Flying spider from the congo?
Location: Congo
February 11, 2011 3:41 pm
My friend who is in the Congo took this picture this week. Here’s her description:
Saw the most amazing and bizarre bug a few days ago. No one seems to have a clue what it is. Anyone out there feel like finding the answer? It was about 1.5-2 inches, flies like a bumble bee, looks like part fly, part tarantula, part exotic, part scary.
Signature: David Guralnick
Robber Fly
Dear David,
This fantastic creature is a Robber Fly, but we are uncertain of the species. We don’t believe there is much online information to help identify this Robber Fly. Robber Flies are predators and this individual looks very much like some North American Robber Flies in the genus Laphria, the Bee-Like Robber Flies. You can see some North American examples on BugGuide.
Cool, thank you for your response. Is it strange that, considering how many different types of Robber Flies there are, that one from North America would look so much like one in Africa?
David Guralnick
Karl supplies some information
Re: Robber Fly from the Congo – February 11, 2011
Hi Daniel and David:
I believe that your spectacular Robber Fly belongs to the genus Hyperechia. Members of this genus mimic the large Carpenter Bees in the genus Xylocopa and the larvae feed on the bee larvae. It is thought that the Robber Fly disguise enables them to get close enough to lay their eggs inside the bee’s nesting burrows. There are a number of African species but based on a key to the genus Hyperechia (in Oldroyd 1970. Studies of African Asilidae (Diptera) i. Asilidae of the Congo basin) this one is likely H. floccose. I think this genus has appeared on WTB? at least once before, in a posting by Robert (danielj), Unknown Robber Fly from Tanzania, August 16, 2008. Robert’s Robber Fly looks like it could be H. marshalli, or perhaps H. bifasciata. Regards. Karl
unidentified caterpillar
Location: Geita Villiage, Mwanza, Tanzania
February 17, 2011 3:07 am
Hi, my daughter spotted this brightly coloured fellow on our garden path we thought it was litter because of the colour. Its the end of the rainy season in Geita, Mwanza which is in north western Tanzania. He did not move very much although produced large quantities of black gunk when we picked him up and he was only about 3cm long. We have seen a most beautiful large butterfly in the garden with this unusual colouring, is it related?
Signature: Sandra Wronsley
Unknown Blue Caterpillar
Dear Sandra,
At first glance we thought this might be a Giant Silk Moth Caterpillar in the family Saturniidae, but your statement that is is only 3 centimeters long caused us to second guess that idea. Our second guess was that this might be a Stinging Slug Caterpillar in the family Limacodidae so we wrote to Bill Oehlke who runs the World’s Greatest Saturniidae Site to get his opinion. Bill wrote back: “Daniel, I agree with your assessments, but we could be wrong.“ We are going to post your caterpillar and tag it as unidentified in the hope that someone may be able to provide additional information. We strongly doubt that this blue caterpillar will metamorphose into the large butterfly you sighted, but that is pure conjecture since there is no photo of the butterfly and the caterpillar is unidentified, though we do believe it is probably a Moth Caterpillar.
Kona BUG!!!
Location: Kailua Kona, HI
February 16, 2011 7:26 pm
This was one of the most BEAUTIFUL bugs I have ever seen. It was HUGE to boot.
What is it??
Signature: Mesha
Oleander Hawkmoth
Hi Mesha,
This beautiful moth is an Oleander Hawkmoth. It has become naturalized in Hawaii due to the cultivation of the larval food plant, Oleander.
Whats this bug??
Location: Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia
February 15, 2011 9:46 am
Hi there,
Just wondering what this type of bug is, I have never seen something like this before.
Signature: anyway
Elephant Weevil
Dear anyway,
This is an Elephant Weevil, Orthorhinus cylindrirostris, which you may verify on the Oz Animals website which states: “The Elephant Weevil is pest to the wine industry as it feds on grape vines. It is a brown grey weevil with a long slender snout and long forelegs. The body has thick black or brown scales. The antennae are clubbed and form an L shape with a distinct elbow. Males antennae are located much closer to the point of the snout than females. Males also have longer forelegs than females. “
Dangerous looking spider
Location: Melbourne CBD, Victoria, Australia
February 15, 2011 9:45 pm
When gardening in my inner suburbs Melbourne home, i found this spider. The purple and red colours screamed DANGER to me, and needless to say put me off my gardening endeavours. I was curious about what kind of spider this actually is and whether the DANGER instinct is correct. (Living in Australia means things that look dangerous usually are)
This spider was found in the middle of summer, amongst some very thick tree & vine growth. Had made itself quite a large web, and was about 8cm in length.
Sorry about the poor photo quality, it was as close as i was willing to get!
Signature: H.Spannah
Orbweaver
Dear H,
This is a harmless Orbweaver Spider. They can get quite large, and they might bite if provoked, but the bite is not considered to be significantly dangerous. Your spider might be in the genus Nephila, a group known as the Golden Silk Spiders. See the Brisbane Spiders Website.
bee identification
Location: Kamuela HI 96743
February 13, 2011 4:57 pm
Attached is a picture of a big black busy-but-calm nonthreatening bee that appears to be gathering pollen. Wings are bronze. Nearest I can figure from your photos is that it could be a valley carpentar bee.
Signature: Mickey Haag, Master Gardener
Female Sonoran Carpenter Bee
Dear Mickey,
Thank you for your patience. Though we were unable to locate it on the Organisms of Hawaii website, we agree with you that this is a Carpenter Bee, but to the best of our knowledge, the Valley Carpenter Bee is not found on Hawaii. We have found information on the Insects of Hawaii website that its relative, the Sonoran Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa sonorina, is found on Hawaii, but the website only pictures a gold bee and often the males in this genus are golden in coloration. We found a photo listed as a female Sonoran Carpenter Bee on Wikipedia, and it is black like your individual.
I understand. I’ve used your website for several years and it’s the best. When ever we visit relatives/friends they seem to have a ‘bug’ they want me to check out. If I don’t have the answer you know you’re the site I go to.
Appreciate your limited staff. Thank you for your site, if not a direct answer to my request!
Mickey Haag
Thank you so much for your quick response and proper identification. After I emailed you, once again visited the 10-12 ft fence covered in flowering vines and hundreds of busy black bees, I saw a single golden fuzzy bee looking very much like the male valley carpenter bee pictured on your website. Thanks a million for both ID’s! Mickey
Tiny bugs found on cat, in our bed, and on my wife
Location: Gainesville, Florida (indoors)
February 12, 2011 11:34 pm
On February 11, 2011, in Gainesville, Florida, my wife discovered a tiny red bug (about the size of a pin head) climbing on her. She immediately thought it was a tiny tick as we had a problem with them once before from a hiking trip. I stuck it to a piece of tape so I could photograph it and have it identified from our local extension office. Since it was Friday night, the extension office was closed. While I searched the web for answers, my wife continued to find them on our cats, on her, and in our bed. I assumed they were clover mites but all of the descriptions say that clover mites do not bite people. She insists that they are and have biting her. Last night, I was bit as well. I am attaching a photo I took. Please let me know what in the world this little guy is.
Signature: zompocalypse
Mite
Dear zompocalypse,
We agree that this is a Mite, but exact Mite identification is well beyond our amateur capabilities. Eradication of Biting Mites can be very difficult. We would recommend a trip to your local natural history museum to see if you can get any assistance with an identification.
¶ Posted 15 February 2011 § Mites ‡ ° What is this bug
Location: North Kohala, Hawi Hawaii
February 14, 2011 5:14 pm
This is all over North Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii since 1-2011
Signature: ML
Ground Beetle
Dear ML,
Your photo is lacking in detail which may make exact identification impossible, but this sure resembles a Ground Beetle in the genus Calosoma, collectively known as the Caterpillar Hunters. We found five species listed on the Organisms of Hawaii website, and two of them resemble your specimen with its smooth black elytra. One is Calosoma peregrinator which BugGuide reports from Arizona and New Mexico, and the other is Calosoma semilaeve which we featured as our Bug of the Month in May 2008 after it made numerous Southern California appearances in a short period of time. Certain insects seem to have very cyclical schedules and they appear in prodigious numbers when conditions are sympathetic to their survival. Your brief email indicates that your beetle might be at the peak of one such cycle. We suspect that this is not a native species and like many organisms found on Hawaii, both plants and animals, it has been accidentally or intentionally introduced and finds the climate conducive to naturalization.
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