please identify this bug
Location: Sonome County, California
April 18, 2011 3:25 pm
I have found multiple bites on my horse. When searching her stall i found 4 of these creepy things, two in her shavings and two under the rubber mat.
they crawl very fast, I noticed that the last two sections of the body (tail) are dark compared to the rest of the body. 6 legs and what looks like two stingers on the tail.
Signature: Trina
Wireworm
Hi Trina,
This is a beetle larva, and we believe it is a Wireworm, the larva of a Click Beetle. You can see other photos of Wireworms on BugGuide. They are usually found in the soil where they eat insects, roots and seeds. We do not believe they are responsible for the bites on your horse which are much more likely to be caused by flies, especially Horse Flies. Since we will be out of the office for the rest of the week, we are postdating this entry to go live later in the week.
Wireworm
Beetle and Larvae?
Location: Kotzebue, Alaska
April 18, 2011 11:57 pm
I am finding these beetles all over the house on the floor, and I just scooped up 7 or 8 of what I believe to be a larvae stage of the beetle. The worms appear to have six legs and at first I thought they were a type of mealworm but I have been finding these beetles all over the house. I live in northern Alaska, close to Russia and I had the bugs outside in sub-zero temperatures and they are still alive. It is strange to me that even with the extreme cold they are still alive. What can they be? The beetles are black and all have a white stripe halfway down the shell.
Signature: Alaskan
Larder Beetle and Larvae
Dear Alaskan,
You have submitted a photo of a Larder Beetle and Larder Beetle Larvae, Dermestes lardarius. These are pests of stored foods but they may also infest museum specimens like stuffed animals. If they are not in your pantry, you may want to closely inspect your taxidermy specimens like hunting trophies. We are postdating this entry to go live during our holiday later in the week.
They are not only in the pantry, we have been finding them on the floors on the corners of the wall. Even with the best of insulation it is not un-common for insects and mice to spend the winter within a house’s insulation in our area so I assumed they were just one of our winter visitors waking up for Spring. The ones I caught are still alive and kicking somewhere outside so any future beetles I find are heading outside as well, thank you for the ID!
5
Odd Black and White Beetle?
Location: Weatherford, TX
April 18, 2011 8:37 pm
I could not find out what this bug is exactly. I searched google for an hour and still could not figure it out. It’s about an inch long, white and black speckled body. Please, we would really like to know, it’s been bugging us!
Signature: Thanks For Your Time, Ashley
Southwestern Ironclad Beetle
Hi Ashley,
Since the last time we posted a photo of Zopherus nodulosus haldemani, BugGuide has added a common name to the information page. This species goes by the common name Southwestern Ironclad Beetle. The exoskeleton is extremely hard, indicating that it has adapted through evolution to survive stomping and other forms of physical trauma. We are postdating this entry to post live during our vacation from the office later in the week.
spinx moth
Location: Marshalltown, IA
April 18, 2011 11:06 am
While pulling weeds (wild mustard) in the hoophouse today, up popped a chryslis of what I am guessing is a spinx moth of some sort. It is alive and very active. I am wanting to provide it with the proper conditions to allow it to ”hatch” and get a few fabulous photos before setting it free. What do you suggest for success?
Signature: Bugged
Sphinx Pupa
Dear Bugged,
Many moths pupate underground and the pupae look quite similar, but those with a “handle” to contain the proboscis are the Sphinx Pupae exactly as you indicated. As a point of correction, a chrysalis is the pupa of a butterfly and the pupa of a moth is not referred to as a chrysalis. We don’t know what a hoophouse is, but if it has anything to do with a vegetable garden, we suspect this is one of the two species of Sphinx Moths in the genus Manduca that feed upon tomatoes. You can try keeping the pupa in a small goldfish bowl with several inches of damp, not dry or wet, potting soil. You can also use dirt from the garden, but that might introduce other creatures to the habitat. Cover the opening with cheesecloth to allow for ventilation. Good luck “hatching” your pupa. We are post dating this posting to go live during our holiday away from the office later in the week.
Fantastic! I stand corrected about the chrysalis thing… A hoophouse is, in our case, a tubular metal framework (think quonset hut in shape), covered with plastic sheeting and is used to extend the growing season of fruits and vegetables or to grow high value or sensitive crops during the normal growing season. We did grow tomatoes in the hoop last year. In the catepillar stage, are they very similar in appearance to the tomato hornworm or are they the same creature?
The Tomato Hornworm is the caterpillar of the Five Spotted Hawkmoth, Manduca quinquemaculata.
which hawk moth?
Location: kibbutz mashabe sade negev israel
April 15, 2011 2:22 pm
hi i live in the negev in israel on a kibbut. i saw these moths flying around in the garden like humming birds thats how i tracked them down to hawk moths.maybe hippotion, am i right? they move with incredible speed took a while to work out how to photograph them. noticed them for about a week and now they seem to be gone, do they migrate? any additional info would be great. thanks
geora
Signature: geora
Striped Hawkmoth
Hi Geora,
We are nearly certain your moth is a Striped Hawkmoth, Hyles livornica, a common species in Israel that can get quite plentiful. You may compare your individual to the images posted on the Sphingidae of the Western Palaearctic website. We recently posted a photo of Striped Hawkmoth Caterpillars from Israel and we have also posted images of great swarms of the moths from Iraq. We are preparing your letter to post live to our site in several days during our absence from the office. Your photos are quite marvelous.
What is this ?
Location: Pool Cage – Tampa FL
April 15, 2011 1:24 pm
Hi There,
A friend told me of your site. Trying to identify this spider like bug in my yard. It is near my pool cage. We have never seen them in the 7 years living here. We now have had 8 over the last week. One of them stung my girlfriend on the wrist when she was sitting on the ground. It looked like a small puncture mark. She then had some aching and throbbing of her veins in her wrist. Then she has some discomfort extending up her arm. So, it seems like there is venom. BTW – we live in Tampa FL. Our house does not back into the woods. It is a settled neighborhood and we have houses on all sides of our property. I have spray some concentrated bug killer around the pool cage, but we are still seeing 1-2 per day. Today I killed 2 and I’m going to try seeing if I can find a local exterminator company that I can bring one that I captured in a jar. Any help from you is much appreciated!
Signature: Roy
Wheel Bug Nymph
Dear Roy,
Because Wheel Bugs, Arilus cristatus, have recently hatched in many parts of their range, people are beginning to request identification information. We have posted at least four letters with images of immature Wheel Bugs in the past week. Your letter contains information about your girlfriend being bitten, and we have indicated that we rarely receive reports of people being bitten by Wheel Bugs, but that there is a possibility it will happen. Wheel Bugs are beneficial predators and we would urge you not to spray needless pesticides. We are linking to an image on BugGuide of a Wheel Bug feeding on prey so that you can see the piercing and sucking mouthparts. We are preparing your letter and image in advance to post live during our absence from the office for several days next week.
April 15, 2011
Last Friday, Daniel noticed this Diabolical Ironclad Beetle, Phloeodes diabolicus, nestled into a crevice in the asphalt paving of the street along side the Mt. Washington WTB? offices. It seems the beetle was attempting to cross the road. With most insects, this might be a dicey proposition since getting run over by a car would mean squishing, however, the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle has a very hard exoskeleton. It would most likely survive being run over by a vehicle. The Diabolical Ironclad Beetle played dead during the photo shoot, and it was eventually released in the garden among the logs. See BugGuide for more photos of Diabolical Ironclad Beetles.
Diabolical Ironclad Beetle
As an aside, we will be out of the office for several days, and no new identification requests will be answered during our absence. We can say with some confidence that any emails that arrive between April 20 and April 26 might not get a response. However, we will be preparing daily automatic postings in our absence.
Diabolical Ironclad Beetle
What bug is this?
Location: California, United States of America
April 20, 2011 1:54 am
Hello, I really hope this is not a termite! We have a bunch of them outside our home by the light at night. We live in California and it is currently spring time here.
Signature: Jared Peters
Soldier Beetle
Hi Jared,
This is some species of Soldier Beetle in the family Cantharidae. According to BugGuide: “Adults eat nectar, pollen, other insects; larvae are fluid-feeding predators, feed on insect eggs and larvae.” Many species of Soldier Beetles look quite similar.
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