Shiny black spider with a fuzzy brown abdomen
Location: Redmond, WA
September 19, 2011 1:45 am
Dear Bugman,
I was alarmed to discover a spider on the wall right next to me. I’m generally happy to see my arachnid housemates–the long-legged web weavers that hunt ants, move nice and slow, and stay put beneath the sink, but this one was downright scary looking by comparison and moved real fast. (It’s about the size of a nickel.) I took a couple pictures, went to adjust the zoom, then looked back and it was gone.
My usual policy is to squish things that might be dangerous and I can’t avoid when I can, before they hide under something. (Especially since I live in a studio–it disappeared about eight feet away from my bed, and right next to my dresser.) But since this spider has found a momentary reprieve, just how dangerous is it? Is it safe for me to capture and put outside, or even safe enough to leave alone altogether?
I’ll feel a lot better either not squishing something unnecessarily, or knowing that it was honest self defense. Thanks!
Signature: Tim
Trapdoor Spider
Hi Tim,
We wish your photo had better detail, because we believe this is a Trapdoor Spider, and it really resembles the California Trapdoor Spider, Bothriocyrtum californicum. While insects and spiders do not have any respect for state or country borders, they do have habitat restrictions that limit their ranges. We have only ever received reports of California Trapdoor Spiders from California, and all the sightings on BugGuide are also from California. This is not an aggressive species and they are not considered dangerous, however, BugGuide recently added this bit of trivia to the sorely lacking in information info page: “According to Guinness World Records, as of 2009, this is the strongest spider. It has been able to resist a force 38 times its own weight when defending its trapdoor. This equates to a man trying to hold a door closed while it is being pulled on the other side by a small jet plane!(1) Unfortunately, the Guinness book doesn’t mention if it’s the strongest North American spider or if it’s the strongest in the world. Also, one thing to think about is whether or not every spider’s strength has been measured. I guess one can safely say that the information is flawed in that aspect, but it still asserts the fact that these spiders ARE very strong.”
1
Baby Dragon?
Location: South Korea
September 18, 2011 9:43 pm
While at work I ran across this little guy. Have no idea what it is but defiantly caught my attention.
Signature: Matt
Mantispid
Hi Matt,
Though it resembles a Preying Mantis, this Mantispid is not closely related. Mantispids are classified with Lacewings and Antlions in the order Neuroptera.
1
Unidentified bug living in rotten wood
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
September 19, 2011 8:03 am
Dear sir/madam,
I’m renovating my house here in Sweden and found this insect living all over the garden in rotten timber. It is red and black and the adult has two distinct black spots. It’s clearly no ladybug! So what is it? Even the local exterminator didn’t have a clue.
Kind regards,
Matt
Signature: Matt
Firebugs
Hi Matt,
These are Firebugs, Pyrrhocoris apterus, and they are a benign species. We were not previously aware that they ranged as far north as Sweden. Firebugs can form large aggregations containing both adults and nymphs. For additional information, you can see this Guernsey website or the British Bugs website which indicates: “This common European bug is on the northernmost edge of its range in Britain and is the sole member of its family to occur here.” Global Twitter indicates this is not the first sighting from Sweden.
Thanks for the answer, so it’s rare then? Cool. I’m just glad it’s not after my foundations and only eating the lime seeds (we have a huge 100 year old lime in the garden). Should I let the local university know about it? Do you know which one in Stockholm would be most receptive to this?
Perhaps I could get a grant to save my lime tree from demolishing my foundations through it’s root system (and therefore pay for my house to be under pinned hehe, )… Joking, of course…
Thanks again,
Matt
Hi Matt,
They are not rare. In our previous response, we indicated that they are a “common European bug” but we do not know how frequently they are encountered in Sweden. If you desire more local information, we would suggest contacting the nearest university with an entomology department.
¶ Posted 19 September 2011 § Red Bugs ‡ ° Burrowing Wolf Spider ?
Location: cheney ks
September 18, 2011 5:42 pm
I have been finding these holes on my property this summer while watering the garden.
I decided to investigate and dig up the hole and see what type of insect was making these holes.
I believe it’s a Burrowing Wolf Spider from looking at photos on your site but I could be wrong .
Signature: Chris Harris
What's In that Hole???
Hi Chris,
Thank you for a wonderful submission. We opened your email yesterday afternoon, but we knew this was going to be a labor intense posting and we did not want to rush through it, so we waited until after some social commitments were fulfilled. We are very excited that you submitted a photo of the hole as well as its occupant. We agree that this is a Wolf Spider, and we are relatively certain that it is in the genus Hogna, and though we believe it is a Carolina Wolf Spider, Hogna carolinensis, we have a few nagging doubts.
possibly Carolina Wolf Spider
The hairy orange chelicera or fangs and the other facial characteristics are a near perfect match to a Carolina Wolf Spider photo posted to BugGuide, but not all the Carolina Wolf Spiders posted there have such distinctive orange fangs. The BugGuide info page on the species provides this information: “The carapace is dark brown with gray hairs (lighter in males) and usually without distinct markings. The abdomen is brown with a somewhat darker median stripe. (1) Orange paturons (chelicera) and black around the the ‘knees’ ventrally are characteristics of the species.(Jeff Hollenbeck)” The dark abdominal coloration on your specimen does not seem to match any of the photos posted to BugGuide of the Carolina Wolf Spider, the majority of which have the darker median stripe. Another confusing difference for your individual is that back of the knees are not black, but appear to be a lighter almost orange color. We don’t know how much of this can be attributed to individual variation. There are also many more species of Hogna listed on the genus page on BugGuide that are not represented by photos. Kansas is listed as a known location for the Carolina Wolf Spider which is reported to be the largest Wolf Spider in North America. BugGuide does not have any information on the burrowing habits of the species or the genus for that matter, however, we did locate some other links that mention the burrows. The Carolina Wolf Spider Care Sheet on the PetBugs website has some helpful information including: “Terrestrial, but will burrow to some extent.” The Off Beat Pets website also contains helpful information including: “Carolina wolf spider is terrestrial and does not build webs. It spends most of the time on the ground but may burrow to some extent.” We have taken the liberty of deleting your street address to keep poachers who may want to collect and sell your Burrowing Wolf Spiders to collectors. Again, thank you for providing us with a wonderful posting.
Face of a Wolf Spider: Hogna species
1
What’s this bug, please?
Location: Central Virginia
September 18, 2011 4:22 pm
Looked and could not find this one id’d anywhere. Any idea what it might be?
Signature: Kkildea
Red Legged Purseweb Spider
Dear Kkildea,
Your photo has really brightened our day. This is a male Red Legged Purseweb Spider, Sphodros rufipes, and only the males have the signature red legs. Females rarely leave their pursewebs, and the males wander about in search of a mate. When we first ran a post on this species in 2003, we reported that they were considered rare and possibly endangered. Most of our reports come in June, so this September sighting is unusual. Purseweb Spiders are primitive spiders related to Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders, and they are not considered to be dangerous to humans.
1
Wolf or Fishing Spider?
Location: Southeastern, Ontario
September 18, 2011 6:58 am
Dear Bugman, I keep finding these large spiders around my backyard, usually around the pool or the deck. This one was around the patio doors. I would just like to have it idendified and find out if they would harm a child if bitten. Thank you.
Signature: curiousbugperson
Fishing Spider
Dear curiousbugperson,
This is most assuredly a Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes, and in our opinion, it is Dolomedes tenebrosus based on information posted to BugGuide. According to the information that is available, this is a harmless species, though we would not discount the possibility that one of these shy and docile Fishing Spiders might be provoked into biting a person.
1
Help in IDing this wasp, please.
Location: Mason County, Ludington, MI
September 17, 2011 9:33 pm
Took the attached photo today at Ludington State Park in Ludington, MI. Would appreciate help in ID.
Signature: John
Potter Wasp
Hi John,
This is one of the Potter Wasps in the subfamily Eumeninae, and we believe we have correctly identified it as Eumenes fraternus based on images posted to BugGuide. Potter Wasps are solitary wasps that build small mud nests provisioned with caterpillars that look like miniature ceramic urns or vases.
I.D. Please
Location: Durban ; South Africa
September 18, 2011 1:24 am
These little guys are between 0.5mm and 2mm in size. They live along with along with black aphids on ”sacred basil” plants and dandelions.Its now spring in our part of the world.
Any idea what they are – I am thinking possibly some type of scale insect
Many thanks
P.S. Permission granted for all non commercial use.
Signature: Russ
Unknown Hemipterans
Hi Russ,
We disagree with your identification of Scale Insects, however, we believe you have the order Hemiptera correct. In addition to Scale Insects, Hemiptera includes True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers and Aphids. The individual closest to the camera in your photo appears to have secreted a waxy substance, another characteristic of many members of the order Hemiptera. We are posting your photo and tagging it as unidentified until we are able to provide you with something more definite.
Many Thanks. I’ve attached a 3rd photo of one with a longer
“tail” (about 2.5mm). I suspect it is all “wax”.
Russ
Possibly Coccid
Thanks for the additional photo Russ. We believe this may be either an Ensign Coccid in the family Ortheziidae, or some closely related family. We used BugGuide for research, and the site is devoted to North American species. We will continue to research this. This photo from BioLib of a European Ensign Coccid supports our theory, but it also appears that the Coccids are more closely related to Scale insects than we originally thought, so your initial suspicion is proving to be more accurate than we admitted.
1
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