Identify Bug
Location: North eastern North Carolina
June 20, 2011 4:42 pm
The kids and I were hoping to find out what this bug is. It was found on the front porch during the day in the summer.
Signature: Cindy
Purplescent Longhorn
Hi Cindy,
This is one of six species in the genus Purpuricenus, according to BugGuide, which are called collectively the Purplescent Longhorn.
Ed. NOte: Summer Sightings
With summer here, we expect to be getting numerous identification requests for Dobsonflies. We thought this posting showing a beautiful male and female Dobsonfly from two different areas will help our readership identify this distinctive creature.
Identify bug
Location: Asheville NC
June 21, 2011 8:11 am
We saw this in Asheville NC on June 20. It was 3 – 4 inches long and on a fence post.
Signature: SCBrit
Male Dobsonfly
Please Identify our bug
Location: N. Ky.
June 21, 2011 10:32 am
This insect was found up inside of our umbrella. The body portion of the bug is almost as long as my pinky finger. This pic was taken in N. Kentucky, today, June 21, 2011. I have lived in Ky. my whole life and I cannot say that I have ever seen this before.
Signature: Marlene Shoemaker and kids
Female Dobsonfly
Dobsonflies are fascinating insects that display pronounced sexual dimorphism. The larger male also has significantly larger and differently shaped mandibles. Larval Dobsonflies are known as Hellgrammites.
So pretty I didn’t think it was real!
Location: Northern Michigan (lower peninsula)
June 20, 2011 11:54 pm
My friend posted this on her Facebook page, and I actually asked if it was real… the coloration made me think it was fake, or painted with glittery nail polish. She assured me that it was indeed real, and was in her friends hair, and ended up on this brush. Could you help with an identification? I would love to let her know!
Signature: Just me.
Elderberry Borer
This beautifully colored beetle is an Elderberry Borer, Desmocerus palliatus, one of the Longhorned Borer Beetles in the family Cerambycidae. According to BugGuide, it is uncommon.
Eastern Hercules Beetle
Location: Coastal SC
June 21, 2011 10:48 am
We found this guy at a gas station in SC on Saturday morning. Just thought I’d send pics in case you’d like to see.
Signature: Lisa Ski
Eastern Hercules Beetle is spoonful
Hi Lisa,
My, that male Eastern Hercules Beetle is a spoonful.
Scorpions for archive
Location: Croatia
June 20, 2011 4:19 pm
Hello WhatsThatBug!
I like your site and I decided to send you some photos of Euscorpius sp for your archive. I’ve found two of those scorpions(male and female)at spring, and I’m keeping them for two months now, separately. They seem to have healthy life. 
Thank you for your time!
Signature: symbol67
Small Wood Scorpion
Dear symbol67,
Thanks so much for sending us your beautiful photos of some beautiful Scorpions. We have learned that Euscorpius is an old world genus that is sometimes called the Small Wood Scorpions. We like this image of mating Small Wood Scorpions from Getty Images.
Small Wood Scorpion
Sciencebase Q&A (from David Bradley)
UPDATE: We think it is: Nemoptera bipennis
Hi Angela
A photographer friend snapped the attached insect. The presence of long
“halteres” suggests it is a member of the diptera family, possibly
related to lacewings…not sure. I am hoping that Daniel will be able to
ID it quickly and give us an excuse to mention his book again 
Please let me know as soon as possible
Thanks
db
Spoonwing
Hi David and Angela,
You are mostly correct. This is a Spoonwing or Threadwing Lacewing, and it may be Nemoptera bipennis, though there is no location provided for the photograph. If the photograph was taken in Europe or Western Asia, the chances are very good it is Nemoptera bipennis. The error is in the insect order. Diptera is an order, not a family. Diptera is the family of Flies, and halteres are the vestigial second pair of wings that are underdeveloped knob-like structures that are believed to serve to stabilize insects in flight. Most true Flies have halteres, and the name Diptera refers to the fact that most Flies only have two pairs of functioning wings. The thread or spoon wings on this Lacewing are tails on the hind wings, not halteres. This Spoonwing belongs to the order Neuroptera, not Diptera. Hope that helps.
We had a doubter.
Someone reckons N coa ranges across Greece (which is where the photo was taken) whereas N bipennis is Iberia/France…
They look almost identical to my eye…
Any further thoughts welcome, although please don’t be obliged to spend time on this.
Best wishes
db
Nursery Web Spider? With egg case
Location: Central Illinois
June 20, 2011 9:21 pm
This beautiful spider was found on the bottom on a mower that was sitting in a grass area next to a forest. We think it’s some kind of nursery web spider but would like a positive ID. Thanks in advance for your help.
We love your web site!
Signature: Spider Fan
Fishing Spider
Dear Spider Fan,
You are correct that this is a Nursery Web Spider in the family Pisauridae, and we can guarantee, at least based upon the currently accepted taxonomy, that this is a Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes. Furthermore, we believe it is most likely Dolomedes tenebrosus, based on images and information posted on BugGuide. To try to further clarify things, all members in the family Pisauridae are called Nursery Web Spiders because of the maternal care given to the eggs and spiderlings. After carrying around her egg sac for some time, the female will find an appropriate location and there she will construct the nursery web and she will continue to guard her eggs and hatchlings. Members of the genus Dolomedes are called Fishing Spiders because many are found in close proximity to water and some are even capable of diving beneath the surface of the water and capturing aquatic prey. They can also run across the surface of the water.
Attack of the flies!
Location: Pleasanton, CA
June 20, 2011 3:45 pm
Before this morning, I haven’t seen more than 2 flies in my home at one time. Last night the coast was clear and then this morning I woke up to my hallway covered in these suckers. They look like house flies but gray and probably like 5 times bigger. At first none of them were flying, only crawling around like a spider would but then when it started to get warmer during the day they flew all over. I took to the internet and tried to identify the best I could and the closest I saw was a stable fly. Um, how and why?! Orkin man came later on in the day and sprayed and said that I had nothing to worry about that it’s not what I think it is. He told me that it’s just a bigger version of a green house fly. I was comforted until he said that because it looks nothing like that! These things are resilient too. I sprayed one with Windex and Pinsol and then stomped on it and it was still squirming!
These are the best pictures that I could get since all the other ones I killed have all their guts smashed out and markings are not quite visible any longer.
Please tell me I’m wrong in thinking that this is a stable fly. I would love to be wrong. And/or tell me that I’m overreacting to the dangers. I keep thinking that I’ll go to sleep tonight just to wake up to welts from bites and have more of these suckers on the wall and everywhere around me!
Signature: Scared and paranoid
Flesh Fly
Dear Scared and paranoid,
We hope we are able to comfort you by telling you that this is NOT a Stable Fly, though our actual identification might send you over the edge. This is a Flesh Fly in the family Sarcophagidae. We also don’t believe the Orkin Man solved your problem, though we are certain he had no problems separating you from your money. All he could succeed in doing was to kill the living Flesh Flies that had emerged in your home, but he could do nothing to prevent future occurrences. Flesh Flies do not bite and the adults do not pose any threat to you. Flesh Flies breed in decaying organic matter, including decomposing animals. Perhaps there was a dead animal in the walls which resulted in your Flesh Fly invasion. When the weather is warm, Flesh Flies may breed very quickly in decaying food like meat bones and fat or fish carcasses in the garbage can that has not been properly emptied. Once, we had some rotten potatoes under the sink and that proved to be a breeding ground for Flesh Flies. You need to locate the source of the invasion, though Flesh Flies will not continue to breed in a carcass once it has passed a certain stage of decomposition. Generally, once the original infestation has occurred, you do not need to worry about subsequent invasions. See BugGuide for additional information on Flesh Flies.
I like This