Spider, Tick, Tailless Scorpion, or something else???
Location: Enfield, New Hampshire
November 17, 2010 2:59 am
I have found a bug in my home that I very rarely find and dont know what it is??? Today is the 3rd time I have seen this species since I lived here since 1994. I have found this bug mostly in dark places like the floor of our broom closet, and once fell off a box of spaghetti and onto my stovetop. This time however I was making our bed and say him and got excited while my wife was disgusted with a bug in our bed. I found a small zip lock bag and a piece of paper and scooted him into the bag. His attitude towards this was defensive and he always turned in the direction of the edge of paper and he reminded me of a scorpion, but without a tail. I found my wifes digital camcorder and went to go back to the ziplock bag to get a snapshot and the ziplock bag had a broken seam on the side so he escaped =( I would really like to know what type of bug he is and if he is harmless or not. When observing these guys in their habitat they are usually forraging in dust and using their s corpion like pinchers to bring stuff to their small mouth. So I dont know if mites have pinchers if this is what he is. Really bummed that he got loose. i have a stereo microscope and was hoping to get a nice picture of him. If I went to try to find them, i can never find them. I only find them by accident, so I am thinking their population within my home is very small. I drew a picture of what i found and can supply more info if needed. Added a dime to photo to give scale or the bugs size in lower left. Larger picture i drew to show pinchers and body features. He also has 8 legs + the 2 pinchers i believe.
Signature: Thanks, Dave
Drawing of a Pseudoscorpion
Hi Dave,
Thanks to your excellent drawing, there is little doubt in our mind that you have found a harmless Pseudoscorpion.
2
Media Inquiry about your book
November 17, 2010 2:19 am
Hello, Daniel,
I’m a fan of your site–years ago you helped me identify a house centipede–and I heard about your book while I was at Comic-Con this year. I write for Wired.com’s GeekDad blog, and I wondered if there’s any chance I could get a review copy of your book to write up on the site.
Thanks!
Signature: Jonathan Liu
Hi Jonathan,
How nice to hear we were helpful in the past and that you are still a fan. Thanks for the mention of The Curious World of Bugs already on Wired.com. I will contact my publicist with your request.
Daniel
Zebra Caterpillar (Ceramica picta)
Location: Ancaster, Ontario
November 16, 2010 11:13 am
A hitch hiker in a potted hardy Chyrsanthemum from a garden centre, and searching through your entire archive, not a caterpillar you have on your site!
Such a lovely looking creature, but apparently it’s a real pain in the fruits and vegetables and makes a rather dull brown moth.
I guess they all can’t grow up to be monarchs!
Cheers!
Signature: Cheryl-Anne
Zebra Caterpillar
Hi again Cheryl-Anne,
You sure are keeping us supplied with nice and unusual photographs. We haven’t many images of Zebra Caterpillars on our site, and we did a bit of research on the species. BugGuide does not recognize the genus name Ceramica, and the moth is identified as Melanchra picta. Interestingly, BugGuide notes: “adults are uncommon but larvae may be a pest.“
Zebra Caterpillar
Is this a stinkbug?
Location: Sunnyvale, CA 94086
November 14, 2010 5:56 pm
I saw this bug on my windshield in Sunnyvale, CA, yesterday and was wondering what it was. I’ve seen them before and thought they might be some variety of stinkbug. I think they’re fairly common around there.
Signature: Paul
Rough Stink Bug
Hi Paul,
This is indeed a Stink Bug. More specifically, it is a Rough Stink Bug in the genus Brochymena. This is a beneficial species that is predatory and it feeds mainly on caterpillars. See BugGuide for additional information.
Underwing Moth
Location: Ancaster, Ontario
November 16, 2010 4:58 am
This underwing invited itself into the house and I took the photos in June of this year. I captured it in a vase to get a closer look and to take some pictures of it (and also to keep my cats from eating it) and then let it go back outside.
I love their aerodynamic little faces.
Signature: Cheryl-Anne
Greater Yellow Underwing
Hi Cheryl-Anne,
We nearly went dizzy scrolling through all the individuals in the Owlet Moth family Noctuidae on the Moth Photographers Group which does not recognize the newer taxonomy on BugGuide of the superfamily Noctuoidae. This is one large family or superfamily, but we finally found Noctua pronuba on the Moth Photographers Group on Plate 33 (Noctuidae, Noctuinae), and it matches your moth. BugGuide identifies Noctua pronuba by the common names Greater Yellow Underwing, Large Yellow Underwing or Winter Cutworm (larva) and states that it was: “Introduced from Europe to Nova Scotia in 1979, this species has since spread north to the Arctic Ocean, west to the Pacific, and south to the Gulf of Mexico.“
Greater Yellow Underwing
Fuzzy Legged Moth
Location: Ancaster, Ontario
November 16, 2010 4:47 am
This picture was taken July 8th and I came across it while hunting for another photo. Still don’t know what sort of moth it is. Maybe you do?
These shots were as good as I could get with a flash at night. Sorry for the blurriness of her head.
Signature: Cheryl-Anne
Wood Nymph
Hi Cheryl-Anne,
This is a Wood Nymph in the genus Eudryas. These moths do a very good job of looking like bird droppings which probably assists in their survival.
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