bug identification request
Location: Manteca, California
November 28, 2010 4:19 am
We’ve found this bug 3 times now – twice on the bed and once in the garage (which is directly below our bedroom). Haven’t been able to find a picture of it anywhere – I hope you can tell us what this thing is! It’s about half an inch long and can move very quickly. The first one my husband saw went in a sandwich bag to try and get identified – I was very surprised that it’s still alive a week later – no food, no air, no water.
Thanks for your efforts – looking forward to your answer.
Signature: Brenda W.
Snakefly Larva
Dear Brenda,
The beneficial and harmless Snakefly Larva you have imprisoned in a plastic bag would be much better off if you released it where you found it. According to BugGuide: “Both larvae and adults are predatory, though they are capable of catching and killing only small and weak prey. Snakefly larvae feed on eggs and larvae of various insects, as well as adults of minute arthropods (e.g. mites, springtails, barklice, and homopterans). Adults typically prefer aphids but may eat a wide variety of arthropods. Adults take efforts to clean themselves after feeding. Females have been observed to ‘have a curious habit of frequently wagging their ovipositor during the process of eating, as though expressing satisfaction with the food.’ [pg. 104, Carpenter, 1936]“
I like This
Just found one of these on the kitchen floor of my Northern AZ apartment! We were amazed and not quite sure what this little thing was. Thank you for the information on your site
it was very helpful
Thank you so much for the info! The two we captured went outside immediately. Interesting little creatures – they must have hitched a ride into the house when we were doing yardwork.
Not meaning to be rude but, I don’t think people are going to want to release any kind of bugs back into there beds, no matter how harmless they are.
We agree that it should be released outside and not back into the bed. Thanks for catching that bit of poor advice.
I didn’t see this advice, perhaps it was removed… but I would think it referred to flower beds, not sleeping beds.
Rereading the original letter mentioned both bed and bedroom in the same sentence, which would support our original thought that it was found indoors in a bed meant for sleeping humans.