Second Unknown Caterpillar in AZ
Location: Tucson, AZ
April 17, 2011 10:13 pm
Hi there, My daughter found two of what appear to be the same caterpillars as your reader in Gilbert, AZ. We found them on a snapdragon vine in our back yard in Tucson. I have done exhaustive research and have been unable to identify the caterpillar. Just thought you would like another example of the same critter in the same general geographic area.
PS We are keeping them in a quart mason jar with fresh clippings of the plant on which we found them, and hope to observe them through their metamorphosis. Perhaps then we will be able to identify them.
Signature: Alicia & Sadie
Unidentified Caterpillar
Dear Alicia & Sadie,
We looked through so many Caterpillar images on BugGuide when we received that previous letter that we were seeing cross eyed. We are no closer than our original guess that it might be a member of the genus Cuculia, the Hooded Owlet Moths, though we couldn’t find any examples on BugGuide that had those markings. Also the heads on the Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillars were not pink like the head on the Gilbert, Arizona Caterpillar. Your caterpillar, on the other hand, looks very much like this Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar in the genus Cuculia that is posted to BugGuide. Though we may be wrong, we believe we may have your identification correct.
Unidentified Caterpillar
Excellent! I too am seeing cross-eyed after searching in every Arizona caterpillar database I could find online, as well as several for northern Mexico. Thanks so much for being such an awesome resource.
All the best,
Alicia in Tucson
Correct Identification?
Location: Battle Ground, WA
April 17, 2011 10:06 pm
I just wanted to thank you for all the excellent resources you provide people with.
My kids captured this insect worried it was a Flying Termite. I used several of the ”Buglinks” and found the bug.
My question is why is the Dance Fly given different scientific names?
Dance Fly – Empis spectabilis and
Dance Fly – Rhamphomyia longicauda.
If the enclosed pictures are not the ”Dance Fly”, could you point me in the right path.
But if I am correct with the Identification,
could you add the picure to your excellent site?
referenced also:
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2007/06/05/unknown-dipteran-with-air-balloon-male-dance-fly/
Signature: daddyo
Dance Fly, we presume
Dear daddyo,
The first part of your question has a very easy answer. Dance Fly is a general name for a member of the family Empididae (see BugGuide) and within that family are many different species. Many of those species do not have unique common names, but they do have unique scientific binomial names. The two names you are questioning are species specific and the names include both genus and species indicators. We believe you are correct that this is a Dance Fly, though we eagerly welcome the input of a dipterist or other knowledgeable person regarding the matter. We are pleased to post your photos and inquiry, and we will also be creating a Dance Fly subcategory for our website.
Dance Fly we believe
Unknown bug / beetle
Location: Israel
April 18, 2011 3:03 am
Hi,
I’d be happy if you could identify this bug. I photographed it in the bike trail near Kibbutz Be’eri (in Israel) a few days ago.
Thanks,
Signature: Oren B.
Darkling Beetle
Dear Oren,
We are nearly certain that this is some species of Darkling Beetle in the family Tenebrionidae. In our haste to post a few letters and rush off to work, we haven’t the time to try to find a species identification, however, we did find a photo of a similar looking beetle on Shutterstock Images.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for the identification. I did some more digging and it seems this beetle may be the Adesmia dilatata. What do you think?
Oren
Hi Oren,
While it looks similar, the textured pattern on the elytra of your specimen seems different.
Is this a bed bug?
Location: Chesterfield, England, UK
April 18, 2011 7:17 am
Hello bugman,
Me and my partner turned our house upside down when we thought we had bed bugs a couple of weeks ago.
Our only evidence was that I had seen what looked like a first instar bed bug on my trousers I’d left on the floor next to the bed, and he found a pearlescent egg on the base of our bed. I also had what looked like bed bug bites on me, but he had, and still has, nothing.
I’ve been to the doctor and been told that I do not have bed bug bites, it is a small oval shaped blister-like rash called pityriasis rosea.
Today however, I have just found another bug that looks like a very young bed bug; it was in a large carrier bag next to my bed.
We do think that it does look too slim and segmented to be a bed bug, it is not bulbous or translucent either.
Please please please can you help us, before we turn our room upside down again.
Signature: Kind regards, Hailey Winstone
Booklouse
Dear Hailey,
Due to the prevalence of media coverage regarding Bed Bugs in recent years, this very real concern has spawned unnecessary paranoia among the general public. Every creature found in the bedroom is now a suspect. This is not a Bed Bug. It is an innocuous Booklouse. Booklice are often found in homes and they feed on the starch of book bindings and wallpaper glue, but they will not bite you or harm you in any way. You can see BugGuide for additional information.
1
Found in drawers
Location: Western North Carolina
April 17, 2011 8:13 am
I found these in two separate drawers in my house. While they look like seeds, I can assure you they are not seeds. I’m certain that I did not put seeds in these drawers. They are grossing me out and I would like to know what is creeping around my house. Are they eggs or droppings? Who do they belong to?
Signature: Creeped out in NC
What are these things found in the Drawers???
Dear Creeped out in NC,
These do not look like anything of animal origin, meaning we do not believe they are either eggs or droppings. They really do resemble seeds like black oil seeds to feed birds or caraway seeds for baking. Please provide us with additional information. Where were the two drawers? Were they near one another or in widely separated areas of the house? Were they kitchen drawers or bedroom drawers or some other drawers? Were they built in drawers like those in cabinets, or free standing drawers like those in furniture? Were they empty drawers or were there other things in the drawers like stored food or clothing? How long did it take these mystery things to accumulate? When did you last open the drawers prior to the discovery? Our first inclination is that this is a food stash. Perhaps a mouse or other rodent is stockpiling seeds in anticipation of lean times in the future. We hope our readership will assist in this identification which we do not believe has anything to do with insects.
Seeds or Other???
1
Cant ID this beetle
Location: Southern california (el cajon)
April 17, 2011 3:21 pm
OK Ive been going nuts on Google trying to find these guys , i made a little garden around a sycamore tree and these things are EVERYWHERE hundreds of them and i cant seem to ID him would be appreciate it , Sorry about the photo quality hard to take a pic of em , they seem to ”sleep” during the day and if you wake them they run off and fly they’re about an inch long total wish i could describe them better , Thanks.
Signature: -Joe
Brown Leatherwings
Hi Joe,
Though your photo is quite blurry, we are relatively certain you have Brown Leatherwings, Pacificanthia consors, though that common name is attributed to Charles Hogue in his awesome book, Insects of the Los Angeles Basis, and the common name is not recognized on BugGuide. According to Hogue, Brown Leatherwings feed on small insects they find among leaf litter, so they will not damage you nor your property.
Thanks for the quick response , yep thats them alright its very much appreciated thank you for your time.
What is this spider?
Location: 49242
April 16, 2011 11:00 pm
I recently found this spider sitting in our bathtub and have been unable to identify it. I’m not worried about, just curious what kind it is. If you could help me that would be most fantabulous.
Signature: M.B.
Eastern Parson Spider
Dear M.B.,
The markings on this Eastern Parson Spider, Herpyllus ecclesiasticus, are quite distinctive.
what kinda Caterpillar is this?
Location: Lincoln, Alabama
April 16, 2011 5:41 pm
what kinda Caterpillar is this? found
4-16-11 in a bush!
Signature: what does that mean? my names hannah?
Eastern Tent Caterpillar
Dear Hannah,
This is an Eastern Tent Caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum. We located a nice web page on the biology of the Eastern Tent Caterpillar which includes this information about the tent: “The tent of the eastern tent caterpillar is among the largest built by any tent caterpillar. The tents are constructed in the crotch of the host tree and are typically oriented so that the broadest face of the structure faces the southeast, taking advantage of the morning sun. The caterpillars typically add silk to the structure at the onset of each of their daily activity periods. Silk is added directly to the surface of the tent as the caterpillars walk back and forth over the surface of the structure.The silk is laid down under slight tension and it eventually contacts, causing the newly spun layer of silk to separate from the previously spun layer. The tent thus consists of discrete layers separated by gaps within which the caterpillars rest.
The tent has openings that allow the caterpillars to enter and exit the structure. Openings are formed where branches jut from the structure but are most common at the apex of the tent. Light has a great effect on the caterpillars while they are spinning and they always spin the majority of their silk on the most illuminated face of the tent. Indeed, if under laboratory conditions the dominant light source is directed at the tent from below, the caterpillars will build their tent upside down. Caterpillars continue to expand their tent until they enter the last phase of their larval life. The sixth-instar caterpillar conserves its silk for cocoon construction and adds nothing to the tent.
The tents appears multifunctional. They facilitate basking, offer some protection from enemies, provide for secure purchase, and act as a staging site from which the caterpillars launch en masse forays to distant feeding sites. The elevated humidity inside the tent may facilitate molting.”
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