Jumping spider feeding on a cicada
Location: cheney kansas
June 29, 2011 11:52 pm
Was mowing one day and saw a cicada drying it’s wings on a Walnut tree.
I returned a couple hours later to check up on the cicada and found a jumping spider feeding on the cicada.
Signature: Chris Harris
Bold Jumper eats Cicada
Hi Chris,
We are very impressed with both your photograph and what it documents. We believe the spider is most likely a Bold Jumper, Phidippus audax, and based on the information on BugGuide, it is a highly variable species, though BugGuide does indicate: “The majority of audax specimens are black with three white spots.” There are also some excellent images and information on this Cirrus Image website. Alas, your photos do not provide a clear dorsal view of the abdomen, so only one white spot is visible. We have so much room to speculate upon how this Bold Jumper managed to capture a Cicada many times its size. We wish you hadn’t cropped the photo. It appears that this might be a newly metamorphosed Cicada. The Cicada is lighter in color when it first metamorphoses. Also, insects are much more vulnerable immediately following molting and the metamorphosis process. The exoskeleton will not have properly hardened immediately after metamorphosis and the Cicada is incapable of flying until after its wings and exoskeleton harden. That would be the window of opportunity for a proficient hunter like the Bold Jumper to tackle a significantly larger prey than it would normally be able to take. Thanks for sending us your photos.
Bold Jumper
5
Male Pondhawk of some type?
Location: Raleigh Municipal Rose Garden, NC
June 27, 2011 2:23 pm
Greetings! My husband took this extreme closeup of what looks to be a male Eastern Pondhawk, except that the ’back’ is black. Is it a different version of a Pondhawk maybe? It was taken June 26, 2011 at the Rose Garden in Raleigh NC – there is a small goldfish pond with native plants where it probably lives & breeds.
Love your site! Take care…
Signature: looks but does not touch
Blue Dasher or Not??
We sometimes have a difficult time correctly identifying Dragonflies. We cannot say for certain that it is an Eastern Pondhawk based on the variations presented on BugGuide. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to confirm the identity of this beautiful Dragonfly.
Correction: Blue Dasher
June 30, 2011 11:38 am
I am by no means an expert, but I suspect the male dragonfly whose id you’re unsure about is a male Blue Dasher. The light-colored face, darker thorax (possibly with stripes that can’t be seen from this angle), and the smoky coloration on the wings distinguish it. I believe the obelisking posture is very common among Blue Dashers as well (though many dragonflies do it).
http://bugguide.net/node/view/10606
This photo from Bugguide looks like a good match.
Signature: Susan B.
Thanks Susan,
We agree that the Blue Dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis, seems like a much likelier identification.
Green Lacewing eggs
Location: Naperville, IL
June 27, 2011 9:49 pm
Dear Daniel~
I searched but could not find any photos on your site of green lacewing eggs, which are truly remarkable! I found many of these odd (1/4-inch total length) ”footballs on filaments” the other day in the flower umbels and on the edges of the leaves of asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)that I grow for raising Monarchs. I must admit that I panicked at first, thinking my milkweed had some spores growing on it that would be detrimental to the Monarch caterpillars. But green lacewing larvae are voracious aphidlions, and they will consume spider mites as well. Now that I know what they are, not only am I happy to have them, I am relieved I did not rush to remove them from the plants. There are so many fascinating bugs out there! Regards,
Signature: Dori Eldridge
Green Lacewing Egg
Hi Dori,
We had to dig deep into our archives, back to 2007, to find an image of Green Lacewing Eggs. We love your close-up photograph. Lacewings, and several other Neuropterans, lay eggs on stalks to help the young survive. Hatchling Lacwings are so ravenous upon hatching, that they might feed upon their siblings if they didn’t have the distraction of having to climb down the stalk after hatching. Milkweed surely does produce a fascinating ecosystem. We have gotten very busy with work and our email inbox is filling with unanswered letters, so we are very happy we stumbled upon your submission before it got buried too far under more recent submissions.
Green Lacewing Egg
Rhino Beetle?
Location: Milwaukee, WI
June 27, 2011 4:20 pm
Mr. Bugman, I was referred to you when I asked my FB friends what this beetle is.
It was jumping around in my window sill here in Milwaukee, WI today (June 27, 2011).
Signature: Ryan
Scooped Scarab
Hi Ryan,
Not all Scarab Beetles with horns are Rhinoceros Beetles. Your beetle is a Scooped Scarab, Onthophagus hecate, one of the Dung Beetles. According to BugGuide, the Scooped Scarab feeds on dung, rotting fruit and carrion.
wild flowers bring the bugs!
Location: Bright, Indiana
June 28, 2011 8:54 pm
Hi Bugman, wild flowers on a vacant block in Bright, Indiana are giving me heaps of photo ops and questions as to ’What’s that bug?’ The red ’bugs’ were certainly getting busy! Bug #5 was about 1” long and reminded me of a hummingbird the way it hovered. Your site is just the best!
Signature: luv the bugs!
Mating Red Milkweed Beetles
Thanks for your compliment. Milkweed is a very rich insect habitat. There are insects that feed upon parts of the milkweed plant like the Large Milkweed Bug you photographed. Many pollinating insects are attracted to the blossoms which are rich in nectar, like the Hummingbird Moth you submitted. Our favorite of your photos, and the one we are including in this posting, is the image of the mating Red Milkweed Beetles, Tetraopes tetrophthalmus.
Thank you Daniel for helping me out with naming my bugs and posting my picture 
I certainly agree with you about the Milkweed. There were 5 different insects I found that day + several types of bees buzzing around. Thank you for your wonderful site.
Jackie
Location: Mt Washington, Los Angeles, California
June 28, 2011
A few times a year, Emerald Moths in the subfamily Geometrinae come to the porch light. This is the first individual we have noticed this year.
Emerald
June 29, 2011
Two days ago, Lefty suddenly began to exhibit symptoms that something was wrong, including staying near the bottom of the tank motionless. Then he would rest on the bottom upsidedown with labored breathing. Yesterday morning, there was no change, and then in the late morning, Lefty died just a month and a half after his mate Digitalis died suddenly. Though it seems this was not a very old age for Angelfish (see Angels+), Lefty and Digitalis produced many batches of eggs. The cream of the crop from their most recent brood are growing nicely in the 40 gallon tall aquarium. There are 16 fledglings in the aquarium now of which four are gold.
Lefty Died Yesterday
One of the most surprising events in Lefty’s life was the day he jumped out of the water and landed on the glass cover of the aquarium while I was working in the water. He was trying to defend his brood. He and Digitalis were excellent parents who cared for their young. Lefty lost most of his right pectoral fin when I originally brought the pair along with the other mated pair of Angelfish, Boris and Medea Luna, home in March 2009. The four fish came from the same pet store and they had already begun forming relationships. Seems Lefty was rejected by the other three fish and he needed to be boarded for about a month at my local store, Tropical Imports. Lefty had a real personality and he will be sadly missed. Here is a photo of Lefty in happier times.
Lefty and Fry May 2010
Shiny, black beetle
Location: southern Saskatchewan
June 28, 2011 9:32 pm
We live in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. We live in a very rural area of the province and grow lots of grain.
Found it in late June.
Signature: Thanks!
Nuttall's Blister Beetle
You should exercise caution when handling Nuttall’s Blister Beetle, Lytta nuttalli, as well as other members of the family Meloidae. Blister Beetles can secrete a substance called cantharidin that can cause skin to blister.
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