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Monthly Archives November 2011

Achemon Sphinx Caterpillar

Caterpillar in Malibu, CA
Location: Malibu, CA
November 13, 2011 6:24 pm
Dear Bugman, I found this large caterpillar crawling in my garden. It was not on a plant but I put some clover in a box with it. I’m trying to find out what kind of butterfly or moth it’ll turn in to. Can you identify it?
Thanks!
Signature: Bu Girl

achemon cat malibu1 300x212 Achemon Sphinx Caterpillar

Achemon Sphinx Caterpillar

Dear Bu Girl,
Though your photo does not show the markings on the side of this individual very well, we believe you have photographed the caterpillar of the Achemon Sphinx.  Sphinx Moth caterpillars are called Hornworms because they usually have a caudal horn, however, the Achemon Sphinx sheds its caudal horn as a young caterpillar, leaving a caudal spot or “eye” that is barely visible on the right side of your photo.  According to the Sphingidae of the Americas website, the caterpillar of the Achemon Sphinx feeds upon:  “Grape (Vitis), Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and other vines and ivies (Ampelopsis).”

 

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Posted 14 November 2011 § Hornworms ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Deceased huntsman spider with unknown wasp
Location: Eastern Suburbs, Sydney, about 1km away from the pacific ocean.
November 13, 2011 11:45 pm
Hey, I got these series of pictures and this video outside on a warm summers day, on the 14th November, 2011. A warm summer summer in November must mean the southern hemisphere, indeed this image is taken on the eastern suburbs, in Sydney, Australia, about 1km away from the ocean.
Im fairly sure the spider is an huntsman spider but I do not know about the wasp. Does it normally prey on spiders and other large insects ? Where does it nest, and does it pose a threat to humans ?
(I live with my grandparents, and to say they are squeamish about insects is an understatement)
EDIT : I realized that the wasp has been featured previously on this site, however, I shall share these high resolution (if you think they are) images of what I found. I also catch huntsman spiders inside my home and release them too. I shall attach those too, if you wish to share them.
I hope you find the images to be of reasonable quality and I hope they will be useful for your site. You may repost/embed the video to your site too, if you wish.
Signature: Sufyan

spider wasp huntsman australia sufyan 300x206 Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Hi Sufyan,
We actually have this particular Food Chain drama posted to our website several times including this recent posting of a Spider Wasp and its Huntsman Spider prey.  We believe the Spider Wasp is Cryptocheilus bicolor, but we do not feel confident trying to identify the Huntsman Spider to the species lever because there are so many Huntsman Spiders in Australia.

spider wasp huntsman australia sufyan 2 300x206 Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Spider Wasps are solitary wasps, and a female provisions the nest with paralyzed spiders for her brood.  The adult Spider Wasps feed upon pollen, and only the larval wasps are carnivores, but they are unable to hunt for themselves.  It is important to realize that this Huntsman Spider is paralyzed, not dead.  A dead spider would soon dry out, making it an unacceptable food for the larvae.  By paralyzing the Huntsman Spider, the living spider supplies the larval wasp with fresh meat.  The larva feeds upon non-vital meat first so that the spider is literally eaten alive.  Since the nest is underground and we have received so many images of this particular Spider Wasp scaling walls while dragging a large paralyzed Huntsman Spider, we have deduced that the Spider Wasp is unable to take off from the ground with such a heavy payload, but by climbing to gain altitude, it is able to fly or glide towards its burrow with the heavy Spider in tow.  Spider Wasps are not aggressive, though we suspect they may sting if provoked or carelessly handled.

spider wasp huntsman australia sufyan 3 300x206 Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

 

 

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Posted 14 November 2011 § Huntsman Spiders § spider wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Red Admiral Butterfly in Mt Washington

Red Admiral
November 13, 2011
We were enjoying the beautiful fall sunshine and warm weather in the garden and we watched this Red Admiral alight on the wood pile to sun itself, soaking up the warmth by aiming its dark wings at the sun.  When another Red Admiral approached the wood pile, this possessive individual flew off to do butterfly battle and quickly returned to guard its territory.  We had a recent conversation with noted lepidopterist Julian Donahue who lives nearby as we were discussing butterflies and native plants to be planted in Elyria Canyon Park with funding the Mt Washington Beautification committee received from the Los Angeles Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA).  Julian was not aware that Red Admirals are common in the neighborhood, so we informed him that they are frequent visitors to our gardens at the What’s That Bug? offices, a scant fifteen minute walk from Julian’s house.  We are thrilled we got this photo to document the Red Admiral’s presence in Mt Washington.  This guy’s wings are a bit tattered, but that didn’t prevent it from exhibiting the spunkiness we associate with this lovely Brush Footed Butterfly.

red admiral 20111113 300x219 Red Admiral Butterfly in Mt Washington

Red Admiral Butterfly

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Posted 13 November 2011 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Rain Beetle

Found a bug
Location: Northern Ca foothills near Auburn CA
November 13, 2011 1:58 pm
Hi, I found this bug on my doorstep this morning. It is about 2 inches long. Not sure what kind it is and if I should be concerned about the trees or house. We live in a heavily wooded area, many pines and oaks in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Auburn CA.
Can you tell us what bug this is?
Signature: Duke

rain beetle duke 300x255 Rain Beetle

Rain Beetle

Hi Duke,
Congratulations on your wonderful sighting.  This is a male Rain Beetle in the family Pleocomidae (see BugGuide), a family with a range that is limited to the west coast of North America.  Rain Beetles are a very unusual family of beetles.  Larvae live underground and feed on the roots of oaks and conifers and they can remain underground for as long as ten years.  Mating activity is triggered by rain.  Only male Rain Beetles have wings, and they will circle the ground until they locate the burrows of a flightless female.  There are many species of Rain Beetles and many have very limited ranges.  An expert is required to distinguish one species from another.  There was an excellent article in the LA Times several years ago on the Rain Beetles. 

Posted 13 November 2011 § Rain Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

Young Ladybugs or Something Harmful
Location: West Los Angeles
November 12, 2011 12:30 pm
Hi Bugman,
I’ve seen a couple groups of these small red bug on my milkweed bushes.
Are they Ladybugs or something else?
Thx, Jeff Bremer
Signature: Jeff Bremer

large milkweed nymphs la jeff 300x206 Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

Hi Jeff,
These are the early instar nymphs of Large Milkweed Bugs.  They feed upon the juices of the milkweed seeds and pods.  They will not cause damage to the plant, but the number of viable seeds that are produced by the plant might be reduced.  This does not appear to be a native milkweed, so the lack of seed production is not something that should be considered a problem.  We would urge you to allow the Large Milkweed Bugs to share the plants with the butterflies you are trying to attract.  You can see BugGuide for a matching photo.

Posted 13 November 2011 § Seed Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Sowbug Killer

Painting the town red!
Location: Southcoastal Massachusetts
November 13, 2011 12:35 pm
This spider was in my wood pile amongst MANY others.The reddish and two-toned coloring seemed odd. Recently I encountered another with a very different shape (not round abdomen) that was even more intese color red(unfortunately that one was not around long enough to pose for a pick) My question is what spiders are red and do spiders change colors depending on what they eat, environment, embarrassment etc?
Signature: Afraid of my wood pile:(

sowbug killer connecticut 300x225 Sowbug Killer

Sowbug Killer

Dear Afraid of my wood pile,
The spider in the photo is a Sowbug Killer or Woodlouse Hunter, Dysdera corcata.  The bite of a Sowbug Killer is not considered dangerous, but it is possible that it may cause local tenderness.  Many spiders are red, and without a photo, it is difficult to speculate.  Sometimes spiders change color when they molt.  In your area, the only potentially dangerous spiders are the Widow Spiders.

Posted 13 November 2011 § Sow Bug Killers ‡ Comments (0) °

Rainbow Shield Bug from Camaroon

Cameroonian Beetle
Location: Northern Cameroon
November 13, 2011 11:43 am
Hi there!
My sister recently started a two and half year appointment with the Peace Corps in Cameroon. She sent me a picture the other day of a beautiful beetle she saw in the extreme north of the country. I would really like to know what it is!
Thank you!
Signature: Liz M.

jewel bugs camaroon liz 300x226 Rainbow Shield Bug from Camaroon

Jewel Bugs

Dear Liz,
These beautiful insects are not beetles, but True Bugs in the order Hemiptera.  They are further classified as Jewel Bugs in the family Scutelleridae.  In the past, we identified this as a Lychee Shield Bug, Chrysocoris stolli, though we cannot verify that the species is correct as images that we have found online, though similar, have different markings.  We are not certain if there is species variability or if several similar looking species share a common name.  Jewel Bug is a commonly accepted name for the individual members of the family, many of which have bright metallic coloration.  Dudu Diaries calls this beauty the Rainbow Shield Bug, but does not provide a scientific name.  It seems in 2009, we received a correction from someone who identified the Rainbow Shield Bug as Calidea dregii, citing a FlickR link.  We have also located a pdf entitled 2010-01_Alert_Rainbow_Shield_Bug that identifies the Rainbow Shield Bug as Calidea dregii and provides some fascinating information on the species including:  “The Rainbow Shield Bug suck the sap from developing seeds leading to seeds dropping prematurely or not developing fully. In cotton it leads to staining and therefore a lower price if the bolls do not drop prematurely. The low number of mature Jatropha seeds observed in Guinea-Bissau is likely caused by seed dropping due to damage from Rainbow Shield Bugs.”  Your photo illustrates a winged adult as well as some immature nymphs.  Now with our new research, we need to correct our archives.

Posted 13 November 2011 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

The coolest caterpillar ever at least in NJ
Location: Coastal Central NJ
November 12, 2011 9:55 pm
My daughter found this caterpillar in the road
Signature: Chris Miller

spicebush cat chris 300x206 Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

Hi Chris,
This is the caterpillar of a Spicebush Swallowtail.  It is widely believed that the false eyes are a type of mimicry that helps to deter predators like birds that mistake this potentially bitesized morsel for an even larger predator like a snake.

Permission to reproduce photo requested
December 1, 2011 10:08 am
Dear Daniel Marlos,
I take the liberty of writing to you because I am about to publish, at Les Éditions de la Transparence, a completely revised version of my doctoral thesis dealing with contemporary painting and entitled L’Image peinte. Enjeux et perspectives de la peinture figurative des années 90 à nos jours, which received in 2009 the Thesis Prize of the University of Aix-Marseille I.
Therefore, I would like to know if you could give us your authorization to print the following reproduction of an image of caterpillar, belonging to the corpus of my aesthetic analysis:
Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar, Coastal Central NJ, Signature Chris Miller.
Thanks in advance for your attention. I am of course entirely at your disposal to answer any question you may have regarding this book, whose publication is programmed for March 2012; a copy will be put at your disposal.
Yours sincerely,
Jean-François Desserre.

Dear Jean-Francois Desserre,
Sorry for the delay, but we are just catching up on old emails.  Thanks for writing and requesting permission to use this photo, however, the copyright does belong to Chris Miller.  We believe we have found his email address and we will copy him to see if he will grant permission.  Normally in situations like this, we request that a comment be posted directly to the original posting so that the photographer can comment.  Good luck with the publication of your thesis.

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Posted 13 November 2011 § swallowtail caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

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