an insect image: that it not ever be included in a legitimate entomological text. So dear readers, is a 2011 calendar something that you would like to see? Please let us know by posting a comment to this announcement.
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