Big Beetle in FL
Location: Tampa, Fl
March 27, 2011 4:13 pm
Hi Bugman,
I’ve been living in Florida the last 8 years and never seen this kind of bug. Maybe it’s the size that has me flustered as it’s rather large at over 1 inch long. It scared my wife in the garage and we are in The Tampa Bay area.
Signature: CT
Caterpillar Hunter
Dear CT,
This is one of the Caterpillar Hunters in the genus Calosoma. They are important predators that help to control caterpillar populations.
Daniel,
I’m glad I asked and the Calasoma will come in handy. We’ve had a a very horrible webworm problem in the Tampa area this year (pictures attached). That accumulation of worms on the trunk is from one and a half days of worms.
Thank you, Cesar Tioseco
Oak Leaf Roller Outbreak
Hi Cesar,
Thanks for writing back with your images of the Caterpillar infestation. We believe these are probably the same Caterpillars that we have received several letters regarding thus far this year from Florida. Our first letter arrived March 7 and the caterpillars were identified as Oak Leaf Rollers. The Texas A&M University website has information on these Caterpillars. For various reasons, there are periodic outbreaks of certain insects that create media attention and cause concern, and then all is forgotten until the creatures reappear several years later in prodigious numbers again. We are curious about the control method that is documented in your photographs. Is this a sticky tape product specifically designed to control insects on trees?
Oak Leaf Roller Outbreak
Brown/tan lady beetle?
Location: North Carolina
March 28, 2011 11:00 am
Hi! My daughter found a tan/brown beetle curled up ”playing dead” on our kitchen floor this morning and I’ve been searching online for almost an hour trying to identify it. We live in NC and though it is freezing/rainy today, the weather has been warm and pleasant and even into the 80’s in the past week.
Signature: Heather Taylor
Leaf Beetle
Carpet Beetle
Really? I didn’t think it really looked enough like any of the ones I saw online. That’s a bad thing, right? Should I be panicking….
Thanks for your help!
Heather Taylor
Hi Heather,
Thanks for writing back and questioning our quickly returned, but incorrect response that this was a Carpet Beetle. It is not a Carpet Beetle, but rather a Leaf Beetle in the genus Calligrapha (see BugGuide). Sometimes in our attempts to answer as many identification requests as possible, we cut corners. We saw your first blurry image and read your letter and Carpet Beetle seemed correct. Enlarging your second image revealed our error. Please accept our apology. You do not need to panic that this outdoor dweller found its way into your home, however, when these Leaf Beetles are especially numerous, they might defoliate the host plants.
Well, I feel good that I asked, then. Thanks so much for writing back again. My daughter will be excited that she has located yet another different type of bug. It can definitely be very challenging to identify some of them as it takes me pouring over the internet sites to find pix. No worries! I appreciate all your help, especially the link to the Bug Guide.
Heather
what just bit me?
Location: south florida
March 27, 2011 8:46 pm
i just put on a shirt and right after i felt something bite me on my shoulder, a few seconds later i felt it again so i took off my shirt and inside i found this little guy. i’ve never seen a bug like this- what is it.
Signature: joe
Lacewing Larva
Hi Joe,
This is the Larva of a Lacewing that looks exactly like this image on BugGuide. Both adult and larval Lacewings are important predators, consuming vast quantities of Aphids. Perhaps you picked up this Lacewing Larva in the garden. We have gotten several reports over the years of people being bitten by Lacewing Larvae, but they are perfectly harmless.
unidentified blue bug
Location: Southern California
March 27, 2011 6:56 pm
I was curious if you could help me in identifying this bug, if it is one. I’m gonna make a guess as to it being an aphid of some sort or related to them, but I am no entomologist. They are all over the leaves of my hedge. I would really be grateful for the help.
Signature: Curiously Intruiged
Podocarpus Aphids
Hi Curiously Intruiged (Intrigued?),
You are correct. These are Aphids. We have similar Aphids on the collard greens in the vegetable patch of our Mt. Washington, Los Angeles garden, though we have not tried to correctly identify the species.
Update:
Buglady just provided a comment that these are Podocarpus Aphids, Neophyllaphis podocarpi, and BugGuide has a few images of the species.
Thank you so much. (And yes i meant intrigued, damn dyslexia haha.)
3
Dung Beetle of June Beetle?
Location: Jacksonville FL
March 27, 2011 8:19 pm
I noticed your dogs being unusually curious about some poo in the back yard, I checked and found nothing to my interest haha. Later investigation found a piece partially buried and moving! Digging turned up this specimen.
Signature: Dan
Rainbow Scarab
Hi Dan,
This is a female Rainbow Scarab, a Dung Beetle in the genus Phanaeus, however we do not believe it is Phanaeus vindex, the most commonly encountered species, because the coppery red pronotum that is an identifying characteristic according to BugGuide.
Rainbow Scarab
Green Metal Beetle
Location: Penang, Malaysia
March 27, 2011 11:24 pm
Hi Bugman!
I’ve developed an interesting hobby which is macrography but most of the time I’ve failed to identify the bugs within the photo because didn’t have much information on them. I’ve hope that I could learn more of this lovely insects and hopefully share my photos for all to enjoy 
Signature: mysticz
Frog Legged Leaf Beetle
Dear mysticz,
This is some species of Flea Beetle in the tribe Alticini. Flea Beetles are in the Leaf Beetle family Chrysomelidae and the feed upon the leaves of plants. Many Leaf Beetles are very host specific and many are considered agricultural pests. We are going to try to research the exact species of Flea Beetle in your photo. We did find a photo of your beetle on TrekNature, and it was photographed in Malaysia, but the species is not identified, and though it is identified as a Leaf Beetle, it is classified in a different subfamily. We believe our Tribe identification to be correct, though we might be wrong. TrekNature indicates: “in reality I think the local call it ‘Kumbang Hijau’ of equivalent to green beetle.” We also found a photo of a similar beetle identified as a Frog Legged Beetle, Sagra buqueti, on the pharmasiana website, but that posting is riddled with incorrect information, beginning with the classification in the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) rather than Coleoptera (beetles), however we are going to pursue that information to see if we can get verification from a credible website. God of Insects shows a Malaysian Frog Legged Beetle pair, Sagra buqueti, and the taxonomy is family Chrysomelidae. The contrary information is on ZipCode Zoo where Sagra buqueti is identified as a Sphinx Moth. The metallic coloration on the beetle images of Sagra buqueti differs from the green of your specimen, but they do look similar and we believe they may be closely related. Scrolling down the I Love Flower Beetles Blog will show a posting dated October 12, 2010 that profiles the Frog Beetles and a video is included. We believe we hit upon the correct ID, again on TrekNature, where a beetle identified as Sagra femorata looks identical to your beetle, down to the color. There is a photo of a dead specimen on the Southeast Asian Beetles page of Beetle Diversity. God of Insects calls Sagra femorata a Frog Legged Beetle and indicates it comes in variable color forms, including blue, green, red and magenta. We end our search satisfied that this is a Frog Legged Leaf Beetle, Sagra femorata by linking to one final image on TrekNature.
Frog Legged Leaf Beetle
Mr Bugman,
Thank you so much for the identification, love and will continue to support your site.
b.rgds
mysticz
Beetle? Not sure…
Location: Coastal San Diego, CA
March 27, 2011 3:06 pm
Dear bugman, thank you for helping us out. My 2 1/2 year old son found this bug when we were clearing a space to set up a vegetable garden in my back yard. It burrows in the dirt. Is at least an inch long. It is spring in San Diego. Any help would be appreciated – my 2 sons are very curious, and so am I!
Signature: Thank you for your help, a curious mom
Potato Bug
Dear curious mom,
You have encountered a real Southern California icon, the Potato Bug or Jerusalem Cricket, a subterranean relative of crickets and grasshoppers from the order Orthoptera. Potato Bugs are generally encountered during the winter months, often after the rains.
Thank you. Do you mean potato bug as in grey rolly polly?
We have never heard of a Roly Poly being called a Potato Bug, but that is the problem with using common names. Roly Poly is another common name for Pillbugs or Wood Lice in the family Armadillidiidae while Potato Bugs are Orthopterans in the genus Stenopelmatus.
Shiny beetle, Australia.
Location: Camp Hill, Brisbane, AUS
March 26, 2011 3:55 pm
Hi there. I was sitting on my balcony on a sunny afternoon at the end of March in Brisbane, Australia when I discovered this beetle clinging to my window screen. I can’t seem to find a picture of this exact beetle anywhere and I would really like to know what it is. Thanks very much for your help!
Signature: Heather, Brisbane AUS
Common Assassin Bug
Hi Heather,
This is an Assassin Bug, not a Beetle. The Brisbane Insect Website identifies your insect as a Common Assassin Bug, Pristhesancus plagipennis.
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