Orthopteran, short antenae, shield like pronatum
Location: Yakima, WA
October 14, 2010 2:02 pm
Somewhat like a katydid, but short antennae. Pronatum shorter that in pygmy grasshoppers. Sub- adult instar?
Signature: Paul Huffman, President-for-Life, Moclips Surf Club
Shieldbacked Katydid
Hi Paul,
It appears that your Shieldbacked Katydid in the genus Neduba has been traumatized, hence the clipped antennae. You can compare your image to photos for the genus posted to BugGuide.
Piotr Naskrecki provides confirmation
… whereas the one with a larger pronotum is a male of Neduba sp.
Piotr
Do you know the name of this moth?
Location: SW Florida near Naples
October 14, 2010 8:58 am
This insect was hanging on the purple passion vine yesterday afternoon. It has been there since about 4 PM yesterday and it is still there now. It is 10 AM here now. I am located in SW Florida near Naples.
Signature: Thank You. Elaine
Female Io Moth
Hi Elaine,
We are very happy to post your photo of a female Io Moth. The males of the species have yellow, not brown wings. The underwings, which are hidden from view, have eyespots that are used to frighten predators.
¶ Posted 15 October 2010 § Moths ‡ ° Flying nectar loving bugs
Location: Sydney, Australia
October 14, 2010 5:58 pm
Two that I photographed yesterday around a flowering bush in Sydney, Australia.
None of my friends can identify either of them and so far I’ve been unable to identify them on-line.
Signature: Mike Gordon
Possibly a Sawfly
Dear Mike,
We wish your photograph better illustrated the features of the antennae of your second insect, but we believe this may be some species of Sawfly. Sawflies are in the same insect order as wasps and bees, but they do not sting. There is one photograph on the Brisbane Insect website that looks quite similar to the individual in your photograph. We found another page on the Brisbane Insect website containing that photograph that identifies the insect as the Bramble Sawfly, Philomastix xanthophilus, though the head appears to be different from your individual, though that may be due to the blossom obscuring the details in your photograph. The Pergidae of the World website has a page on the genus Philomastix that contains this fascinating information: “Females of Philomastix spp. pierce the leaf from above and place the egg on the underside of the leaf (Macdonald & Ohmart 1993). All species of this genus exhibit maternal care. Females stand near their egg mass and young larvae or near the leaf petiole with the head directed to the stem and when disturbed they shake and create a buzzing sound with their wings (Macdonald & Ohmart 1993, Naumann & Groth 1998). This behaviour lasts until they die. Larvae feed during daylight hours (Macdonald & Ohmart 1993).“ More information on North American Sawflies can be found on BugGuide.
Ed. Note: Correction
October 22, 2010
New information contained in a newly submitted email with better images leads us to believe this is some species of March Fly in the family Bibionidae.
2
Flying nectar loving bugs
Location: Sydney, Australia
October 14, 2010 5:58 pm
Two that I photographed yesterday around a flowering bush in Sydney, Australia.
None of my friends can identify either of them and so far I’ve been unable to identify them on-line.
Signature: Mike Gordon
Common Hover Fly
Hi Mike,
For classification purposes in our own confusing archives, we like to have each species of insect identified on its own posting. The first image you have submitted to us we quickly identified on the Brisbane Insect website as the Common Hover Fly, Melangyna viridiceps, though in the photograph posted there, the wings are covering the abdomen of the insect and the markings are not as apparent. We followed the link provided to the Csiro website, and the photo provided there indicates a much more obvious match.
Bess Beetle
Location: Spencer, TN
October 13, 2010 6:02 pm
Hello!
First of all, I LOVE your website. I came across it about three years ago, and it has been quite useful for me in identifying the House Centipede, the Micrathena Spider, the female Velvet Ant, the female Dobsonfly, and most recently (today) the Bess Beetle. I went camping last weekend and found this ’little’ guy on our firewood. I quickly scooped him into a box and put him on a tree away from the campsites (and away from people). Of course I took a couple photos before letting him go on his way, so I have two photos for you. One with him next to my hand for size comparison (I have long hands, so he was right at 1.5 inches), and another close-up in front of his face. Enjoy!
Signature: Sarah
Bess Beetle
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your kind letter. We love Bess Beetles, also known as Patent Leather Beetles, because of their complex family structures where the larvae are cared for by the adults. We wish we were not late for work or we would elaborate more on this posting. We hope our readership will search for Bess Beetle postings in our archive to read more about these fascinating social insects.
Bess Beetle
¶ Posted 14 October 2010 § Beetles ‡ ° Praying Mantis
Location: Corona,CA
October 13, 2010 8:59 pm
I found a praying mantis at school in a bush. I was just wondering what kind it is.
Signature: Freeman
Mediterranean Mantis
Dear Freeman,
We really love your photo of this Mediterranean Mantis in a threat posture. You will find other images of Mediterranean Mantids in the threat posture on BugGuide. According to BugGuide, it is a non-native species whose range is expanding.
Mediterranean Mantis
10
Ancient looking bug
Location: Branson, MO
October 13, 2010 7:23 pm
Hi Daniel,
My folks took this picture of a very cool bug while vacationing in Branson MO. I tried to find it on your site but was not able to.
I am not sure of the size of it either, unfortunately.
The picture was taken in September of this year.
Signature: Mike Healy
Ed. Note: 29 Minutes Later
Hey Daniel,
I just logged on and took a quick look at the top ten and low and behold, there was the bug that I could not find when I was looking for it. I was looking the wrong family entirely. I was thinking that it was some sort of weevil. Clearly a Wheel Bug is not a weevil.
Have a great holiday season with your family.
Mike Healy
Wheel Bug
Hi Mike,
We are so happy you were able to find your Wheel Bug identified in our archives. We wish more people would check out our Top 10.
Not a cicada killer
Scarab Hunter Wasp
Not a cicada killer
Location: Cocoa (Brevard Co.), Florida, USA
October 13, 2010 8:54 pm
Hi Bugman!
Can you ID this big hymenopteran for me? He’s big, like almost cicada killer size, but seems more delicately built and slower moving. (We have cicada killers in the yard too–this is different, I’m pretty sure.) I’ve seen him several times on my stand of Monarda punctata and he sticks his little head waaaaaay into the flowers(nectaring? Pollening?). Seems almost clumsy while climbing on the plants (compared to the bees, wasps, flies, skippers) that are zipping around on there). He’s by far the biggest critter out there–except for the bigger butterflies–and among the slowest. He’s also quite hairy. A scoliid? Photos taken in late afternoon, Oct. 13, 2010, on Monarda punctata.
Thanks for your help and for this site–I can spend HOURS just looking and reading….fascinating stuff!
Signature: LG
Scarab Hunter Wasp
Hi LG,
You are correct about this being a Scoliid Wasp, and we believe it is Campsomeris plumipes, one of the Scarab Hunter Wasps. You can compare your images to the numerous images posted on BugGuide.
Scarab Hunter Wasp
Thanks very much for getting back to me—and so quickly! Doing more reading I’m now thinking that what I thought were standard scarab hunters in the yard are the females on their hunting mission and this guy is a male? Looks like the shape of the abdomen differs between sexes.
I like This
