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Monthly Archives August 2011

Orange Ringlet from Australia

One for your collection
Location: Nth Burnett. Qld. Australia
August 26, 2011 12:11 am
Hi guys,
Hope you like this shot of the Orange Ringlet, Hypocysta adiante dining on a clover flower in my yard. It doesn’t appear to be in your database. There is also a skipper in the background.
Signature: Aussietrev

orange ringlet australia trevor 300x215 Orange Ringlet from Australia

Orange Ringlet

Thanks for a beautiful contribution Trevor.  This Orange Ringlet is a lovely butterfly.  Also, thanks for allowing us to have a bit of fun with the posting about the poor woman we believed to be morbidly afraid of rabbits, a syndrome we have learned is called Leporiphobia which we found defined on Uncyclopedia.  

Posted 26 August 2011 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mischievous Bird Grasshopper imago

Update on Mischievous Bird Grasshopper
Location: Northeast Florida
August 25, 2011 7:26 pm
I went outside after work today and saw the Mischievous Bird Grasshopper again. I’m pretty sure it’s the same grasshopper since it’s the only one in that part of the yard, but it’s changed since I saw it a few days ago. Now it seems to have wings, and the color is less yellow. I’m attaching a photo from today.
Signature: Karen

mischievous bird grasshopper karen 20110825 300x206 Mischievous Bird Grasshopper imago

Mischievous Bird Grasshopper

Hi Karen,
It was most thoughtful of you to provide this document of the passage of time.  The photo of the adult or imago of the Mischievous Bird Grasshopper is a nice follow-up to your earlier identification query.

Posted 26 August 2011 § Grasshoppers ‡ Comments (0) °

Unknown Gold Backed Wasp from Florida

Black and Gold Wasp
Location: Pace, Florida
August 25, 2011 11:56 pm
Dear Bugman, I found this black and gold wasp, dead unfortunately, on the pavement at work. As you can see in the picture, that’s a quarter lying next to it for general measurement purposes. I have never seen anything like this before now. It may not even be a wasp but perhaps a fly of some sort. Any ideas???
Signature: Jimmy

goldbacked wasp florida jimmy 300x193 Unknown Gold Backed Wasp from Florida

Unknown Gold Backed Wasp

Hi Jimmy,
When it comes to flashy yet understated elegance, this unfamiliar Wasp wins tail’s up.  We might have an identification in the near future.

Eric Eaton provides an identification
Hi, Daniel:
This is a female Sphex habenus.  The species is in the family Sphecidae and they prey on katydids.
Eric

Thanks Eric,
We will link to the BugGuide information page on the species.

Posted 26 August 2011 § Thread Waisted Wasps ‡ Comments (2) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Whitetail Spider, or not???

Possible White-Tail?
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TN – Arachnaphobia Sufferer TN_Dastardlyj@hotmail.com to bugman
show details 8:41 pm (1 day ago)
Subject: Possible White-Tail?

Location: Launceston, Tasmania

August 24, 2011 10:41 pm

Bugpersons of gender unimportant:

Last evening, as I was attempting to climb into my bed, I was joined by a brazen harlot. She sat on top of the covers of my bed I commenced my spider ritual (running around, limbs flailing, screaming like a woman). In Truth, my normal reaction would have been to find the biggest heaviest thing I could pick up and heave it in the direction of the spider as they terrify me to no ends, but from reading your website whilst at work the last fortnight I’ve discovered that this practice is generally frowned upon under bug carnage. So After decided on a name for my harlot (Charlotte), I obtained a plastic container and piece of laminated paper and attempted to negotiate her the hell out of my bed.

In truth, what followed was fifteen minutes of me freaking out every time she moved to the edges of the container while I carefully slipped the plastic under her. I took some photos of her incarceration with my phone, hence the terrible quality. While I understand you chaps are generally more focused on North American bugs given your geographical location, I wonder if you might be able to confirm Charlotte’s identity?

I thought it strange to see any spiders this time of year given Tasmania is the coldest of the Australian states on average and we’re in the last month of Winter.

If Charlotte is indeed a Whitetail I wonder if you had anyone with sufficient knowledge of these spiders skulling around? She was about the size of an Australian 50c piece (Maybe 4-5 cm). The majority of her legs were splayed forward, and as you can see in the second photo she had a white marking on her tail, hence my guess at her origins.

From what I gather, Whitetails have been speculated to have Necrotising bites, which gives me even more reason to fear spiders. A bite that rots flesh? Lets leave the zombie movies to the professionals, thanks folks.

Any assistance you can offer would be most apprciated.

Signature: TN – Arachnaphobia Sufferer

whitetail spider tasmania 2 300x209 Whitetail Spider, or not???

Whitetail Spider???

Wow, this is a detailed letter from a location with mysterious species.  This will take considerable research and after a lovely social evening, our editorial staff would like something a little less challenging at the moment.

whitetail spider tasmania 300x206 Whitetail Spider, or not???

WhiteTail Spider or Not???

 

Posted 26 August 2011 § Spiders ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged:

Woman terrorized by bunnies finds Leaf Footed Bug

WHAT IS THIS BUG
Location: copy and pasted
August 25, 2011 7:26 am
OK A FRIEND OF MINE FOUND THIS BUG IN HER HOUSE AND SHE IS SCARED TO DEATH SHE ALSO HAS BUNNIES IN HER HOUSE WHAT IS THIS BUG
Signature: ROB

leptoglossus rob 272x300 Woman terrorized by bunnies finds Leaf Footed Bug

Leaf Footed Bug

Dear Rob,
We are sorry to learn that your friend has a morbid fear that she might have bunnies in her house.  Let her know that she doesn’t need to fear this Leaf Footed Bug in the genus Leptoglossus, though they sometimes enter homes to hibernate as cool weather approaches.

3

Posted 25 August 2011 § Leaf Footed Bugs ‡ Comments (2) °

Drumming Katydid

I call him Perry – what would you call him?
Location: Vancouver, BC
August 24, 2011 10:29 am
Hi Bugman,
This green bug showed up on my ceiling the other day, and returned again today (its late August). I live in a 3rd-floor apartment in Vancouver, BC.
I have never seen anything like him before – he has wings, but didn’t try to use them when I went to catch him in a glass, and then he happily clung to the side of that glass while I tried to shake him out the window. I think he looks sort of like a grasshopper, but without the giant back legs to help him hop!
Thanks!
Signature: Glenda

drumming katydid glenda 300x222 Drumming Katydid

Drumming Katydid

Dear Glenda,
We have identified this Orthopteran as a male Drumming Katydid, Meconema thalassinum, by matching it to a photo on BugGuide.  We were surprised to learn this on BugGuide:  “According to the Singing Insects of North Americs website, the subfamily of Meconematinae is represented in the US by only one species, M. thalassinum, which has been introduced from Europe.”

Posted 25 August 2011 § Katydids ‡ Comments (1) °

European Hornets gather bark

European hornet or Cicada Killer or something else?
Location: Central NJ
August 24, 2011 12:47 pm
We’d love to know if these guys are European Hornets, Cicada Killers or something else.
We have a lot of them in and around our house in Cental NJ during July and August.
Thanks.
Signature: Erik

european hornets erik 300x222 European Hornets gather bark

European Hornets gather bark for nest

Dear Erik,
These are in fact European Hornets, and they are in the act of gathering bark from this shrub.  The hornets will chew the bark into pulp that they use to construct chambers for housing larvae in a communal paper nest.

Thank you very much.  Does “communal paper nest” have any implications about whether it’s likely or unlikely they live inside the tree on which they are pictured in the photo?  We can’t find their nest on the shrub (which has a truck covered with ivy), but during the late afternoon there are a large number of the hornets on the branches (maybe 20-30).
Thanks again.
Erik

These European Hornets are foraging for bark, and the nest might be a considerable distance from your shrub.  We would not recommend looking too thoroughly for the next, as the Hornets might sting if they feel the nest is being threatened.

2

Posted 25 August 2011 § Hornets and Yellow Jackets ‡ Comments (0) °

False Bombardier Beetle

red and black beetle
Location: Beavercreek Ohio
August 24, 2011 2:23 pm
I found this beetle on our living room carpet and could not find anything that looked like it on the web, the closest I could find was a blister beetle and I don’t think that is it. It has a black head about the same size as it’s red thorax with a black abdomen, it has red legs. We found it the 24th of August in Beavercreek Ohio. We live near a pond and trees.
Signature: electronic

false bombardier beetle 300x222 False Bombardier Beetle

False Bombardier Beetle

Dear electronic,
This is a fairly common Ground Beetle in the genus Galerita known as a False Bombardier Beetle, and it is most likely Galerita bicolor.  Ground Beetles including the False Bombardier Beetles are beneficial predators.

Posted 25 August 2011 § Ground Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

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