Green Stink Bug nymph?
Location: San Jose CA
July 27, 2010 11:50 am
Hi again!
My friend found these little buggers all over her pea plants, and asked me to identify them (being the closest thing to a bug ’expert’ my friends know!). I could tell her that they were true bug nymphs, and that they were up to no good, but I can’t figure out exactly what they are. I read that Green Stink Bug nymphs are highly variable, so perhaps that is why I can’t find a photo to match them. They are pretty small, about an 1/8 inch long.
Do you by any chance recognize them?
BugManDave
Green Stink Bug Nymph
Hi BugManDave,
We agree that this looks like a Green Stink Bug Nymph, Chinavia hilaris, though sometimes nymphs are difficult to distinguish from closely related species. BugGuide illustrates many of the color variations seen in Green Stink Bug Nymphs.
Green Stink Bug Nymph
Repeat Visitor on my Door
Location: Chicago, IL
July 25, 2010 7:10 pm
Hello,
I saw this species of bug about two years also on my doorway. It’s very colorful, so much so that I would like your help identifying it.
Andrew
Ailanthus Webworm Moth
Hi Andrew,
We must have answered 10 requests to have an Ailanthus Webworm Moth identified in the past week, so we are posting your photo so our readership can identify this pretty little Ermine Moth.
¶ Posted 27 July 2010 § Moths ‡ ° Carpenter Bee?
Location: Toronto, ON
July 25, 2010 10:27 am
This bee-like insect has been hanging around the deckish part of my building’s fire escape for about a month or two in ones and twos. I’m on the third floor of a three floor building, so the area is hot and sunny when they’re here. I’m in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, near the Lake Ontario shore. and it’s mid July now. They seem very interested in eating the wood on the verticals. I haven’t seen them on the horizontal decking wood, and they don’t leave piles of sawdust. When it’s quiet, I can hear them munching (kind of creepy). The highlights are white, not yellow, that’s not a colour issue with the photo.
Exxtremitie
Bald Faced Hornet
Dear Exxtremitie,
The Bald Faced Hornet in your photo is gathering wood pulp to add to the large paper nest that must be nearby in a tree or other suitable location.
Blue Winged Wasp
Location: Wake Forest, North Carolina
July 24, 2010 9:42 am
Hi
Other than the obvious ”Blue Winged Wasp” I am not sure of anymore specific information on this one.
erica stjohn
Potter Wasp
Hi Erica,
Potter Wasps in the genus Eumenes, like the individual in your photograph, get their name from the tiny nest constructed by the female which looks like a miniature ceramic pot.
Species Correction courtesy of Eric Eaton
August 11, 2010
Hi, Daniel:
Went through the site and found only a few minor corrections/clarifications, most recent to oldest: …
… Potter Wasp, Wake Forest, North Carolina: actually Zethus spinipes, not a true potter wasp. …
… Otherwise, either very good or “I can’t help with that:-)”
Is the book out for everybody yet? If so, I’ll link it to my blog, share on Facebook, etc. I did get the pre-order e-mail from you.
Eric
Thanks Eric,
We can now link to the BugGuide page for the species Zethus spinipes. The book will be available in October 2010.
Flesh Fly photo
Location: Seminole, Oklahoma
July 24, 2010 6:11 pm
Thought you might like this photo of a flesh fly. It was snacking(?) on a cicada carcass. Or maybe laying it’s eggs in there? Love your site!
Amy Goodman
Flesh Fly
Hi Amy,
We have been going through the past several days of letters in search of one in particular, and we keep finding subject lines that intrigue us and distract us from our goal because we think it is important to post the distracting letter. Your image of a Flesh Fly in the family Sarcophagidae will be wonderful as it will help our readership identify these large flies with red eyes and what BugGuide describes as a thorax with “3 black racing stripes on a gray background.“
Are these Bagrada hilaris
Location: San Pedro California, south of LA
July 25, 2010 1:38 pm
I found these all over the hose in the front yard flower bed. The smaller ones look like ladybugs but I think they are just immature versions of the bigger ones. If they are harmful I’ll get rid of them but I will leave them alone till I hear. It looks like they might be Bagrada hilaris from your site. I am curious if the small red ones are immature versions.
Delbert
Aggregation of African Painted Bugs
Hi Delbert,
Your identification is absolutely correct, and we would strongly advise you to squash this invasive exotic insect before the immature insects develop and mate and it infests your garden plants in the cabbage family including kale and broccoli. Bagrada hilaris is a relatively new addition to the list of invasive exotic species that have been reported in California, but they are most prolific and difficult to eradicate. You can read more about the African Painted Bug on BugGuide as well as numerous other internet sources.
African Painted Bugs
Thank you for your quick response. I have already eradicated them. I sprayed the area with 3 different insecticides, and completely dug up the flower bed and sprayed again. I will keep an eye for them around the house. I told my brother about them. He is a specialist in pesticides and fertilizers in the sanjoaqine valley Bakersfield to Fresno. Works for a major agriculture chemical company there. He said he would keep an eye for them up there.
Delbert Crawford
Dragonfly?
Location: On the Moose River in the Adirondacks, NY
July 26, 2010 11:43 am
Hi again. This is Tristi from Oswego NY. 
I have been shooting a lot of pictures of bugs this summer. Mostly dragonflies. I have a ridiculously huge Collection of Dragonfly pictures now. They are fascinating to photograph. Me and my boyfriend took a trip up north to the Adirondacks for some kayaking and I found this beautiful guy next to a river. It is unlike any other I have seen. It has the body shape of a dragonfly. Same type of eyes and legs that I have seen a million times but its beautiful metallic blue and green color and jet black wings struck me a very different. The wing shape and the way it flew wasn’t the typical dragonfly way. Just thought you and others would like to see it
Tristi
Ebony Jewelwing
Hi Tristi,
Though your Ebony Jewelwing, Calopteryx maculata, is in the order Odonata along with the Dragonflies, it is taxonomically classified in Zygoptera, a different suborder. Damselflies frequently fold their wings, unlike Dragonflies that rest with flat wings, and the flight of Damselflies is much more feeble than the darting movement associated with Dragonflies. Sadly, we are woefully behind in responding to emails, so if you have any recently submitted images that did not get posted, please try to resubmit, and please only one species per letter.
Perhaps a Saw Fly
Location: North Middle Tennessee
July 26, 2010 6:08 am
Hi Daniel,
This fellow came by for a short visit about a week ago. While its overall appearance looks to me like a ”saw fly” I can’t find a matching image here or on bug guide. That makes me wonder if I am looking in the right place and maybe it isn’t a saw fly after all. Thanks for all you do and have a wonderful day.
P.S. Sorry to read about your hand, I hope it wasn’t a spider bite and is all okay now.
Richard
Giant Resin Bee
Hi Richard,
You have photographed a Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis, a non-native species. According to BugGuide: “Recently introduced from Asia. To make things worse it turns out to be a good pollinator of another introduced invasive: kudzu.“ We are taking antibiotics and soaking the hand in warm water with dissolved Epson Salts, and things are improving. Thanks for your concern.
¶ Posted 27 July 2010 § Bees ‡ ° 
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