Mating Ebony Jewelwings in CT
Location: Ridgefield, CT
September 25, 2011 10:20 am
How gorgeous are these Jewelwings??
I did not know before seeing this pair and doing a little searching at WTB that these are the male and female, even with the different looks.
What beautiful colors.
Signature: Hellywell
Mating Ebony Jewelwings
Dear Hellywell,
Thanks so much for sending us your wonderful photos of the sexually dimorphic Ebony Jewelwings, Calopteryx maculata, in the act of assuming the mating position. The complete “wheel” position has not yet been achieved. The male has the metallic body and the black wings. The female has gray wings with a white spot at the tip.
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Never seen before
Location: Macomb County, MI
September 25, 2011 3:10 pm
I’ve never seen this before. Do you know what kind of bug it is and is it dangerous?
Signature: Thank you very much. Ken
Pigeon Horntail
Hi Ken,
This Pigeon Horntail is a harmless Wood Wasp. What appears to be a formidable stinger is actually an ovipositor that the female uses to penetrate wood to lay her eggs. Any human less dense than wood could potentially be penetrated by a female Wood Wasp, though we have never received a report of that occurrence. We have gotten some nice recent photos of Giant Ichneumons, which are the primary predator of the Pigeon Horntail.
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Identify spider please
Location: South British Columbia, Canada. Okanagan Region.
September 24, 2011 4:18 pm
Hello,
We have these spiders come out in fall. Someone identified them as a type of trap door, related to tarantula. I would like another opinion please. They have ranged from not aggressive at all to being very aggressive. We have warm to hot summers and mild winters. They like to come inside our house when it gets cool out in fall and when maybe it is mating season?
Thank you,
Curt
Signature: Best wishes?
Folding Door Spider
Hi Curt,
We agree with the identification you received, however, we will take that a bit farther. Based on photos posted to BugGuide, we believe your spider is the same species as an unidentified species in the genus Antrodiaetus. There are several images on BugGuide from the Pacific Northwest with the same coloration. Folding Door Spiders are one group of Trapdoor Spiders. We also believe your individual is a male. Males often wander in search of mates while females remain in their burrows, hence it is less likely to encounter a female Trapdoor Spider. Despite your observation that some individuals act aggressively, Trapdoor Spiders are not considered a harmful species to humans.
Folding Door Spider
Hi Daniel,
Awesome, thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate the time you have taken.
This one in particular was very calm. When I find them in our house, I always catch them and let them go outside. It gives us an opportunity to have a good look at them as they’re quite interesting. Over the past ten years or so, we have run into several wandering around our back door and in our basement. In addition, we have a lot that look like different types of wolf spiders but many more that look like the hobo spider too. I find it hard to tell the difference.
Regarding the folding door spider, the first time I saw one was when our cat went to get a closer look at something. I saw the spider rear up and then run after our cat! I thought I was seeing things! It kind of looked like it was bent upward and its front legs were spread apart and in the air as it ran. In another instance, when I was trying to catch one in our house, it reared up like the one that chased after our cat and then jumped at me. I had the heebie jeebies for days. All the other ones we’ve caught have been calm. Maybe the ones that have seemed aggressive have not been, and are just after warmth or going towards vibration or something? Or maybe they were just very passionate? Seems too Hollywood.
Thank you for the information.
Curt
1
Is this one of those Silver Argiope?
Location: Mansfield, Ohio
September 23, 2011 5:24 pm
OK so i am REALLY NOT a spider person but i have never seen this kind of spider. She hangs out on my garage door where here huge round egg sac is. I have read about the orb weavers but one difference i find is that she does not have a bumpy thorax. They also said they are not common in the north, i live in Mansfield, Ohio. She is full size cause i bet she measures if not a full inch close to it.
Signature: Freaked out by silver spider
Banded Garden Orbweaver
Dear Freaked out …,
You have the genus correct, but not the species. This is actually a Banded Garden Orbweaver, Argiope trifasciata. Like the other members of the genus, the Banded Garden Orbweaver is not considered dangerous, however, it might bite if it feels threatened or if it is carelessly handled.
1
Underwing Moth resting on mossy bark
Location: SE Michigan
September 24, 2011 6:52 pm
Hello, Bugman: Spotted this large underwing moth flying around eratically during the afternoon; was surprised both by it’s size and that it was flying during a sunny afternoon. Not sure which of the many kinds of Underwings this one is, but it was about 2.5 inches across. It landed on a tree, hoping to ”blend-in” with it’s cryptic patterning. I was able to get 2 nice close-ups, before it fluttered away. Thought you might like to add this shot to your Underwing info.
Signature: Chris O.
Underwing
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for sending your photo of an Underwing Moth. We posted another photo earlier today and we wrote about the camouflage ability of the Underwing Moths. Though your mossy trunk does not effectively hide this individual, our readers should be able to imagine it blending in on a lighter barked tree. While we don’t believe the Underwing has the ability to choose a tree that will effectively hide it, we do believe that those moths that blend into the trees in a specific area will survive and then subsequently pass on the traits that determine their coloration to their offspring. Your description of the Underwing flying during daylight hours is very accurate.
1
Identification request
Location: Guatemala (Jocotenango, Sacatepéquez)
September 23, 2011 2:13 pm
Dear Mr Bugman:
I am currently volunteering in a combined elemntary & secondary school in Guatemala. Some of our fifth graders found this beauty in the garden. They’d love to turn it into a science project to see it become a butterfly, but I have my doubts that it will accept a jar as proper place for pupation. But I’m getting ahead of myself, since we don’t even know what it is yet.
Thanks for your help & keep up the great work!
Signature: Regards, Reinhard Prosch
Fig Sphinx Caterpillar
Hi Reinhard,
Your caterpillar is that of a Fig Sphinx, Pachylia ficus. The Fig Sphinx is a large Hawkmoth, not a butterfly. According to the Sphingidae of the Americas website: “Larvae pupate in cocoons spun amongst leaf litter.”
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