Weird bug in Idaho
Location: Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
August 20, 2011 2:49 am
I shot this picture August 17th at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in the late afternoon. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!
Signature: Kelly, Everett, WA
Robber Fly
Dear Kelly,
This magnificent predator is a Giant Robber Fly, and Robber Flies just might get the prize for the most adroit insect predators who hunt on the wing. Large Robber Flies can kill large Dragonflies. The closest match we could find on BugGuide at the start of our research was for Proctacanthus heros, though to the best of our knowledge, that is a southern species. The red legs and red abdomen look very similar to your individual. We suspected it was the same genus, however, there are no other matching images that we could find on BugGuide. We did locate this marvelous Random Natural Acts web page titled Proctacanthids devoted to the genus. At last we discovered this photo of Stenopogon inquinatus from British Columbia on BugGuide that looks like a very close visual match to your individual, and we believe that is a correct species identification. Random Natural Acts also has a Stenopogon page.
Red one with black spots
Location: Turkey, İzmir
August 20, 2011 2:43 am
I want to know what is these. In which family?
Thank you very much
Signature: Sertaç TURHAN
Blister Beetle
Dear Sertaç TURHAN,
This is a Blister Beetle in the family Meloidae, and we posted a similar looking Blister Beetle from Croatia several years ago that we never identified. We found an article published on the internet, Blister Beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) in Nahavand County (Hamedan Province, Iran) and Their Ecological Relationship to Other Coleopteran Families by MR Nikbakhtzadeh, S Tirgari that has photos of two very similar looking beetles, Mylabris variabilis and Mylabris impressa. The Beetles (Coleoptera) and Coleopterologists website has a photo from this genus attributed to A.N. Posedko that is also very similar. We believe your beetle is also in the genus Mylabris. Blister Beetles should be handled with extreme caution, or better yet, not handled at all, as they can excrete a substance that causes blisters on skin.
black and white bug
Location: Parksville, BC.
August 19, 2011 9:13 pm
Parksville, BC.
august 19 2011.
it is about an inch and a half long
thanks very much
Signature: anon125
Banded Alder Borer
Dear anon125
This beautiful creature is known as a Banded Alder Borer or California Laurel Borer, Rosalia funebris, and BugGuide indicates is is found in the: “Western United States plus British Columbia and Alaska.” The larvae are Flatheaded Borers in dead hardwood trees including maple, alder, oak, willow and other hardwoods according to BugGuide, and Charles Hogue in his book Insects of the Los Angeles basin also adds ash and eucalyptus. The Banded Alder Borer is not considered to be a harmful species. The Washington State University Cooperative Extension webpage written by entomologist Arthur L. Antonelli adds: “The adults usually are encountered singly in summer, but occasionally they are attracted in numbers to fresh paint.” Hogue made a similar comment. A European relative known as the Blue Rosalia, Rosalia alpina, is considered an endangered species and it has been featured on the postage stamps of several European countries including this beautiful example of a German stamp from 1993. We don’t believe the Banded Alder Borer has ever appeared on a stamp.
Blue Rosalia on a German Postage Stamp
Thanks very much
it was on fresh paint – elastomeric paint.
beetle
Location: Jamestown, RI
August 18, 2011 5:47 am
Found this pretty little thing in the vegetable garden 5/27/11. Was hanging out on my shirt.
Signature: PeeGee
Scarlet Malachite Beetle
Hi again PeeGee,
At first we thought this might be a Leaf Beetle, but we soon realized that was not correct. After a bit of searching, we identified your Scarlet Malachite Beetle, Malachius aeneus, one of the Soft Winged Flower Beetles in the family Melyridae. You can read about the Scarlet Malachite Beetle on BugGuide including this information on its range: “across southern Canada and northern United States, south in the east to at least North Carolina, south in the west to Oregon also occurs in Europe, western Asia, and the Middle East introduced to North America (no info available on date or location).”
Coolo Dan. Thanks a lot for that interesting info. There will probably be more mysteries to come. Love that you do what you do, so thanks. PeeGee
Butterfly
Location: cape cod
August 17, 2011 10:38 pm
Hi bugman. I found this butterfly sitting on a bush out in my yard.
Signature: max
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Hi Max,
This beautiful butterfly is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and he is a male as indicated by the lack of blue on the lower wings. Here is a photo of a female Tiger Swallowtail from our archives.
I found this guy/girl crawling around in a box in my kitchen. We have had a bunch of ladybugs, and I am sure I have seen both the bright red and the ones that are more orange. I just didn’t know what to make of one that is both.
Angie
Asymmetrical Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle
Hi Angie,
We have received other images in the past of this asymmetrically marked Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle variation. One theory is that the pale side may be a dead wing. Where are you located? Since you did not use our standard form, you neglected to include the sighting location.
we are in Golden, CO. I apologize for the lack of info. The kids were intrigued by it and we absolutely love your site. I have a new tablet and haven’t adjusted to the mobile world yet and was having trouble finding the right place to send it to you. I should have just jumped on pc. Lol. We are right in the foothills between a small table top plateau and the canyon. We have had a very wet year and seen many bugs that we either haven’t seen in years or are brand new. It has been really fun. We have used your site and bug guide a lot this summer.
Angie
Thanks for the additional information Angie. We are pleased to hear you enjoy using BugGuide and our own site.
White Butterfly with Black markings
Location: Gladstone, IL.
August 19, 2011 7:26 pm
I saw this butterfly beside a lake in the grasses and wild flowers. There were other whites there but I didn’t recognize this one as a Cabbage White or a Checkered White. I wasn’t able to see it with open wings. Thanks or your help!
Signature: Randy Anderson
Sulphur Butterfly: Pale Form
Dear Randy,
Though it looks like one of the Whites, this butterfly is actually a pale form female of one of the Sulphurs in the genus Colias, possibly the Orange Sulphur, Colias eurytheme, which is pictured on BugGuide including this image. Some of the comments on that image include “With these albino sulphur females species you noted it is impoosible to tell one from the other with a photograph. You would need to disect them to tell which is which.” and “The rather smooth look below, shape of the wings, and very wide border on the front wings all fit this species. Not impossible to tell them apart, just difficult and confusing in some individuals.” The other species in the genus with a light form female is the Clouded Sulphur, Colias philodice, which is also represented on BugGuide.
need help identifying Bug and Bee
Location: Island of Curaçao in the Caribbean
August 19, 2011 7:08 pm
Hi, I am Garrick Marchena, from the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean and I need help identifying these two insects.
I know one of them is a bee, but i need to know what type of bee. Its certainly a type I’ve never seen or heard of before.
The other is an insect known to our island as one that brings luck. It is called ”Mamoendenge” by our local people, but i need to know the official name. It kinda looks like a Mud Dobber wasp but i don’t think it is. Its back part bobs up and down as it walks.
I really appreciate if you can help, but if you can’t maybe you might know someone who does?
thanks you very much,
wkr
Garrick Marchena.
Signature: Garrick
Possibly Carpenter Bee
Hi Garrick,
Though we don’t recognize your bee, and we have been unable to locate a match online, we suspect it is some species of Carpenter Bee. The other insect which you call Mameondenge we find very interesting because of the notion that it brings bad luck. This is a beneficial Ensign Wasp, so named because of the bobbing of its abdomen which is thought to resemble a flag. The Ensign Wasp parasitizes the oothica or egg cases of Cockroaches, helping to reduce their population. We wonder if the name the locals have given it is a reference to dengue fever which is spread by mosquitoes. You might want to educate the locals as to the importance the Ensign Wasp plays in Cockroach control.
Ensign Wasp
Thanks for the fast response!!!
Locals say that the Esign Wasp (or Mamonedenge) brings GOOD luck actually! Sorri i wasn’t clear on that.
Now that i know this information I’m gonna love this bug even more!
From what I’ve searched on the internet the bee does look like a carpenters bee. Also seems to be a type of solitary type bee.
This is really awesome!
Let me know if you are going to use the pictures because i would like to add a copyright on them first if you don’t mind.
Thank you very much for your help.
Garrick.
Sorry Garrick,
We somehow inserted the word “bad” before luck in your letter. The images are already posted live and we have cropped them, lightened them and formatted them to our site. Your name is printed with your original email.
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