schorpion like bug
Location: Belgium, brussels area
October 17, 2011 12:29 pm
Dear,
This small bug was found in Brussels Belgium, 19th of september.
It seems to try and defend itself by lifting up his tail above his head (like a scorpion). Some white secretion could be seen at the end of the tail next to ,what I believe is, the stinger.
Signature: Bram
Devil's Coachhorse
Greetings Bram,
This European Rove Beetle has become naturalized in parts of North America where it is known by the diabolical name Devil’s Coachhorse. Though it has struck a threatening pose, the Devil’s Coachhorse is not a venomous insect. The threat posture is often accompanied by the release of a foul odor from the white scent glands in the abdomen you mentioned. The Devil’s Coachhorse is a predatory species that will eat snails and slugs in the garden.
Thanks alot!
We found it quite funny lifting up its tail like that, hope he’s still around somwhere in the garden hunting snails!
Bram
1
Fetus Bug
Location: Los Angeles, CA
October 18, 2011 12:35 am
We found this bug in our pool in Hollywood Hills, CA USA. What is it and is it harmful? Thanks.
Signature: Gabe Naghi
Potato Bug
Dear Gabe,
We knew by your subject line without even opening up your image that you had found a Potato Bug, one of our Top 10 Southern California identification requests. Native Americans and Spaniards gave Potato Bugs common names that referred to their humanoid appearance. BugGuide lists other common names as: “Woh-tzi-Neh (Navajo, variously translated as ‘old bald-headed man’, ‘skull insect’, or ‘bone-neck beetle’), Nina de la Tierra (Spanish, ‘child of the earth’), … Devil’s Baby.” Potato Bugs are also called Jerusalem Crickets, though they native and not from the biblical Holy Land. Potato Bugs in the genus Stenopelmatus were the only members of the family Stenopelmatidae, however recent taxonomic changes seem to have created another genus. According to BugGuide, there are “over 50 spp. in our area, mostly undescribed”.
1
Orb Weaver catches Caterpillar in her web and encases it in silk.
Location: Cheney Kansas
October 17, 2011 8:16 pm
I rescued this spider at work from being chopped up by my weed wacker. I took it home and set it free in the garden.
The next day I searched the garden to see if she would cast her web in my yard . I found her Web and she had already caught several moths and was in the process of taking care of a White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar.
I’ve included several photos and you can really see in detail how she uses her spinneret to encase her future meal.
Signature: Chris Harris
Banded Orbweaver
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for sending us your wonderful photos of a Banded Orbweaver eating a White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar.
Banded Orbweaver eats White Lined Sphinx Caterpillar
We don’t believe caterpillars are a typical prey for Orbweavers that tend to snare flying or hopping insects.
Banded Orbweaver eats White Lined Sphinx
1
GIANT fly
Location: Dallas, TX
October 17, 2011 9:53 pm
I’ve lived in Dallas, TX for 40 years and have never seen such a thing. Found today on our hydrangea plant. It has a fat head, thorax & abdomen, is mostly black with awesome horizontal red stripes across the top of its huge eyes, has white fuzz between the thorax & abdomen, and it’s wings fold in a crossed fassion, unlike most flies. Its legs are just like a common house fly (only larger) and it rubs them together and walks/behaves like a fly. When it flies it sounds loud like a bee. It’s about an inch long!
Signature: Grasshopper
Rodent Bot Fly
Dear Grasshopper,
This amazing fly is a Rodent Bot Fly in the genus Cuterebra, but alas, we don’t recognize the species. It doesn’t seem to match any of the species posted to Bugguidewhich describes the life cycle as: “Females typically deposit eggs in the burrows and ‘runs’ of rodent or rabbit hosts. A warm body passing by the eggs causes them to hatch almost instantly and the larvae glom onto the host. The larvae are subcutaneous (under the skin) parasites of the host. Their presence is easily detected as a tumor-like bulge, often in the throat or neck or flanks of the host. The larvae breathe by everting the anal spiracles out a hole (so they are oriented head-down inside the host). They feed on the flesh of the host, but only rarely does the host die as a result.”
Rabbit Bot Fly
GIANT Fly – much better picture!
Location: Dallas, TX
October 17, 2011 10:30 pm
Please refer to my previous submission today.
thanks
Signature: Grasshopper
Rabbit Bot Fly
We will add this to the posting we already created for your amazing beautiful Rodent Bot Fly which we now believe to be a Rabbit Bot Fly, Cuterebra buccata, based on photos posted to BugGuide.
Wow, that is awesome! Will definitely comment back! Thanks Daniel.
Greg Hotchkiss, aka Grasshopper (my best friends actually have called me that since college)
1
Erynnis funeralis?
Location: Hawthorne, CA
October 17, 2011 3:35 pm
Hi Daniel,
It was good to finally meet you this past Saturday at the Lummis House. We enjoyed your talk very much and are thankful that you give of your time in so many ways. We wish our Iowa cousins had not left early that same morning, as we are sure they would have enjoyed seeing the Lummis House. They are also bug enthusiasts.
While watching your presentation, we noticed many butterflies flitting about behind you and I had to control myself! My usual response is to immediately get up and head in the general direction of any bug. We also spotted what husband Marty thinks is a Cooper’s Hawk. Are they local to that area?
Saturday morning I spotted what I think is a Funereal Duskywing feeding on the Mexican Sunflowers in my yard. Am I correct?
Signature: Thanks, Anna Carreon
Funereal Duskywing
Hi Anna,
It was very nice meeting you and Marty on Saturday. We really enjoy getting to meet our internet friends at public events. Another contributor, Barbara from South Pasadena also introduced herself. Marty was correct. We do have Cooper’s Hawks in the neighborhood. At our Mt Washington offices, when the mourning doves are searching for seeds in the yard, Cooper’s Hawks frequently view the flocks as smorgasbords. We agree that this is a Funereal Duskywing, though we would not totally rule out the related Mournful Duskywing, Erynnis tristis, that is also found in this area. The Butterflies and Moths of North America has a nice description of the Funereal Duskywing.
Funereal Duskywing
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the response. I did check out the Mournful Duskywing but still think that my photo is of a Funereal Duskywing. It was very dark in coloring. I could be wrong, though (wouldn’t be the first time). Just happy to find yet another “new to us” bug in our small back yard. Thanks also for answering Marty’s question about the Cooper’s Hawk. We have Red Tailed Hawks here in Hawthorne. Yes, hawks in Hawthorne. They also look at the mourning doves as smorgasbords. What a great description!
Anna
1
Well hello…
Location: Corpus Christi, TX
October 17, 2011 3:28 am
This colorful spider made a large web on the porch. I’m from Washington State visiting Corpus Christi so I’m not used to seeing spiders like this. It was pretty large and moved quickly (saw it scurrying across the deck later that day). Can you identify it? Is it venomous?
Signature: Scott
Silver Argiope
Hi Scott,
Your spider is a Silver Argiope, Argiope argentata, one of the Orbweavers. Nearly all spiders have venom, but very few spiders have venom that is considered toxic to humans. We are less and less inclined to claim, as we once did, that a species is perfectly harmless, because for most people peanuts are perfectly harmless, though there are growing numbers of children with peanut allergies. The same may hold true for spider venom, and a person with a highly allergic reaction may be in grave danger after a bite that for most people is a slight annoyance. Orbweavers are very reluctant to bite, but that does not mean they will not bite.
1
Cerambycid in Africa
Location: Kenya, Africa
October 17, 2011 10:25 am
My friend is conducting research in Africa (Kenya) and sent this Cerambycid photo to me. Any idea?
Thanks so much!
Signature: Cera
African Longicorn
Hi Cera,
We do not recognize this lovely Longicorn species. We will post it as unidentified in the hope that in the future we may get an answer. Those furry front feet are probably a good diagnostic feature.
Update: Karl does some research
October 28, 2011
Hi Daniel and Cera:
I think you are correct Daniel in suggesting that the furry front feet may be diagnostic, and I therefore believe that the genus is probably Lasiopezus (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae: Ancylonotini). My first thought was that it might be L. sordidus, but that species is apparently restricted to West Africa. I was not able to locate images of all the half dozen or so species that do occur in Kenya but of the ones I was able to find L. nigromaculatus appears to be the closest match. That said, it doesn’t look quite right, mostly because the color of the mottling seems more brown than black and the overall effect is less contrasting. I like the genus but I suspect the species is one for which I was unable to locate an online image. Regards. Karl
Thanks for all the links Karl.
Large crawling insect
Location: Northern Utah
October 17, 2011 10:06 am
Hi there,
While hiking in the Lone Peak area of Utah, I saw this large insect crawling up the trail. It looks like an enormous cross between a bee and an ant. It was about 2.5 inches long, with a body about as thick around as a nickel. Any idea what it is?
Signature: Darrin Lythgoe
Potato Bug
Hi Darrin,
This is a Potato Bug or Jerusalem Cricket, a common insect in the Southwest. They are subterranean dwellers that often come to the surface after a rain. They represent one of our most frequently identified bugs and they are on our Top 10 list.
1
I like This
