Acting Crabby!!
Crab Spider
Acting Crabby!!
Location: Mid-Missouri
October 28, 2010 9:36 am
I found this green crab spider in a section of my yard that has a lot of insect activity. I have no doubts that this crab ended up with a nice meal. When I noticed her she was being pretty active which made it difficult to get any good images, but she did stop for a few brief moments. There was one time when I got a little too close that she made a move for me (for my camera actually), but overall, she was more than accommodating at ME being the pest.
I’m not too sure on my ID. Looking at the guide, the closest I can find is Misumessus oblongus, but there are discrepancies in all of the guide images I see. Mainly, the guide shows the head portion to be a greenish color with an opaque/white abdomen whereas mine has a more clear/opaque head with a whitish abdomen.
(The third image, while not as artistically perfect, shows a much better view of the body)
Signature: Nathanael Siders
Crab Spider
Hi Nathanael,
Thanks for submitting your beautiful images of a Crab Spider in the family Thomisidae. We agree that it sure does resemble the images of Misumessus oblongus that are on BugGuide. Crab Spiders like many other spiders can be highly variable in coloration and markings which probably aids in the survival of the species through adaptation to different environmental conditions.
Crab Spider
Crazy looking… beetle?
Location: Southern Illinois
October 28, 2010 8:17 pm
My sister took a picture of this insect that was sitting on her car this fall. She didn’t provide any details on its behavior or size. It’s certainly unlike any insect I’ve ever seen, and I can’t even pinpoint whether it’s a beetle or some other classification! Help me out please!
Signature: Erik S
Cicada Head
Dear Erik,
This is the third photo we have received in recent months of a Cicada Head and we would love to know what has been decapitating Cicadas. We suspect birds have eaten the fatty portion of the insects body and left the head behind.
Owlfly?
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
October 28, 2010 2:28 pm
Found this on the kitchen cupboard
I think I’ve narrowed it down to Ascalaphidae (but please tell me if I’m way off the mark!).
It was about 8pm
Signature: Zarek
Owlfly
Dear Zarek,
We agree that this is an Owlfly in the family Ascalaphidae, and it does have an unusually shaped abdomen.
Owlfly
bug found in bed!!! not a bedbug but still wtf!!
Location: in the basement of a house in Denver, Co.
October 28, 2010 6:48 pm
hey guys,
i found these two in my sheets one morning. they freaked me out at first but after looking through the archives on your site, im confident they’re not bedbugs. they’re reddish brown, have six legs spanning only 5mm, and have a glossy round abdomen thats only 2mm wide. they look like miniature weevils to me. sorry about the weak picture but the macro setting on my cell phone sucks. what do you think?
Signature: Michael
Spider Beetles
Hi Michael,
These are Spider Beetles in the genus Mezium which you can verify on BugGuide. According to BugGuide, the habitat includes: “mammal/bird/bee nests, dry carrion, tree holes; several species occur in homes, granaries, mills, warehouses” and it seems that beds can be added to that list since your letter is not the first report we have gotten of Spider Beetles found between the sheets. Perhaps you should stop eating crackers in bed since Spider Beetles are most commonly associated with infestations in the kitchen.
3
White Oak Gall (you don’t have a picture of.)
Location: Murrysville, East of Pittsburgh, PA
October 28, 2010 4:18 pm
Hello Bugman,
I took pictures of some galls on my white oak tree today (10-27-10) I couldn’t find any pictures of these either on BugGuide or on this site. They are ONLY on my white oak tree – not on any other oak tree in my yard. (Pin oaks, shingle oaks) And there are hundreds of these galls. I find it interesting that they have turned pink as the leaves have turned red, since they are made of leaf tissue. They flick off the leaf easily and are wet when squished. This tree is about 15 years old and I do not recall ever seeing these galls on it, although I have seen other types. Thought you might like these pictures for your files.
Signature: MPK
Galls on White Oak
Dear MPK,
There does seem to be an infinite variety of Galls that can be found on oak trees, and we wish Alfred Kinsey were still alive and working to classify the Gall Wasps that produce these harmless growths.
Galls on White Oak
¶ Posted 29 October 2010 § Galls ‡ ° What the heck kind of spider is this?!
Location: Santa Monica, CA
October 27, 2010 12:08 pm
I found it in my bathroom the other day and have him trapped in a jar now. Last year, a spider bit me in my apartment (same time of year) and I had to go on antibiotics. So, now I’m really curious what type of spiders hang out in my place!
Signature: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
Jumping Spider
Dear EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
You have nothing to fear. This is a harmless Jumping Spider in the genus Phidippus which is represented in our archives from a letter earlier this month. Charles Hogue in his book Insects of the Los Angeles Basin has identified this species as Phidippus formosus, but that species is not represented on BugGuide, which is highly unusual. Bugguide has a letter from Pasadena with a photo of Phidippus adumbratus that looks identical to the individual in your photo. We are not entirely certain why BugGuide does not recognize Phidippus formosus as a species.
Hi Bugman,
Location: Laguna Beach, ca
October 27, 2010 6:58 pm
I live in Laguna Beach, Ca. There are a lot of these bugs in my house. They have a red head, black body, and clear wings. The wings are shedding all over the place. I am attaching a picture of what they look like. Let me know what you think they are…. Thank you so much! 
Signature: Jenese
Termite Alate
Hi Jenese,
Though your photo is quite blurry, we can determine that it is a Termite Alate. Alates are the reproductive virgin kings and queens that swarm after a rain. They then shed their wings and mate and begin a new colony. If they are inside your house in large numbers, we can assume that their is a colony already established in your home. We have gotten many identification requests from Southern California in the past week because of the unseasonal rains. We do not give extermination advice.
Green and yellow beetle in Ethiopia
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
October 27, 2010 12:28 pm
Hi Mr Bugman – I am writing to ask your assistance in identifying a green and yellow beetle. The first flew into my house a couple of weeks ago in a , and the second after I moved to the fifth floor of an apartment block at the top of a hill in the city of Addis Ababa. They have both since left my home.
I named the first one Marius, and the second Julius (Te-See-Zar is Amharic language word for beetle). I would like to know what they eat/drink and their sleeping patterns (hibernation etc…) so I can make a comfortable home for them if they return.
They are the only two of this kind of beetle I have ever seen, so it seems a strange co-incidence that they both came to my home, were not able to fly away, seeming sluggish in their efforts, and after a couple of days of rest, vanished without a trace.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give me.
Signature: Billy Moon
Scarab Beetle: Pachnoda stehelini
Hi Billy,
Your beetle is one of the members of the large family Scarabaeidae, the Scarab Beetles. It somewhat resembles the Green June Beetle or Figeater from North America, and we are guessing it is probably in the same subfamily, Cetoniinae, the Fruit and Flower Chafers. We are guessing, that like many of its relatives, it will feed upon ripe fruit. Next time try a banana or a peach. Most Scarabs do not hibernate, but they will live for a few months as adults. We believe your specimen looks very similar to Pachnoda stehelini which we found on the Cetonidae Online Insect Museum website run by Benjamin Harink. We then found some photos of living specimens on Goliathus.com. There are also very nice images of it on Beetlespace.
Scarab Beetle: Pachnoda stehelini
Thank you very much for your reply. I have looked at the links you sent me. It is all very interesting. I will try a banana, or maybe some flower pollen next time.
Cheers
Billy
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