Bright Green Spider
Location: Orlando, FL
March 24, 2011 8:16 pm
I’m not sure if I identified this spider correctly, but is it a Magnolia Green Jumper. I am an arachnaphobe normally, but this one intrigued me so I was able to take a couple of photos with my phone. I could swear it stopped to stare at me.
Signature: Desiree
Magnolia Green Jumper
Hi Desiree,
Your photo is quite blurry, but this may be a Magnolia Green Jumper, Lyssomanes viridis, which is pictured on BugGuide.
Daniel Marlos lectures at Theodore Payne Foundation
The Curious World of Bugs with Daniel Marlos
Saturday, May 28, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
A special lecture on those wondrous creatures called bugs – including native
species that pollinate, predate and mate in the most curious ways, and
exotic species that can wreak havoc in our gardens. Daniel is an artist and
photographer and the author of The Curious World of Bugs: The Bugman’s Guide
to the Mysterious and Remarkable Lives of Things That Crawl. The program
includes an exploration of Daniel’s popular website, whatsthatbug.com, and
ends with a book-signing.
The Curious World of Bugs
Register early as space is limited.
What is this bug?
Location: Sydney, Australia
March 24, 2011 8:06 pm
Hi, I found this bug in the grass near Hyde Park in Sydney in 2003. Can you please tell me what it is?
Signature: Carey
Cotton Harlequin Bug
Hi Carey,
This little beauty is an immature Cotton Harlequin Bug, Tectocoris diophthalmus, one of the Jewel Bugs in the family Scutelleridae. You may read about it as see images of the adult insect on the Brisbane Insect Website.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you so much for the fast response! I’ve been wondering about this for years and it’s great to finally know.
Thanks again,
Carey
Caterpiller
Location: Okanogan, Washington
March 24, 2011 2:50 pm
Here’s a nice green caterpiller I found crawling around in the grass. I think its a cutworm as it rolled into a circle. Nice marks on his back.
Signature: Ernie
Cutworm
Hi Ernie,
This is a Cutworm, a generic name for the caterpillars of the Dart Moths in the subfamily Noctuinae which are well profiled on BugGuide.
Weird Bug
Location: South East Texas
March 24, 2011 4:43 pm
Mr. or Mrs. Bugman…
I have a black little bug…about a millimeter long…oval shaped…light colored spots…crawls but has wings…
Thought it was a ladybug; but can’t find any pics of it. HELP PLEASE.
Signature: Infested
Carpet Beetles
Dear Infested,
You have Carpet Beetles. The larvae feed on wool and other types of animal fibers and the adults are pollen feeders. When the beetles mature, large quantities of the adult accumulate on windowsills in an attempt to reach the outside where the flowers are blooming. Larvae can do tremendous damage to museum collections as well as home furnishings.
Carpet Beetles
What kind am I
Location: Middle Eastern Missouri (USA)
March 23, 2011 10:22 pm
I found two of these near the same spot behind my living room couch. At first glance i thought they may be Brown Recluse but a closer look and I 99.9% sure they are not but what are they?
Season: Start of spring
Signature: Tim Cochran
Running Crab Spider
Hi Tim,
Our first inclination is that this looks like a Giant Crab Spider in the genus Heteropoda, though Missouri is a bit north for us to feel comfortable with that, not to mention that your specimen appears smaller. The large pedipalps indicates this is a male spider. We are going to enlist assistance from our readership with this identification.
Running Crab Spider
We also wish the resolution of your image was better because moving in close does not really reveal the eye pattern very clearly.
Running Crab Spider
Eric Eaton provides an identification
Nope, it is a “running crab spider,” family Philodromidae.
Sorry, gotta run.
Eric
According to BugGuide, Running Crab Spiders or: “Philodromids tend to have the second pair of legs significantly longer than the first pair, which distinguishes them from the similar Thomisid crab spiders. In addition, thomisids have third and fourth legs that are shorter and more slender than the first two pairs of legs, while philodromid legs are subequal in length.”
Luna moth in Florida
Location: Gainesville, FL
March 23, 2011 3:32 pm
This morning before work, I noticed a luna moth on my neighbor’s window. I was in a rush, so I wasn’t able to go get a camera.
I was pleased to find that it was still there when I got home! I’m pretty sure this area is within their natural range (Gainesville, FL) but I don’t remember ever seeing one around here before.
Since I’m almost certain this is a luna moth, there’s no need to identify it, but hopefully the pictures are nice enough to keep!
Signature: L. Z.
Luna Moth
Dear L.Z.,
The Luna Moth most certainly ranges in Florida, though this is the first Floridian example we have received this year.
Strange bug
Location: Coronado National Memorial, Hereford, AZ
March 23, 2011 9:54 am
Hello,
I spotted this bug yesterday while eating lunch. I am more of a plant guy so I am clueless.
Oak Woodland/desert grassland habitat. Decomposed granite soils.
Signature: Dean
Doodlebug
Hi Dean,
This is sure a marvelous photograph of an Antlion Larva, commonly called a Doodlebug. They remain buried in the sand at the bottom of a pit with only the mandibles exposed. They prey upon any hapless insects that fall down the pit and into the waiting jaws.
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