Looks like a Lady Bug with a Trapezoid Back
Location: Upstate South Carolina
October 15, 2011 1:34 pm
I have many of these dark bugs…they look like lady bugs except they have dark brown shells that are trapezoid shaped. They tend to cluster. Any ideas?
Signature: Stephen
Lablab Bugs
Dear Stephen,
You have invasive exotic Lablab Bugs that feed on Kudzu as well as soybeans. We just posted another letter and we refer you to the information there.
Odd squarish dark mottled beetle – possibly australian tortoise beetle?
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
October 17, 2011 12:16 am
Hello,
A friend sent me this photo of small (slightly bigger than ladybug-size) beetles he spotted sunning themselves on the balcony of his apartment in Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve never seen beetles like this. I have done some searches and suspect they could possibly be an import, the Australian Tortoise Beetle, although their shape and colouration seems a bit odd. They do appear to have the hair tuft on the end of their legs though. What do you think? Is it something else entirely? I asked him to contact his local officials in case this was indeed an invasive species but if it’s something else more obvious I’d love to hear it.
Signature: tee
Lablab Bugs
Dear Tee,
You have cause for concern. These are Lablab Bugs or Globular Stink Bugs, Megacopta cirbraria, and they are also called Bean Plataspids. According to BugGuide: “Recently found in ne. GA; native to India and China, known also from many parts of e. & se. Asia to Australia and New Caledonia(1) According to USA Today [Sept 26, 2011] – now NC, SC, AL.” There is a mixed blessing with this information from BugGuide: “Found in the US on kudzu; known hosts include legume crops, especially soybean.” Any insect that feeds on the invasive Kudzu would be welcomed, provided they did not also feed on an important crop plant.
Thank you so much for the reply! I will forward this to my friend! Many thanks on your wonderful website. It is very well-loved!
Ed. Note: Found on the internet
October 17, 2011
While trying to locate something on the internet this morning, our bleary eyed staff stumbled upon this eye opener entitled “I hearby resign from Whatsthatbug.com” and we were quite touched by Pest Cemetery’s posting. We do need to clarify that we have never received 5000 emails in a single day. Our busiest days log in at about 140 emails, but that is still quite a challenge to our tiny editorial staff.
26 legged insect
Location: Blue Ridge, Virginia
October 16, 2011 10:13 pm
Hello, I have seen this bug around my house for a few months now and have no idea what it is! I live in Charlottesville, Virginia and have seen this bug since the mid summer. Oddly, while in Italy during the summer I am sure I saw one of these insects. Please help.
Signature: Gabriel
House Centipede
I have realized after looking through your Top Ten list that this is a House Centipede. Though I now know they are harmless, I can’t help but find them creepy after the one that ran at me when it noticed me. I hope you like the pictures!
Gabriel
House Centipede
Hi Gabriel,
Your very detailed photos are a wonderful addition to our website. We are very happy to learn that you were able to self identify this House Centipede. There is some indication that they might bite a person if provoked, but their venom is not highly toxic and will cause little more than irritation in most people, however, with severe allergic reactions on the rise from everything, including peanuts and pain relievers, we cannot predict what might happen if a particularly sensitive person happens to get bitten. For the record, Centipedes are not insects. Insects have but six legs.
Saved this from drowning in my pool
Location: Northern California – Sacramento Valley
October 16, 2011 6:16 pm
Hello again!
I haven’t submitted in a couple years, but today I found something in my pool I’ve never seen before. I live in the Northern California Valley, near Sacramento. Don’t know if you can really see it in the pics, but it has a folding needle type mouth and Y shaped antennae. It was a slow mover and when you would touch the antennae it would raise it’s front legs and try to climb. Sorry for the bad cellphone pics, they’re only 5MP. I let the thing dry off on my hand and then let it go on some flowers out back. I’ll be looking around on here and online for any other help identifying this little thing. Thanks fr your time and help!
Signature: Toby
Spiny Assassin Bugs
Okay, so I did some research as to the insects mouth “type” and found that it has a Proboscis. Wikipedia said that Assassin Bugs have this and I followed that link, and lo and behold there was something that looks like my little friend. Days of searching can now end. Any help identifying species would be great if you can from the pics.
-Toby
Hi Toby,
You should exercise caution when handling the Spiny Assassin Bugs in the genus Sinea. See BugGuide for additional information. Like other Assassin Bugs, they might bite if carelessly handled. Because of your good deed, we are tagging your letter with the Bug Humanitarian Award.
Spiny Assassin Bug
Unknown Bug! mars o shrimp!
Location: middle east
October 17, 2011 5:05 am
Hi there,
you guys are amazing.i’m so glad that ive found you.last week i was hanging around in my house that suddenly i saw a bug.i have no idea what is it,hope you can identify it.
Signature: MD
Exuvia of a Mayfly
Dear MD,
This is the exuvia or shed exoskeleton of a Mayfly. The aquatic nymphs of Mayflies, known as naiads, leave the water to molt into winged subadults, and what you found is the remain of the molting process. See this image from BugGuide that looks similar.
Amazing Beatle
Location: Brasília, DF – Brazil
October 16, 2011 1:10 pm
Hi there
First of all, congratulations on this website. The idea of helping people to identify these beautiful animals is phenomenal.
About the picture I submitted, I parked my car at the airport for some minutes and when I came back there was this amazing beatle (?) sitting on the hood.
It was about 5.5 cm long and had these long antennae. It drew my attention not only for its size but also because it was sporting these yellow shoes.
While I was driving home, it kept stuck to the car despite the wind pressure, which made me think about how strong it was.
Any ideas about this bug?
All the best from Brazil.
Signature: Gustavo
Unknown Longicorn from Brazil
Good Evening Gustavo,
We haven’t had much luck identifying your gorgeous Longicorn by species. This stunning beetle is in the Longhorned Borer Beetle family Cerambycidae. The larvae are the wood borers. Entomophiles with a certain hipness factor (among other entomophiles at least) call these beetles Bycids for short. We miss Karl. He always took on challenges such as these and he provided difficult identifications with links as support documents.
Unknown Longicorn from Brazil
Hi Daniel and Gustavo:
I believe your lovely Cerambycid is Dorcadocerus barbatus (Cerambycinae : Trachyderini). I found one online photo of what appears to be the same species, but tagged as D. barbicornis. However, I think this is probably a misnomer as I can find only one species listed for the genus (i.e., D. barbatus). Its range extends from Mexico to Argentina. Although not quite visible in your photo, the species appears to have a very curious, brush-like face. Regards. Karl
Hi Karl,
Thanks so much for providing this identification. Though we are thrilled with the identification, we are even more thrilled to hear from you again after what seems like an interminable hiatus. We hope all is well and that you will be visiting us more often in the future.
two tailed alligator lizard
Location: El Dorado county, california
October 14, 2011 7:34 pm
got lots of these and fence lizards running round, but this is the first i have seen with 2 tails.
sorry i couldn’t get more pics of it, my sister took the photos
Signature: adric
Two Tailed Lizard
Dear Adric,
Thank you so much for sending us this photo of the anomaly that you discovered. Often when a Lizard loses its tail because of an accident or an encounter with a predator, the tail will regenerate, though with a slightly different appearance and morphology. The tail detaches when enough pressure is applied, and this will allow a Lizard to escape if it is grasped by the tail. Your individual shows the stump where the original tail was lost as well as the unusual regeneration. We cannot really speculate on the nature of the original injury and why that resulted in this anomaly.
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