Not sure what this is
Location: Mid-Atlantic, Delaware
September 22, 2010 10:13 pm
Found this critter exploring our garden pot on our back deck today (9/22/10). I’ve never seen a caterpillar with antennae like that or with those things along its back. Any idea what this is?
Signature: Brian
White Marked Tussock Moth
Hi Brian,
This is a White Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Orgyia leucostigma, or another member of the genus. You may find additional information in our archives and on Bugguide.
September 23, 2010
Tuesday evening, Umber was limping slightly. Yesterday it seems to have gotten worse. Now Daniel is totally paranoid and thinking she may have Mareks Disease or Marek’s Disease. We hope this story has a happy ending.
Update September 25, 2010
Daniel’s paranoia that Umber may have Marek’s Disease is waning. After a morning telephone call to artist and neighbor Laura Cooper who has been keeping chickens for years, suggested he call Wes as Wes’s Pet Shop and Seed in El Monte. Wes thinks Umber probably just hurt her leg, a condition he sees often, and he suggested rubbing Vaseline on the joints. Daniel also soaked Umber’s legs in warm water with epsom salts first.
Update October 1, 2010
Umber is actually getting worse and now her right leg is dragging behind her and there is swelling at the joint and the top of the foot. The leg is very warm. Daniel will be taking Umber to the Raymond Avenue vet this afternoon. He is quite distraught.
Found in back yard
Location: Boynton Beach Florida
September 22, 2010 7:13 pm
HI,
I found this beetle walking towards our air conditioner the beginning of this month, September. I have never seen a beetle colored in this manner and its nose looks like a type of weevil. The beetle was almost 1 1/2 inches long and I did not find it in any of the field guides we have in our home.
Please let me know what type of beetle this is and if I should be concerned if I find another.
Signature: Thank you, Juel Richter
Palmetto Weevil
Dear Juel,
You are correct that this is a Weevil. More specifically, it is a Palmetto Weevil, Rhynchophorus cruentatus. According to BugGuide: “It’s natural host is the Cabbage Palmetto – Sabal palmetto, a palm native to the southeastern U.S. However, adults and larvae associated with a WIDE variety of genera and species in the palm family Arecaceae.” BugGuide continues with this information: “Larvae feed in the crown of the palm. If infestation is severe, the the integrity of the crown is compromised and the top of the palm falls over.” The fat larval grubs are edible and considered delicacies.
¶ Posted 23 September 2010 § Weevils ‡ ° red velvet bug I think it is a spider….
Location: Cabo San Lucas Mexico
September 22, 2010 10:27 pm
When I first saw this bug I thought it was a beetle, but when I saw the photo I took I believe it is a spider, I like to know if it is a spider, which spider, and if it is dangerous, I live in Cabo San Lucas México, and we got some dangerous ones such as violinist and brown widows. I saw it just after a tropical storm. Thanks so much for your help.
Signature: dattoli
Velvet Mite
Dear dattoli,
You don’t realize how close you were to self identifying this Velvet Mite in the family Trombidiidae. Velvet Mites and Spiders are both classified as Arachnids. Velvet Mites often appear in great numbers after a rain. According to BugGuide: “Larvae are parasitic on insects. Adults eat insect eggs.“ According to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, Velvet Mites are known as Angelitos.
Thanks for your prompt and accurate response, I am very impressed for all your work, I had consult your web page several times before and it has been very useful and I have learn a lot from you.
Muchas gracias!
¶ Posted 23 September 2010 § Mites ‡ ° South Korean bug
Location: Songnisan National Park, Republic of Korea
September 23, 2010 1:56 am
On my trip to Korea I saw many wonderful bugs. This may be the most baffling one. I can’t tell if it’s a moth or beetle, or something else. I saw it walk and fly. It was about an inch and a half.
Signature: Barbara
White Cicada
Dear Barbara,
Though it is called a White Cicada, your insect is actually a Fulgorid Leafhopper, Lycorma delictula. There are photos of both the winged adult and red nymph on bjbug.com and you may also read a news story on the Korean Times online website.
¶ Posted 23 September 2010 § Cicadas ‡ ° Just a quick thank you
September 23, 2010 1:09 am
I know you probably get this all the time, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to thank you for your wonderful open minded opinion of nature. Ever since I was a kid I’ve been rescuing little spiders from the sink or carrying a crane fly outside, because they’re harmless, and I’m so sick of people accusing them of biting.
I’ve tried very vigilantly to convince people that there’s no life without purpose, and every creature has it’s place big or small, that each one should be treated with respect. The amount of ignorance laced through the society we humans created is distressing. It’s just so awesome to find another person able to see past that. 
Thanks for all your hard work getting the message across!
Signature: Desiree Hill
Please help me identify this bug
Location: illinois
September 21, 2010 10:42 pm
finding many of these little bugs all over my house. This is the first year this has happened. Please help me identify this bug, thinking it some sort of beetle. Also, looking for best solution to getting rid of these little guys.
thanks for your help. sorry for poor quality pics.
Signature: beetle help identify
Probably NOT Foreign Grain Beetle
We had a bit of trouble with this one, and we are not certain that our identification is correct, but it is possible that you have an infestation of Foreign Grain Beetles, Ahasverus advena, also called the New House Bug because it is”common in homes (esp. newly built) and grain storage facilities” according to BugGuide, which also indicates it feeds on “Molds and fungi growing on damp grain, grain products, and other materials.” Sadly, we realized our identification was incorrect the minute we found the University of Arkansas Arthropod Museum website which has a nice page devoted to the Foreign Grain Beetle and which indicates: “They have two conspicuous and diagnostic round lobes on the prothorax right behind the eyes.“ Those lobes are missing in your beetle, so alas, we have drawn a blank on the species identification unless the lobes are just not visible because of your camera angle. There are a multitude of insects that will infest stored foods, and we believe this must be one of them. If the actual identity is critical for you, and if none of our readers come to our rescue here, we suggest you begin scouring the internet for potential Grain Beetles like those profiled on the Grain Beetles page of the Pest Products website.
Elm Tree Bug
Location: Eastern Colorado
September 22, 2010 2:26 pm
Dear Bugman,
I am searching for an identification for the group of bettles in the enclosed photo. They have gathered in a sap pocket of an American Elm Tree in Eastern Colorado.
Signature: Daniel
Sap Feeding Beetles
Dear Daniel,
It is difficult to make out the details of the individuals in your photo, but we nonetheless believe they are Sap Feeding Beetles in the family Nitidulidae, possibly Glischrochilus quadrisignatus, the 4-Spotted Sap Beetle which is pictured on BugGuide.
Thank you very much for the information! That looks to be the correct match! What a great service you offer! I would recommend whatsthatbug.com to anyone!
Very grateful,
Daniel
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