What is this?
Location: Gwynn Oak, MD
March 17, 2011 9:01 am
HI,
I have 3 or 4 of these things in my juniper bush. I am not sure what it is and want to know if they are safe to have on the bush and at my front door.
thanks,
Signature: M. Kelly
Cedar Apple Rust Gall on Juniper
Dear M. Kelly,
Abnormal Growths on plants are known as galls, and many are caused by insects and mites, though there are other additional causes for plants to produce galls. We did a search for Galls on Juniper and we immediately discovered the Cedar Cedar Rust Gall on the University of Michigan Integrated Pest Management for Home Apple Growers web page. You need to scroll down the page to get the information, which includes: “Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae Cedar-apple rust is a fungal disease that spends half of its life cycle infecting apple or crab apple trees, and the other half infecting Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) or other species of juniper (Juniperus sp.). This disease can cause damage to leaves and fruit of very susceptible apple varieties, but is only a minor problem on resistant or partially resistant trees.” There is also a nice photo of the gall on FlickR.
Thank you very much for the information!!!!
I will cut them off and dispose of them and follow up and read the web pages you included in your response. Not that I like it, I can deal with a fungus better than bag worms or other insects.
I appreciate your quick response. 
M Kelly
Colorful Insect
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
March 17, 2011 1:38 am
It’s the second time I see one of those around the house. I’ve been told it usually lives in rice field and it’s just a grasshopper… But I don’t quite believe it.
Signature: Jean-Luc
Lanternfly
Dear Jean-Luc,
We wish we had more time to write about this Lanternfly, but we are already running dangerously late this morning.
ID for yesterday’s lanternfly
March 18, 2011 3:05 pm
The “Lanternfly from Thailand” posted yesterday is probably Fulgora candelaria. Searching Google Images yields a number of extremely similar pictures.
Signature: W. Randy Hoffman
Thanks W. Randy,
Pyrops candelarius brings up matching photos as well.
6
What is this strange creature
Location: Nowra NSW, Australia
March 17, 2011 7:16 am
This funny looking bug was found on the wall of our dining room. It’s only about 1cm in leangth & curled up like a slater as soon as it was touched. not a great photo but I can tell you that the fragmented looking parts on it back fall away quite easily. 6 legs hide underneath the body.
Signature: Ricky
Neuropteran Larva
Hi Ricky,
If there was no letter attached to this image, we would identify this as the larva of an Antlion, often called a Doodlebug, which buries itself in the sand at the bottom of a pit with just the jaws exposed. It eats ants and other creatures that fall into the pit. Some Antlions may have larvae that are more mobile. Your letter indicates it was crawling on a wall, which inclines us to speculate that it might be a Lacewing Larva as many Lacewing Larvae camouflage themselves with bits of debris. At any rate, both Antlions and Lacewings are in the insect order Neuroptera. The Brisbane Insect website has a great photo of an Antlion Larva.
Hairy Beetle in my wild tulip
Location: Israel, near Modiin
March 16, 2011 3:22 pm
I saw this beetle yesterday in the tulip, covered with pollen. Today it was back again, but only with a light sprinkling of pollen, and almost all the pollen in the tulip had gone. Today I got the camera out. The second photo I call ”hairy beetle doing a headstand…” It obviously does a good job in pollenation of the wild tulips in the area… I did not know there was such a thing as hairy beetles.
Signature: Judith C
Bumble Bee Scarab
Hi Judith,
We really love your photos of what we believe to be a Bumble Bee Scarab Beetle in the family Glaphyridae pollinating the tulip. The Scarabs of the Levant website states: “Glaphyrid beetles are active fliers during the day. Adults of many species are brightly colored and hairy and often possess markings and coloration resembling bees and bumblebees. They are strong fliers and are often observed hovering near flowers or foliage or flying over sandy areas.”
Bumble Bee Scarab
Bee or Fly?
Location: Southeastern Florida, Palm Beach County
March 15, 2011 10:01 am
I was taking pictures of the blooms on an ornamental cactus, and this bug wouldn’t take no for an answer. It kept getting into the shots. It seemed interested in the pollen at the center of the blooms. Can you identify it for me? Specifically, what kind of Bee or Fly is it? Pics taken 3/13/2011.
Signature: Tom
Flower Fly
Hi Tom,
While we haven’t the time to research the exact species, we can tell you that this is a Syrphid Fly or Flower Fly in the family Syrphidae. Many Syrphids mimic bees for protection. You may try to self identify you Flower Fly by browsing through the hundreds of images on BugGuide.
Daniel,
Thanks for the quick answer and the link. I think I found it, Syrphid Flies (Syrphidae) » Syrphinae » Toxomerini » Toxomerus » Toxomerus marginatus.
Tom
Tom,
Thanks so much for taking the initiative on this ID after we provided you with a point of departure. It really does appear that your Syrphid might be Toxomerus marginatus, though this is a large and confusing family for us and we believe a dipterist might be needed to accurately confirm this ID. BugGuide has these interesting remarks : “Considered beneficial insects, because they are predatory on many plant pests. This article suggests that they and other syrphids are more efficient at pest control in sheltered sites. When the pupa is exposed to heat, the adults look very pale and orange, if they develop under cold conditions, they turn much darker, sometimes nearly completely black. (Comment by Martin Hauser)”
Tiny White Insect
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
March 14, 2011 4:21 am
Hi, found this relaxing on a succulent plant on a hot day here in Melbourne, Australia… season is Autumn, would you happen to know what this is?
Thank you.
Signature: A.L
Green Planthopper Nymph
Dear A.L.,
We tried browsing through all the postings of Leafhoppers, Treehoppers and Planthoppers in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha that are available on the Brisbane Insect website, but alas, we have not had any luck identifying your immature Hemipteran nymph. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide a more specific identification.
Hi Daniel and A.L.:
I believe this is a Flatid Planthopper (Flatidae: Flatinae) in the predominantly Australian genus Siphanta. It looks very similar to several online images identified as S. acuta, however, there are at least 40 Australian species in the genus and some of them probably have similar looking nymphs. There is also some color variability among nymphs to complicate things further. Nevertheless, S. acuta appears to be the most common species and it has become a bit of a globetrotter as well, with records from New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Africa, Hawaii and mainland USA (California and possibly other states). The common name in Australia and New Zealand is the Green Planthopper, while in the USA it is referred to as the Torpedo Bug. It is considered an agricultural and forest pest in most places where it occurs. The species arrived in Hawaii in the late nineteenth century where it did considerable damage to native trees until it was brought under control in the early twentieth century with the introduction of the Australian egg parasitizing wasp, Aphanomerus puscillus (Scelionidae). Regards. Karl
Thanks for this one especially Karl. I really wanted to put a name to this hieroglyphically marked creature.
1
artichoke fly (Terellia fuscicornis)
Location: San Jose, CA
March 15, 2011 6:50 pm
Hey Bugman!
I was browsing the site yesterday and was surprised to find that no one had yet identified the artichoke fly, although there were two photos of them in previous postings(albeit probably different species). This photo I have submitted of the fly was taken in my backyard on my artichoke plant. The fly in my photo closely resembles the Terellia fuscicornis on BugGuide because of the V shape hair pattern on the thorax, so I am assuming it is such. According to the California Dept. of Food and Agriculture, ”The artichoke fly (Terellia fuscicornis) was accidentally introduced into California, but is not a CDFA approved biocontrol agent.”
Signature: Vincent, fellow buglover
Artichoke Fly
Hi Vincent,
Thank you so much for taking the time to identify your Artichoke Fly on BugGuide and also for providing the image for our readership.
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