Pink Moth
Location: Calf Creek Canyon, Utah
November 20, 2010 3:42 am
Found this moth in Utah.
Signature: Gini
Tiger Moth
Hi Gini,
We identified you Tiger Moth on BugGuide as Arachnis citra, a species with no common name. Interestingly, all the specimens posted to BugGuide were found in Utah. The Butterflies and Moths of North America website also indicates it it found in Nevada and Colorado.
what is this?
Location: Southern Arizona
November 18, 2010 5:27 pm
I found this bug while working in Arizona this summer and want to know what it is.
Thanks!
Signature: michael
Dear Bugman,
I did some research on your site and found that I have found a Giant Mesquite bug nymph.
Thanks for such a great resource and maybe the photo can help to add to your amazing database.
Best,
Michael
Giant Mesquite Bug Nymph
Hi Michael,
We are very happy to hear you were able to self-identify your Giant Mesquite Bug Nymph.
What’s That Bug bug – missing pages
November 19, 2010 10:18 pm
Hello good bug folks. I’m having a problem with your site, and I don’t know if it is my problem or on your end. Perhaps webmaster Daniel will have an idea.
Periodically our computers (one netbook, one desktop) won’t display all your entries. Page 1 will show all the current photos and requests, but when I select page 2, it will skip any other entries added since the day the glitch started. The most recent episode started November 13th. Everything in between vanishes into a black hole, including any top-of-page features added since. Eventually I presume that it will right itself as it has in the past, but in the meantime it is a rather annoying little issue, because I don’t know what I’ve missed out on. It’s like reading a book with a chapter torn out. Anyway, it is really interfering with my daily bug fix, and I hope you might be able to find time to suggest what it going on, so it can be rectified.
One of your greatest fans…
Signature: Bev (aka Bugophile)
Hi Bev,
Thanks for your concern. We have also mentioned this to Daniel the webmaster. There seems to always be about three or four posts that get lost in a black hole between pages 1 and 2 and we cannot figure out the problem. As you indicate, they eventually reappear when additional posts are added to the top of the queue.
Hi Daniel
Thanks for your reply, I know the last thing you want to have to do is spend time on computer bugs, real bugs are much more valuable. Hope you can get it figured out soon. By the way, I have put in a specific request to the family for a copy of Curious World… for Christmas. Looking forward to finding it under the tree.
Bev
insects
Location: Guinea, West Africa
November 18, 2010 4:13 pm
Photo 1. This is the funniest bug I’ve ever seen. It is NOT PHOTOSHOPPED. It couldn’t fly, but maybe because it was injured. We saw it during dry season.
Handmaiden Moth
Photos 2 and 3. This beetle was also seen during the dry season. Its head is like that of a locust and it had big pinchers. It was flightless.
Signature: Gabriel
Longicorn Beetle
Hi Gabriel,
We believe the moth is one of the Arctiid Moths. We will try to send the image to an expert in Arctiids named Julian Donahue in the hope that he can provide a species identification. The Beetle is a Longhorned Borer Beetle in the family Cerambycidae. They are commonly called Longicorns.
Longicorn Beetle
More identifications courtesy of Karl
Hi Daniel and Gabriel:
I believe the longicorn is probably Phryneta aurocincta (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae: Phrynetini). It is widely distributed through west and central Africa. The moth looks like it could be Amata (=Syntomis) alicia, an Arctiid in the subfamily Ctenuchiinae. It apparently occurs in north, east and south Africa, but I wasn’t able to confirm that west Africa is also in its range. It seems the Ctenuchiinae are known as handmaidens in Africa, and Amata alicia has the delightful common name Maid Alice (perhaps also Heady Maiden). Another possibility could be A. tomasina, which definitely occurs in West Africa and looks quite similar to the posted photo in some illustrations, but overall doesn’t appear to be as close a match. Anyway, I think that is probably the correct genus. Hopefully Julian Donahue can nail it down. Regards. Karl
Thanks Karl.
Julian Donahue confirms Karl’s identification
November 21, 2010
Daniel,
Appears to be in the genus Amata (placed in Syntomis by Hampson in 1898), close to alicia Butler, 1876–reported from Abyssinia, Somalia, and South Africa. I don’t have the resources at hand to do any better than this (need to see the underside coloration).
A search on Google Images of this name produces photos of similar moths (but beware of misidentifications!), which don’t show as much black at the base of the abdomen.
Julian P. Donahue
Gigantic grubs
November 19, 2010
Found these in our compost heap (and no you are right – I do not turn it over nearly often enough…). I’ve never seen or heard about giant grubs like these – they are placed on a standard sized garden trowel to give you a sense of the scale. I was honestly a little too grossed out to try to straighten one out to measure it though I know right where to find more if you need me to.
I didn’t destroy them all outright (my 1st impulse) just in case they are beneficial or morph into something gorgeous. Can you identify them for me? Location: Rollingwood, Texas 11/19/10…Thanks as always! Deb Wilson
ADD a Trowel Full of Grubs
Hi Deb,
We love your photo. You have a good cellular camera. We increased the resolution to make your tiny file larger, and it held up nicely. We hope that by making a reference to a recipe, we could get David Gracer to salivate and entice him into sending in an edibility comment. Though we are certain they are Scarab Beetles, we are unsure if they are June Beetles or Rhinoceros Beetles.
Thank you! I do have fun with my camera out in the garden.
I am fairly certain (due to the size) these are rhinoceros or ox beetle grubs. I’m basing that (though I admit I am lousy at bug ID) on the fact that I unearth June Bug/Beetle grubs out in the soil consistently in these parts. They are much smaller – about the circumference of a pencil and rarely more than 1/2 inch though in their curled in the ground state, length is a guess.
These grubs were in our compost heap, and were up to 3 1/2 inches long, with a diameter ranging from 3/4 to a full inch or more on the larger tail end side. Since I was thinking they were ox beetles (and therefore not out there garnering strength and numbers to launch a beetle apocalypse on my garden beds) I simply put them back into the compost heap after I took the photos.
If these grubs are edible (and I say that knowing how a person defines “edible” varies), then a few of them could make a fairly decent meal, depending of course on if you have to remove any parts, if they shrink during preparation, etc. And now I have to go look at photos of puppies and rainbows because I just totally grossed myself out.
Have a great weekend! /Deb Wilson
Tiny Bug
Location: Missouri
November 19, 2010 4:10 pm
I took this picture about a month ago (10-24-10). I really have no idea what kind of bug it is and would love some help on an ID.
Signature: Nathanael Siders
What's That Bug?????: Damsel Bug we believe
Hi Nathanael,
Daniel had a really rough week and he is baking Sliva Crumble to take to an early turkey dinner. This is a True Bug in the suborder Heteroptera. It appears to be predatory and we do not believe it is a Damsel Bug. We will try searching BugGuide when we have a chance. Meanwhile, we are starting a spin-off of the original What’s That Bug? and it will be a doppleganger of What’s That Bug? Tagged What’s That Bug?
Well, tell Daniel that I hope he can have a relaxing weekend and Thanksgiving. I appreciate you guys getting to this so quickly and now that you have given me a direction to go, I will do some searching as well. I will reply back if I find anything promising.
Nathanael
Update
November 21, 2010
We finally had an opportunity to check out the Damsel Bugs on BugGuide and we believe this individual looks very much like a member of the genus Nabis that is pictured on Bugguide.
Bug identification.
Location: Diggins, Missouri, under water in a pond.
November 18, 2010 1:39 pm
I was fishing a little while back and caught a rock with a little bug that was living in/on it under the water. It stayed on the rock and didn’t really seem to notice I was holding it, I just ended up taking a picture and putting him back, it looks like a bedbug, I’m having a hard time trying to figure out what it was, it’s ”bugging” me. If you could solve this mystery for me it’d be very appreciated.
Signature: Brad McBandycars
Naiad on a Hook
Hi Brad McBandycars,
You hooked a Naiad, a talent that Ulysses would admire. A Naiad is the aquatic nymph of a flying insect that is usually associated with water. Your Naiad is a young Dragonfly. If the Naiads of Dragonflies are similar to other larvae, they probably undergo 5 molts before becoming adults. The molts are stages known as instars and the adult is called the Imago. We cannot identify the species of Dragonfly you have hooked.
Unknown Dragonfly Naiad
Halictide in Mostly Blue?
Location: Paulding County Georgia
November 18, 2010 2:56 pm
This is a most enchantingly beautiful insect, I noticed you only have photos of green sweat bees, thought you would like one in blue. Took this photo yesterday. Found it on some pepper plants that I brought into the house a few weeks ago.
Signature: Tweakie Molinari
Sweat Bee
Hi Tweakie,
Thanks so much for your wonderful image of a Sweat Bee.
Dear Mr. Marlos:
You are most welcome! It had a little stinger which is not visible on the photo. Love your website thank you so much for all your work.
Tweakie
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