centipede from India
Location: Tamil Nadu, india
February 12, 2011 1:49 pm
Hello dear bugman, I am back with a few more finds… if you find the time to look at them – lovely!
This looks like a centipede… about 6-8cm long, black-yellow. It was found in dry grassland in Tamil Nadu, India.
Signature: Thanks, Helen
Millipede
Hi Helen,
This is not a Centipede. It is a Millipede. You can tell by looking closely and seeing that there are two pairs of legs per body segment while Centipedes have but one pair per body segment. Centipedes and Millipedes are in different classes in the same Subphylum, Myriapoda. According to BugGuide, the word Myriapoda has its origin: “From Greek myrias (μυριας) 10,000 (i.e., countless) plus podos foot, leg.“ Millipedes are in the class Diplopoda.
Millipede: 2 pairs of legs per body segment.
Karl provides a species identification
Hi Daniel and Helen:
This millipede looks very similar to the Yellow-spotted millipede (a.k.a. the Almond-scented Millipede or Cyanide Millipede), Harpaphe haydeniana, a native of the Pacific coast of North America that is well represented on the Bugguide site. The internet has a profusion of images suggesting that this species also occurs in India and various other Asian locations, but there is also considerable confusion regarding whether or not this species actually exists in Asia (by introduction I would assume). I did find several references in scientific papers suggesting that it does, at least in India, but I also found sites that indicated it is commonly confused with the Asian species Asiomorpha coarctata. There are other Asian species that also look similar but I suspect it is one of these two (to me H. haydeniana looks like a closer match). I think it probably has been introduced to India, but given the degree of confusion I don’t think I would fully trust any internet image identified as a H. haydeniana from Asia.
Karl
tiny spotted flying bug!
Location: Columbus Ohio
February 12, 2011 1:19 am
i have had these tiny black/brown/beige spotted bugs for about a year now. They used to only hang out in my living room window sill during the spring when we would have our windows open (we have screens, not sure how they got in). Recently, they’re abundant in my bedroom. On my walls, bedposts (metal bed) and crawling on my pillows (what a delight to wake up to!). They tend to hang around by my cats food on the carpet, but they have never been IN his food or on my cat. I have no bites. I thought they were harmless until lately I see them flying with their hidden wings around my room. But mostly they crawl. Haven’t noticed any holes in bedsheets, even checked my cats ears but they’re not in there either! Haven’t seen any in my closet either. They seem to be less than a cm large…Please Help!
Signature: Nikki Ater
Carpet Beetle
Hi Nikki,
This ia a Carpet Beetle in the genus Anthrenus, which you may confirm on BugGuide. This is a common household pest that is also responsible for doing major damage to museum collections. Your photo that includes the orange carpet amuses us.
Winged Insect
Location: Victoria, Australia
February 11, 2011 11:16 pm
This winged insect landed on a leaf, it was very docile and was very easy to take a photo of as it did not try to fly away.
Was seen in Victoria, Australia, summer season, weather conditions were slightly overcast, slight wind.
I would like with your help to identify this insect, thanks.
Signature: Al
Bottlebrush Sawfly
Dear Al,
Though the markings on the abdomen of your specimen are a little different, we believe there are enough similarities between your specimen and the Meleleuca Sawfly, Lophyrotoma zonalis, posted on Oz Animals to deduce that this is either a color variation or a closely related species. Sawflies are non-stinging relatives of Bees and Wasps, and many species can be of significant concern because when the larvae which resemble caterpillars are plentiful, they can defoliate cultivated as well as native trees. The photos of this species on the Brisbane Insect Website, where it is identified as the Paperbark Sawfly, show yet another color variation with an very orange abdomen.
Bottlebrush Sawfly
We have decided to post all three of your images.
Hi Daniel and Al:
As far as I can tell, the Long-tailed sawfly group (Pergidae: Pterygophorinae) has only two relatively small genera, Lophyrotoma and Pterygophorus, both limited to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Superficially the genera appear to be distinguished primarily by the pattern of orange on the abdomen and perhaps the presence/absence or degree of white coloration at the base of the antennae. Based on these characteristics, I believe this one may be a species of Pterygophorus, of which there are only two that make it as far south as Victoria. It looks very similar to P. cinctus (Bottlebrush Sawfly), but I was not able to find an image or description of P. facielongus. The males of all species have extravagantly pectinate antennae, so this one looks like a female. Final note – I also found several sites where the Bottlebrush sawfly is referred to as Phylacteophaga cinctus (Phylacteophaginae), but I believe this is an older synonym. Regards. Karl
Bottlebrush Sawfly
Nice sleuthing Karl. It appears you have nailed the Bottlebrush Sawfly identification.
Spined Soldier Bug????
Location: Fulton County, Illinois
February 10, 2011 1:11 am
I thought this was a Spined Soldier Bug. The red patch on its back is not in any information I have found.
Signature: Steve
Spined Soldier Bug
Dear Steve,
The angle of view of your photo makes it difficult to ascertain for certain that this is a Spined Soldier Bug, Podisus maculiventris, but we believe that you are probably correct because of the spines on the pronotum at the widest point of the body. A photo posted to BugGuide shows some reddish markings on the individual as well as reddish legs. Perhaps there are some latent genes that may eventually result in a population with red markings for this beneficial Predatory Stink Bug.
What kind of bug is this?
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
February 11, 2011 9:51 pm
Hi, I found this bug in my apartment in Israel and I assume it’s a beetle, but I can’t figure out what kind. Someone told me they thought these sting. Do you know what this is?
Signature: Curious
Egyptian Desert Roach
Dear Curious,
This is sure an unusual looking Cockroach. The good news is that of the thousands of species of Cockroaches, only a few actually infest human dwellings, and this is not one of those. The pestilent species have given a bad name to all Cockroaches. Our initial web searches did not produce any matches to this primitive looking Cockroach, but perhaps one of our readers will have luck with a species identification.
Immediate Update: Egyptian Desert Roach
After posting, we decided to search our own archive and we noticed a marked similarity between the pictured specimen and the Boll’s Sand Roach from Texas we posted last year. We then searched the web for images of the family it belongs to, Polyphagidae, and we discovered a Polyphagidae web page with a photo of the Egyptian Sand Roach, Polyphaga aegyptiaca. The proximity of Israel to Egypt leads us to believe you may have encountered an Egyptian Desert Roach. The Bugs in Cyberspace website describes the Egyptian Desert Roach as being: “a very unusual roach species. Females look like large, rounded scarab beetles while males posess long, black wings. Feed them a little dried dogfood, fruits and vegetables.“ The photo included there would indicate that your individual is a female. AllPet Roaches indicates that females have long back legs to ensure that they never get stuck on their backs as well as forelegs engineered for digging in the sand.
ID of caterpillar
Location: Hawi, North Kohala, Hawaii Island
February 11, 2011 3:10 am
Can you help ID this caterpillar
Signature: Hawi
Oleander Hawkmoth Caterpillar
Dear Hawi,
This is an Oleander Hawkmoth Caterpillar, a species introduced to Hawaii that has naturalized because of the cultivation of its food plant, the oleander.
Australian Wasp?
Location: Riverina, NSW, Australia
February 11, 2011 4:22 am
This insect was collecting nector from Agapanthus flowers in exactly the same manner and speed you would expect of a humming bird. Approx 40-50mm (1 1/2” to 2”) long
Signature: Dionne
Gardenia Bee Hawkmoth
Hi Dionne,
Diurnal Moths in the family Sphingidae are frequently called Hummingbird Moths because they are frequently mistaken for the tiny birds while hovering around blossoms to gather nectar. We believe your moth is a Gardenia Bee Hawkmoth, Cephonodes kingii, and you can see photos of its entire life cycle on the Butterfly House website of Australian species.
identification help at BAMONA
Website: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org
February 10, 2011 7:17 pm
Hi folks,
Your site is great! I coordinate Butterflies and Moths of North America, and I love what you do. We have a tiny staff too (2 part-time) and it is a ton of work. I know you must get loads of submissions here as well. If you ever want to point submitters to our site for identification help on those ones you don’t feature, feel free. Submitters can upload a photo and other details, and a volunteer regional coordinator will ID their submission. We also would love it if you would point users to our site to share rare submissions like the Owl moth (http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2010/11/16/owl-moth-can-this-be-a-state-record-for-wisconsin/) because we store all these records and make them available to scientists. If you are not interested in pointing folks to our project, that’s okay too.
Cheers,
Kelly
Signature: Kelly Lotts
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for your email. We will post your offer and request in the hopes that our readership will visit your site and provide contributions. We believe that the normal ranges and migration patterns of many animal species (not just butterflies and moths) are changing, and that this is a symptom of a global shift that we probably cannot truly comprehend.
I like This
