red hairy caterpillars devouring my plum tree
Location: Yamanashi, Japan
August 20, 2010 10:25 pm
I found these red, hariy caterpillars devouring my plum tree. I live in Yamanashi, Japan, and haven’t been able to identify these guys. They are about 3 cm long,”stand at attention” when threatened, and loved the leaves on my plum tree. They seem to be able to make a sliken thread to hang on to the leaf if I try to knock them off. On the same tree, on the reverse side of a leaf, I also found some peculiar red and black beetle-like bugs, surrounding what appear to be a groupf of very small, pearly white eggs. My concerns are: are the caterpillars dangerous, and what are the names of my bugs? I’d so appreciate any help you can give! I can send more pics if needed.
Thanks, Melony Ward
Unknown Caterpillar from Japan
Hi Melony,
We do not recognize your caterpillar and we were unable to identify it in a quick internet search. Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck. Your other bugs are newly hatched Stink Bugs.
Black and white moth/butterfly
Location: Flagstaff, Northern Arizona
August 20, 2010 11:14 pm
Hi, I live in Flagstaff, AZ. First off, I love your site; my son and I have enjoyed researching bugs here for years. So, we were hiking on Lower Hart Prairie at the base of the San Francisco peaks and just like last year, saw many of these. They flutter and land around the lupine and yarrow. We would love to know what it is.
CoffeeSally Coe
Police Car Moth
Hi CoffeeSally,
Your moth is in the genus Gnophaela, and according to BugGuide, there are five similar looking species, but only Gnophaela vermiculata has a common name, and it is a good one. The black and white moth Gnophaela vermiculata is commonly called the Police Car Moth according to Bugguide. It is a diurnal species found in western North America at higher altitudes and it flies in July and August, information that is very consistent with your account. While a lepidopterist might need to examine the specimen to properly identify the species, we are so enamored of the common name Police Car Moth that we are content to identify your moth as that species.
¶ Posted 21 August 2010 § Moths ‡ ° This Caterpillar turned moth
Vapourer Caterpillar
This Caterpillar turned moth
Location: Heanor, Derbyshire, UK
August 21, 2010 7:39 am
Hi there I found this caterpillar on some plants outside my front door on the 23rd of July. A few days later it had turned into a chrysalis on the door to the to the bin store, which is above the plants. Then on the 20th of August I had noticed it had hatched and started to lay eggs, it is still laying eggs as I type this, but hasn’t seemed to grown wings, I’ve looked around for images of the caterpillar and moth but can’t seem to find a match, so I’ve given up and decided to ask the profesionals, also should I move the nesting site to somewhere there is vegetation for them?
Thank you for your time.
Mr Darryll Elston
Vapourer Moth laying Eggs
Dear Mr Elston,
Your caterpillar looks very much like a North American species called the White Marked Tussock Moth which BugGuide classifies in the subfamily Lymantriinae, the Tussock Moths. Armed with that information, we headed for the UK Moths website and scanned the thumbnails for that group. The UK Moths website considers Lymantriidae to be a distinct family unlike the subfamily status on BugGuide. Scanning the thumbnails in the UK Moth family Lymantriidae quickly revealed the Vapourer. The UK Moths page for the Vapourer, Orgyia antiqua, provides this information: “An unusual species in many ways, the males fly during the day (although the example depicted was attracted to light at night). The females are virtually wingless, an attribute normally associated with winter-emerging species, but the adults are out from July to September, sometimes October in the south. The female lays her eggs on what remains of the pupal cocoon, which then overwinter. When hatched, the very hairy caterpillars feed on a range of deciduous trees and shrubs. The species is fairly common, especially in suburban habitats, over much of Britain, but more so in the south.“ That information is well documented in your photographs. Thanks for contributing this new species to our website.
Vapourer Moth laying Eggs
Mega-ant from Singapore
Location: Singapore
August 21, 2010 5:51 am
Hi bugman
I was fascinated by this ant species since i was young. It is about 1cm long. Any idea what species it is?
Jerome
Bigheaded Ant from Singapore
Hi Jerome,
At the start of our search for information, we discovered a species called the Bigheaded Ant, Pheidole megacephala, which has an unusual caste system. There are worker ants in two sizes, the minor workers and the more rare major workers that are larger with larger heads. We found information on the Pest Ants of Florida page, and we learned that this African species has become a major introduced pest in many parts of the world, including Florida. BugGuide has a photo of the Major Worker that looks very similar to your photograph. The Florida Featured Creatures website has a very extensive profile on the Bigheaded Ant. We have a follow-up question. In our research, it seems the size difference between the minor and major Bigheaded Ant workers is not as extreme as what is indicated in your photograph. In your sightings over the years, have you always seen the larger ants and smaller ants together?
thanks for the ID! The larger ants only come out when there is food to take back to the nest
1
¶ Posted 21 August 2010 § Ants ‡ ° What is this bug
Location: Harrisburg, PA
August 20, 2010 9:17 pm
Your help in identifying this bug is appreciated.
AP
Female Dobsonfly
Hi AP,
This is a female Dobsonfly. The males and females can be easily distinguished from one another by the shape of the mandibles. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism and the mandibles of the male are greatly developed and look like a pair of calipers. Though they are greatly exaggerated in size, the mandibles of the male are incapable of inflicting a bite, though it is believed they are used in either courtship or mating. We are still waiting for a photo that documents that statement though we cannot even remember where we first read it. Though the female’s mandibles are smaller, they are more functional, and she is capable of delivering a painful bite that might even draw blood, though generally the bite would just produce a pinching sensation. She has no venom. Your photo captures her in a defensive posture. Neither the male nor the female Dobsonfly feeds as an adult.
Beetle Identification
Location: Prescott, Arizona
August 20, 2010 1:28 pm
Dear Sir (or Madam):
We were hiking in Prescott,Arizona and saw several of these beetles on the bark of Alligator Junipers/Pines.
Would you be able to identify them for me? I found similar looking beetles that were solid black, but none with the yellow-stripped sides.
Thank you for your consideration.
Jeff Ross
Click Beetle
Hi Jeff,
We do not know why Chalcolepidius apachianus, which we identified on BugGuide, does not have the common name Apache Click Beetle. Bugguide has no information on the species, but indicates it has been photographed in Arizona and Utah. Since there is not much information to be found online for the beautiful Chalcolepidius apachianus, we will propose a second name: Skunk Stripe Click Beetle.
Click Beetle
¶ Posted 20 August 2010 § Beetles ‡ ° Today I caught 10 baby Angelfish from the bathroom nursery aquarium to transfer to the growout aquarium. Last week, while Mom was still here, I took 20 Angelfish that were born this spring to Tropical Imports to trade for $30 credit. I did not buy anything that day. After doing that I moved 15 baby Angelfish into the growout aquarium that only had the six smallest Angelfish left. After this release, the Growout Aquarium will contain 10 rummynose tetras. Of the 10 I bought last spring, only 3 had died, and last week as part of the earlier delivery of Angelfish, which included the 3 gold adolescents (Paris and friends) which only netted me $10, so I replace the three dead Rummynose Tetras with 3 small ones, wiping out the stock at Tropical Imports. Dean said Gold Angelfish were not popular. A few days later they were gone from the store. I hope they went to a good home. I can’t remember how many spring Angelfish I sold that day. I think it may have been between 20 and 25.
Tutelina elegans jumping spider with crazy double mohawk!
August 18, 2010
Ed. Note: No location provided
Location: Oklahoma we believe
Jumping Spider
Hi,
I thought you might like these pictures of what I believe to be a male Tutelina elegans. There has been an abundance of jumping spiders in Oklahoma this year, but this is the only male T. elegans I’ve found. This little guy had one of the craziest hairdos I’ve ever seen on a jumper! In addition to his double mohawks he had tufts of black hair on his front legs. He was very cooperative when I photographed him and I wish I’d been able to get a better shot of his awesome hairdo. I also have some pictures of what I’m pretty sure are female T. elegans if you want to see them. Thanks for the great site,
Josh Kouri
Jumping Spider
Hi Josh,
Thanks for sending us your Jumping Spider photos and we agree that this does appear to be a photo of a male Tutelina elegans based on images posted to BugGuide and this description: “Tutelina similis is very similar, but adult male elegans has a black tuft of hairs on tibia I, and adult female elegans has a white basal band around the abdomen.(1) In my experience with female elegans, identifiable marks begin to show at the antepenultimate instar. Earlier instars of either species, which appear gray in color, probably cannot be identified beyond genus.“ The black tufts of hair on the tibia are quite visible in one of your photos in particular. We suspect that this sighting was in Oklahoma like your numerous previous submissions, though since you did not use our standard form for this submission, there is no location indicated.
Jumping Spider
Hi Daniel,
Sorry about that; the jumping spider was found in central Oklahoma. Thanks for the conformation on the I.D.
Josh
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