Wasp ???
Location: Boynton Beach,Fl.
August 22, 2011 4:21 pm
Good Afternoon
I took this photo in our front driveway and have been unable to identfy it. Any Ideas ?
Signature: Joan in Florida
Polka Dot Wasp Moth
Hi Joan,
Though we have many photos of Polka Dot Wasp Moths on our website, we haven’t posted a new one recently. They really are effective wasp mimics.
White and black 6 legged small
Location: Colorado
August 22, 2011 12:40 pm
Aurora, co summer time
Signature: Pam
Two Spotted Stink Bug
Hi Pam,
Despite your very blurry photo, we were able to make out enough detail to identify your Two Spotted Stink Bug, Perillus bioculatus, by matching to a photo posted to BugGuide. This variable species is sometimes black and red instead of black and white. Most Stink Bugs feed on plants, but this is one of the beneficial predatory species.
two-toner
Location: Jamestown, RI
August 22, 2011 3:06 pm
This little guy was visiting the mountain mint 8/19/11.
Signature: PeeGee
Wedge Shaped Beetle
Dear PeeGee,
At first we thought this looked like a Tumbling Flower Beetle in the family Mordellidae, but when we couldn’t find a match on BugGuide, we broadened our search, and eventually identified it as a Wedge Shaped Beetle, Macrosiagon dimidiata, which we found on BugGuide where this information is provided: “Adults said to like to feed on Mountain-mint, Pycnanthemum spp.(1) Larvae, like other members of the genus, are parasitoids of Hymenoptera.” BugGuide expands on that with this remark: “Females lay eggs on flowers, larvae hitch a ride from one of its hosts (Hymenoptera) and parasitize the brood.” We are creating a brand new Beetle subcategory to house your submission.
scary giant moth
Location: san diego … my dresser
August 23, 2011 12:14 am
Dear Bugman,
What I consider to be a very large moth flew into my room tonight and seems to have no immediate plans to leave. This is unfortunate because I cannot sleep with him over on my dresser… staring at me. I live in San Diego, and it is mid-October. Knowing what kind of moth he is won’t get him out of my room, but it will help with the details of my Facebook posts about this little intruder.
Signature: sandi
Carolina Sphinx
Hi Sandi,
Though California is far from the tobacco growing Carolinas, you are still within the range of Manduca sexta, also commonly called the Carolina Sphinx or Tobacco Hornworm for the caterpillar. In California, the large green caterpillars with a caudal horn are frequently found feeding on the leaves of cultivated tomato plants, though they also feed on native jimsonweed and other members of the nighshade family. You can read additional information on the Carolina Sphinx on the Sphingidae of the Americas website. The distinctively marked abdomen with six pairs of yellow spots is not visible in your photograph. P.S. It is currently August. Is this an old event?
Ha! I could try to say the October/August issue was because of autocorrect on my phone, but nope. I’m just completely confused about the month. I guess they both start with a soft “o” sound kind of. The picture was taken last night, mid-August. 
I wanted to ask the moth to spread his wings for the picture, so I could see his abdomen, but he kind of freaked me out, so I passed. He finally flew back out the door at about 2:30am. He seemed to fly from wall to another, not gracefully . . .like headfirst, top speed into one wall, then another. Poor guy had to have a concussion by the time he left.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!
Sandi
Sphinx Moths are powerful fliers, fast and with endurance, and quite beautiful in flight when they are not obstructed. Apparently they are not good at figuring mazes.
Fuzzy caterpillars on my milkweed?
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
August 22, 2011 4:25 pm
Hi! I let some volunteer milkweeds grow in my gardens this year in hopes they’d attract a monarch caterpillar or two.
Last night I was practicing my photography skills in my backyard and thought I might just check to see if I had any little monarch friends and found these fellas instead.
I was hoping you let me know what I’m raising in my yard. I surfed through your butterfly and moth caterpillar pics and didn’t see these.
Thanks!
Signature: Heidi
Milkweed Tiger Moth Caterpillar
Hi Heidi,
Monarchs are not the only insects with caterpillars that feed on milkweed. Several moths including the Milkweed Tiger Moth Caterpillar or Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Euchaetes egle, also feed on milkweed. You can see additional photos on this species on BugGuide.
Cycnia Inopinatus – larva/pupa/adult, 1 of 2
Location: Naperville, IL
August 22, 2011 12:32 pm
Dear Daniel~
I found this little caterpillar on August 10th, on some asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed). I tentatively ID’ed it as Cycnia Inopinatus, but I’d read that although it might be locally common, overall it is uncommon to rare due to habitat decline. It was certainly the larva of a tiger moth, and its coloration, host plant and region (Great Lakes area) all pointed to the unexpected tiger moth. I placed it in one of my Monarch egg-rearing containers for observation, but before long, and before I could move it, it made its cocoon and pupated on the container’s lid. (Sorry for the red color cast.) It eclosed this morning, and sure enough, it’s a beautiful little cycnia inopinatus, similar in its adult stage to the delicate cycnia moth (cycnia tenera) that you have on your site, but whose larvae are quite different. The photos of the adult are in a separate submission, and I’ve included a side view so that you can see its orange, speckled abdom en. All the best to you!
Signature: Dori Eldridge
Unexpected Cycnia Caterpillar
Cycnia Inopinatus – larva/pupa/adult, 2 of 2
Location: Naperville, IL
August 22, 2011 12:40 pm
Dear Daniel~
Here are the three adult photos of the cycnia inopinatus (unexpected tiger moth) that eclosed this morning. The second photo shows his (?) antennae, which were previously tucked under the body. It flew away before I could get a better side view! Best regards,
Signature: Dori Eldridge
Unexpected Cycnia Cocoon
Hi Dori,
Thank you so much for providing our website with such a thorough documentation of the metamorphosis of the Unexpected Cycnia, Cycnia inopinatus, a new species of Tiger Moth for our website. We are most intrigued with the number of creatures that depend upon milkweed for survival. Readers who want additional information can see the postings for this species on BugGuide.
Unexpected Cycnia Moth
eggs on a tomato leaf
Location: Canterbury, NH, USA
August 22, 2011 10:52 am
I live in New Hampshire in the US. Today in my greenhouse I found an array of tiny pinkish-tan eggs laid on top of a plum tomato leaf. I have never seen these before – the color is wrong for squash bug eggs and as I said, they were on the top of the leaf at the top of the plant. Anyone know what laid these? I put the leaf in a jar to see what hatches, but I garden organically and like to practice preventive care, so if I can take some preemptive action soon if they’re bad guys, I’d love to.
Signature: Hilnel
Whose Eggs are These???
Dear Hilnel,
We believe these are Moth Eggs, but we are not certain of the species. The two species of Manduca typically associated with tomatoes, Tomato Hornworm and Tobacco Hornworm, lay green eggs singly on leaves. This is something else. We found a blurry photo on Our Engineered Garden that looks similar, but they are not identified. We would really love to know what you have. Would you consider allowing them to hatch in a confined location and then photographing the critters when they emerge? We would love a followup report as we continue to research this.
Need help to identify a bug
Location: Bangalore, India
August 22, 2011 7:39 am
I took snaps of this bug which was sitting on my terrace. I found the shape of the wing very interesting, so I would appreciate if you could help me identifying this.
Signature: Rajesh Ranjan
Theretra lycetus
Dear Rajesh,
The wing shape and body structure of your moth is very typical of the family Sphingidae, the Sphinx Moths or Hawkmoths, to which it belongs. We believe this is a Yam Hawkmoth, Theretra nessus, and you may compare your individual to the photos on the Sphingidae of Hawaii webpage which indicates its typical range includes India, or the Sphingidae of the Eastern Palaearctic website. We have a previous image of this species from Hawaii on our site, but it has been introduced to Hawaii where it is not native.
Ed Note: August 26, 2011
After an exchange of comments, we now agree that this is not a Yam Hawkmoth, but the closely related Theretra lycetus from the same genus.
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