Lantern Bug from Borneo
Location: Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, Borneo
February 9, 2011 3:35 am
I believe this Lantern Bug seen in Sabah, Borneo, is a Fulgora sp., but can anyone tell me which species?
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones
Lanternfly
Hi Peter,
We did a search for Lanternfly and Borneo and found a beautiful, rather similar looking insect on the Lost Borneo website that is identified as the genus Pyrops. An image web search of that name brought us to a photo on Flickriver that is identified as Pyrops whiteheadi. We cannot say for certain that that is correct because we do not have a background in entomology, and we know that there is a proliferation of misinformation on the internet. We are constantly misidentifying some of the photos that we post.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you. I agree wholeheartedly with your point about misinformation on the internet, but I have managed to find some other images of Pyrops whiteheadi which match the one in the link you sent and my image, so I think it is most likely correct. The search has also yielded the the unexpected ID for a mantis I photographed in Borneo too, so doubly thanks!
Best regards,
Peter
Peruvian cricket
Location: Rio Pindayo, near Curimana, Ucayali, Peru
February 9, 2011 3:28 am
Can you help me find the identity of this cricket found in central Peru?
Signature: Peter Bruce-Jones
Katydid
Hi again Peter,
This is not a cricket, but rather, it is a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae. Crickets and Katydids are classified together in the suborder Ensifera, the Long Horned Orthopterans. We often request assistance with exotic Katydid identifications from entomologist Piotr Naskrecki, however, we suspect he is in the field as he did not respond to our recent emails. We will write to him to see if he recognizes your Katydid. We can tell you that she is a female as evidenced by her swordlike ovipositor.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you.
On this side of the Atlantic the Tettigoniidae are known as Bush-crickets and the term “katydid” is alien to us, hence my (imprecise) use of “cricket”. I look forward to hearing what your expert makes of it, and will hold back my other similar queries until he is in contact again.
Best regards,
Peter
Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
This is a female of Choeroparnops, most likely C. tuberculatus (Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae: Platyphyllini).
Cheers,
Piotr
Thank you Daniel. That was quicker than I expected. I have a few more orthopterans to enquire about; I’ll start with the long-horned ones.
All the best,
Peter
¶ Posted 09 February 2011 § Katydids ‡ ° Wheel Bug eating a Praying Mantis
Location: SE Kansas
February 8, 2011 2:51 pm
Found this wheel bug feasting on this praying mantis! I thought it was an interesting picture and I didn’t find one in the gallery. Thought you might like to have it!! I hope the picture quality is good because is was taking with my phone!
Signature: T
Wheel Bug Preys Upon Preying Mantis
Dear T,
Thank you so much for sending us this incredible Food Chain documentation between two predators. The muted tones of your image lends an almost painterly quality to the photograph. There is a bleakness to the landscape that is reminiscent of the staged clay animation dinosaur battles from movies long before the days of computer generated animation. We do have an example in our archives where the final outcome was different: A Preying Mantis feasting on a Wheel Bug from 2008.
4
Spider
Location: Rome, NY
February 8, 2011 2:20 am
Hi, this spider was in my bathroom on top of the heat duct then after I took the picture scampered down the duct very quickly. I reside in Central NY. The body was about an inch in length – it was a little large for my liking!
Any help identifying would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Signature: Amy Wheeler
Eastern Parson Spider
Hi Amy,
We haven’t posted any recent images of the harmless Eastern Parson Spider, Herpyllus ecclesiasticus, in quite some time. Your letter and photo are welcomed additions to our archive. There are may nice images of the Parson Spider on BugGuide.
Bee Beetle
Location: West Valley City, UT
February 7, 2011 1:06 pm
My preschool children found this in our classroom in West Valley City Utah. They thought it was a bee. Can you please help us identify it. Thank you
Signature: Valerie Martinson
Red Headed Ash Borer
Hi Valerie,
Do you have a supply of firewood in the classroom? Generally, when we get a report of a Red Headed Ash Borer, Neoclytus acuminatus, that is found indoors in the winter, it is because it has metamorphosed early because of warmer indoor temperatures. According to BugGuide: “It overwinters in the trunk of infested trees, probably in the pupal stage. The adult emerges in early spring and lays eggs under the bark of recently dead trees.“ It is believed that this species mimics stinging wasps as a means of self preservation.
1
Interesting caterpillar
Location: Orange, California
February 7, 2011 3:15 am
I was outside today gardening and hanging out with my cats when I saw this caterpillar in the garden. At first I thought nothing of it because I rarely see caterpillars in my garden on grass growing between bricks and I didn’t think it was one because of the shape and where it was. (I’m not sure where it came from because we had been cutting, trimming and removing plants from our garden.) But I went back and to my surprise it had a fat head/neck. And on further inspection It was black with yellow stripes. And small little yellow spots. It kind of reminded me of an army worm but I don’t think it is because of the body/head shape and plus it was so small. I took it to my butterfly bush and hope to see if I can find it tomorrow.
Signature: Samantha
Unknown Caterpillar
Hi Samantha,
We tried browsing through the Cutworms in the very large subfamily Noctuinae on BugGuide to no avail. We are so amused by your photos that we are posting them in the hope that one of our readers may eventually supply us with a species identification. Your Caterpillar makes an interesting fashion accessory.
Unknown Caterpillar
Followup Query
June 5, 2011 2:08 am
Hi, I sent these pics to you in feburary and was wondering if you got any information on them? I’m still interested in knowing what kind of caterpillar this is. Thank you..
Samantha
Hi Samantha,
We did not have any luck in our initial attempt to identify this caterpillar, and unfortunately, none of our readers ever supplied us with an identification. Sorry to disappoint you. Sometimes identifications eventually happen months or years after the initial posting.
weird totally strange insect w over the top HAIR DO
Location: KUCHING MALAYSIA NEAR SARAWAK RIVER
February 7, 2011 1:59 pm
HI, FOUND ABOUT 6 OF THESE MARVELOUS CREATURES ON A LEAF IN KUCHING MALAYSIA. DIDNT HOP AROUND THE WAY A LEAFHOOPER WOULD BUT HELD THEIR GROUND MORE LIKE STOUT CATERPILLARS AND WAVED THIS RASTA HAIR LIKE BRAIDS AROUND ABIT. SO WHAT THESE THINGS TURN INTO THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES IN THE WORLD OR THEY JUST PLAIN SCARY.
Signature: HEIDEN999
Tortoise Beetle Larvae
Dear HEIDEN999,
These are Tortoise Beetle Larvae in the tribe Cassidini. Knowing the plant they were feeding upon might help to more easily identify the species. We have not had any luck finding an exact match to your species, but there are many similar looking examples in our archives and on the web.
hi daniel, thanks for the fast ID on my weird larvae. so they are tortoise beetles hey ..well these beautiful tortoise beetles happen to be close by perhaps this is an adult??? I have sent an attached image. it looks like they are feeding on the same type leaf. could this be a match??? thanks, gary heiden
Tortoise Beetle
Hi Gary,
Based on the information you have provided, we believe it is an excellent possibility that the adult Tortoise Beetle feeding on the same plant is the same species as the larvae. We could not locate a match on the World’s Best Photos of Cassidinae Flickr Hive Mind website.
Red round insects
Red Light Bulbs and a Paper Wasp Wing
Subject: Red round insects
Location: Austin, Texas
February 6, 2011 9:43 pm
Hi bugman, this is the second time I have seen these tiny, tiny red bugs. They look like small red light bulbs?
Any thoughts, I have looked on-line and still cannot seem to find a match.
Hope you can help.
ESP.
Signature: East Side Patch
Heteropteran Nymphs Scavenging a Paper Wasp Carcass
Dear East Side Patch,
We found a very similar looking Heteropteran Nymph on BugGuide that is identified as a Largus species or Bordered Plant Bug. We located another photo on BugGuide of an later instar nymph of Largus californicus, which should be called the California Bordered Bug (though it is also reported from Texas on BugGuide). Many phytophagous Heteropterans or True Bugs scavenge dead insects in their immature stages. The biggest difference we notice between your Heteropteran Nymphs and the Largus nymphs on BugGuide is that your species has longer, striped antennae.
Thank you so much for these!
This one has had me puzzled for quite some time!
Philip.
I like This
