Walkingstick look-alike
Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 9:22 AM
Hello! I’ve been a fan for years and rec’d responses several times to my queries, and I thank you again for this great service you provide! I do not believe this insect is a true ‘Walkingstick’, but a look-alike. The legs were quite long, maybe 4-5″, antenna abt. 4″ and wings abt 1 1/2-2″ in length. I saw a photo similar to this insect somewhere with a diff. name and forgot to make note of it! =-( I was in a small field surrounded by woods when it came ‘floating’ very gracefully by. Fortunately, it landed just a few feet away, and I was able to get sev. diff poses of it. Any info you can provide is greatly appreciated. I am sending several captures for your best chance at ID’ing.
Thank you again for your time and service…you are very much appreciated!
Pat Garner, Hawk Point, MO
Lincoln Co., Hawk Point, MO abt 1hr 20 mins West of St. Louis, MO
Thread Legged Bug
Hi Pat,
Thank you for your sweet letter. This is a Thread Legged Bug, an Assassin bug in the subfamily Emesinae. We are relatively certain it is in the genus Emesaya, possibly Emesaya brevipennis which can be found on BugGuide. Like all Assassin Bugs, they are predatory.
Thread Legged Bug
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Posted 08 November 2008
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Arilus cristatus
Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 1:52 PM
Good Evening!
A friend called me to my front door earlier. She was on the front porch; I was here at the computer. “Bet you’ve never seen this one before,” she said. She was right. Then, after downloading several shots of the creature, imagine my surprise when I found that it is your BUG OF THE MONTH! No searching through hundreds of pages this time! Thank you, too, for the link to The BugGuide. We both appreciated all the information found there.
As long as it stays outside…
R.G. Marion
Great Smoky Mountains
East Tennessee
Wheel Bug
Hi again R.G.,
We always try to select a Bug of the Month based on what we believe our readership will encounter, and sometimes we err. There are months when not a single letter comes in to substantiate our speculation, but this month we chose wisely. We have gotten numerous additional letters of Wheel Bugs, some posted, some not, and we are happy to post your letter and photo.
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Posted 07 November 2008
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Wheel Bug!
Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 3:50 PM
I found this enormous bug on my screen door today, captured it, photographed it, and released it. Then I can to whatsthatbug.com as usual to find out what it was. Turns out its on the top of the main page as Bug of the Month! The person who submitted it, lives just minutes away too! Quite the cooincidence.
Anyways, I took some fantastic photographs of it…and figured since it is bug of the month, you may be able to use them. I also captured a small video of him cruising around on my desk which can be seen here: http://www.goochball.com/ images/bug.wmv
Thanks.
Dan Bowen
Pittsburgh, PA
Wheel Bug
Hi Dan,
Your head on view of a Wheel Bug is a nice addition to our archive.
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Posted 06 November 2008
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Wheel Bug up close
Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 12:27 PM
I came across this Wheel Bug recently. I had never seen one before and didn’t have a clue as to what it was. Fortunately for me, I kept a slight distance and managed to get some great & painless photos. The little guy was actually very cooperative. I later researched it online and discovered its identity — what a fascinating little creature. Anyway… I love your site and wanted to submit one of the many photos I captured.
Dave Elmore
Roanoke, Virginia
Wheel Bug
Hi Dave,
Thanks for sending a photo of your Wheel Bug, our Bug of the Month for November 2008, to add to our archive. Your photo is stunning and dramatic and shows the piercing/sucking mouth parts and cog-like crest to great advantage. Wheel Bugs are not aggressive to humans, but they should not be mishandled or a painful bite may result.
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Posted 06 November 2008
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Colorful insect found in woods
Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 7:55 AM
Hello,
I found this insect in the woods hiding behind a piece of bark. I noticed the red on his leg as he squeezed in to hide. I cannot figure out what kind he is! At first I thought it was a box elder bug, but aside from the giant white spot, his head is a different shape.
He moved very slowly, and did not try to hide again after I had exposed him from the bark.
Bug world enthusiast
John James Audobon National Park, Henderson, KY
Assassin Bug
Hi Enthusiast,
This is an Assassin Bug with no common name. It is Microtomus purcis.
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Posted 23 October 2008
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Assassin Bug?
Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 4:46 PM
Hi Bug Guy, I just want you to know that I never really cared alot about bugs, Then I got a new camera for my birthday, and I loved it, I was having so much fun with it, but now I have a new like, not love yet, just like, for the bugs, some of them are so beautiful and some, I think God had alot of fun making. This bug was on my dads porch and I looked it up on here and I found one. The bug liked my husbands ear and kept crawling up his shirt to his ear. He sat very still and did not bother it and waited for it to leave. Later someone told me that if the bug had bit him that he would have gotten really sick and maybe even lost his ear. Is this true? I have sent a pic of him or her.
Soon to learn to love bugs,
Lisa Benningfield, Stanton Ky
Eastern Kentucky
Wheel Bug gets familiar
Hi Lisa,
The bite of a Wheel Bug, a species of Assassin Bug, is reported to be quite painful but not really dangerous. Like many bites, swelling, redness and pain or itchiness may occur, but loss of an ear is not really a side effect. Your husband should, nonetheless, consider himself lucky he was not bitten.
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Posted 14 October 2008
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some kind of beatle?
Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 3:12 PM
found these two having a romantic evening as the sun set on Oct 12, 2008.
very prehistoric looking. thank you,
Genesis
South St. Louis area of Missouri USA
Mating Wheel Bugs
Hi Genesis,
Prehistoric is a word that we often hear in conjunction with Wheel Bugs. Your mating Wheel Bugs are Assassin Bugs, not beetles.
Neither pair of wheel bugs is mating, just coupled. Mating means they would by coupled, the male off to the side, not directly on top.
Eric Eaton
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Posted 13 October 2008
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Tagged: bug love
What in the world is this?
Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 1:35 PM
This bug was found walking around on our back porch. It apparently looks like it was trying to make more too! Thanks for any help you can provide.
TS
Troy, Ohio USA
Mating Wheel Bugs
Hi TS,
Wow, what a wonderful image of mating Wheel Bugs. Wheel Bugs are predatory Assassin Bugs and they are quite beneficial in the garden. Interestingly, we got two photos today of mating Wheel Bugs and we will post them both.
Neither pair of wheel bugs is mating, just coupled. Mating means they would by coupled, the male off to the side, not directly on top.
Eric Eaton
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Posted 13 October 2008
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Tagged: bug love
Can’t find this insect anywhere
Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Found this bug in central New York (New Berlin) in July 2008.
Margie Obrien
central N.Y.
Spiny Assassin Bug
Hi Margie,
This is an Assassin Bug in the genus Sinea. We can’t tell you the exact species. Assassins in this genus are known as the Spined Assassin Bugs or Spiny Assassin Bugs and there is one image on BugGuide that looks quite close to your specimen.
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Posted 13 October 2008
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praying mantis eating a wheel bug, unknown eggs
Sat, Oct 11, 2008 at 9:12 PM
HELLO BUGMAN!
Just wanted to share this week’s playground “show” of a praying mantis DEVOURING a wheel bug. The class watched in horror/amazement. We had just seen our first wheel bug of this school year the day before.
We are also including a hatching photo we took this August. The eggs were stuck to the brick wall outside our classroom and we watched daily to see what was going to happen. We’d loved to know what was coming out! Thank you so much for your help!
Always looking for bugs,
Fours and fives in PA
Southeastern PA
Preying Mantis eats Wheel Bug
Dear Teacher of Fours and Fives in PA,
We are gladdened to see that you have taken your classwork home and that your students will be able to find their answers online next week. Our only request is that in the future, you please don’t include multiple postings in one letter as it jumbles our already voluminous archives. Your Mantis photo is awesome in that it shows the Mantis devouring another beneficial predator. If the statistics were available, they might reveal that, since it pretty much sits higher up on the food chain, the Mantis may eat more beneficial insects than problematic ones. Since Mantids are often found on flowering plants, they consume their share of pollinators.
Nature’s can-opener?
Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 5:23 PM
Greetings!
This creature found me in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, USA. He (or she) is about 1.5 inches long. He was pretty slow moving on the 70-degree-F day that I found him. He had very little interest in flying away or using his bayonet-like member on his forehead against me. I picked him up using a piece of bark and moved him away from the front door, where he is less likely to get tangled up with my 9-week-old boxer puppy who runs around the house and yard like PacMan, gobbling up anything and everything.
Thanks for your help!
Greg
South-Eastern Pennsylvania, USA
Wheel Bug
Hi Greg,
We love your subject line. We didn’t even have to view your photo to know you had a Wheel Bug. Observing that a Wheel Bug resembles a can opener is awesome. Wheel Bugs are Assassin Bugs and they will bite if provoked.
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Posted 11 October 2008
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Beetles, I think…
Hi!
All 61 pages of beetles on your amazing site have been viewed to no avail. Thought I had one of these beetles (they are beetles, right?) identified on BugGuide but, alas, no. The first, the long solid black one with the chunky hind legs, was moving very quickly on the front porch wall one day last summer. The other, the black and red one was quite a pest this last spring. I saw, felt, three of them inside my house which was built of rough-cut pine from the trees off the land here in the Great Smoky Mountains. By pest I mean that it lets you know it’s there by nipping, not tickling as most bugs seem to do, but leaves no mark. Each, in turn, was escorted outside, unceremoniously. Any ideas? I’d love to be able to name them properly.
Thank you,
R.G. Marion
East Tennessee
Eastern Blood-Sucking Conenose Bug
Hi R.G.,
You couldn’t locate the Eastern Blood-Sucking Conenose Bug on our beetle pages since it is an Assassin Bug. The black and red pattern is quite distinctive. According to BugGuide, the Eastern Blood-Sucking Conenose Bug, Triatoma sanguisuga, is also called the Big Bed Bug or Mexican Bed Bug. It normally feeds on “Blood of mammals, especially Eastern Wood Rat, Neotoma floridana . Also feeds on bed bugs and other insects. Feeds at night.” Also regarding its habitat: “Natural habitat is nests of small mammals. Sometimes invades houses.” BugGuide also notes that it “Sometimes bites humans, and the bite may be severe, causing an allergic reaction ” but there is no mention of Chagas Disease which is spread by the related Western Conenose Bug. Chagas Disease is primarily a problem in tropical climates. We are still working on an identification for the other insect you sent in.
What is this Bug
My 8 year old found this on the back porch and was wondering what kind of bug it is. Note the spiny appendage on his back that I thought would make it easy to identify, but haven’t been able to find anything in the reference materials so far.
Ben
Eastern Missouri
Wheel Bug in a Pot
Hi Ben,
If that is the 5 quart pasta pot, that has to be the biggest Wheel Bug on record. Handle with care as Wheel Bugs can deliver a painful bite. Seriously, what kind of pot is that in your photo, which we find terribly amusing, and perhaps our favorite Wheel Bug photo ever.
Thanks very much for the information. Didn’t know they bite, so glad we asked. No, it’s certainly not a 5 quart pasta pot. Actually, the photo was very close-up and the ”pot” is actually a doll-sized toy (probably 12 - 16 oz). I would estimate the bug was 2.5″ to 3″ in length. Thanks again,
DLM
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Posted 30 September 2008
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Is this related to a Squash Bug?
I’ve seen this bug in large numbers around my vegetable garden near Dallas Texas. They often congregate in the sunflowers and are proficient fliers. They look similar to and I thought related to a squash bug. Thinking that I figured they were harmful to my veggies, so I would mash one whenever I got the chance. Until I saw this one. Seems to be quite helpful as he’s eating one of the worms on this ear of corn. But what is it?
Near Dallas, TX
Jerry D. Coombs, Wylie, TX
Wheel Bug eats Caterpillar
Hi Jerry,
Your predator is a Wheel Bug, and its resemblance to a Squash Bug is because the two are in the same insect order, but they are not closely related as they are in different families. The Wheel Bug is in the Assassin Bug family. We are pleased to add you photo to our food page section.
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Posted 22 September 2008
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Tagged: food chain
pic of some Emesinae assassin bugs mating
Not sure of what the exact species is, but its in Emesinae I’m sure. Found it while out camping Red River Gorge in Kentucky. I run an indoor butterfly garden in NY state, so if you ever would like help IDing some of the random tropical butterflies, let me know, I’d be glad to help you. Thanks,
Tad Yankoski
Entomologist
Strong National Museum of Play
www.museumofplay.org
tyankoski@museumofplay.org
Hi Tad,
If you are unsure what species these mating Thread-Legged Assassin Bugs are, we aren’t even going to venture a guess. The photo sure is a jumble of thread legs. Perhaps we will take you up on your tropical butterfly identification offer next time we are in a bind.
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Posted 31 August 2008
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Tagged: bug love
Did You See?
Greetings:
Won’t bug you again with this, (pun intended) but a while back I sent in a pic of a Wheel Bug that landed on the mirror of my 18 wheeler and was giving me the stink-eye as I took his (her?) picture. Anyway, I have been looking on your website and I just don’t think there is a better image of one up close and personal. Maybe I am biased, but I think it’s a cool image, the way he’s looking at the camera. Well, I just thought you may have missed it in the pile of images you receive every day. So, here it is one more time and if it doesn’t get posted I will figure my idea of a decent shot might not be as good as I thought it was. Either way, happy trails
Dave
Hi Dave,
We generally post lateral views of Wheel Bugs so that the distinctive wheel or cog on the thorax is plainly visible. A dorsal view does not accentuate this distinguishing feature. In making that decision in the past, we realize that dorsal views of Wheel Bugs are noticeably absent on our site, and your photo fills a void. As far as choosing who has the best Wheel Bug photo, we don’t really want to go there because we have no desire to pit our readership against one another.
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Posted 17 August 2008
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Armored Bug–Doing Battle and Taking Prisoners in Canonsburg, PA
Hi Bugman. I think this is the dreaded "wheel bug". I’ve never seen one before, but I was able to identify it (at least tentatively) through your website. Thanks for a great resource–wish you’d do a print version I could keep in my pocket so that when I encounter these beasts, I’d be better prepared. 
Misty Doy
Hi Misty,
it is ironic that a few minutes ago we responded to a reader who was nervous that an Assassin Bug was going to eat the Anise Swallowtail Caterpillars she was raising, that we couldn’t recall seeing images of Assassin Bugs feeding on caterpillars. Your documentation of a Wheel Bug feeding on a Wooly Bear is wonderful. We have toyed with the idea of a book, but first we must find an interested publisher. Also, we doubt that our book would make a very good field guide. We strongly recommend Eric Eaton’s Kaufman Guide.
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Posted 11 August 2008
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What is it?
Bugman,
I live in near Tucson, Arizona and found this pretty bug in my yard. I would like to know what it is, I have never seen one like it before. Thank you,
Joann
Hi Joann,
This is a Yellow-Bellied Bee Assassin, Apiomerus flaviventris, a species that is associated with Arizona. Handle with care as Assassin Bugs can bite.
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Posted 10 August 2008
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Some type of Leaf or Wood Bug- nice chompers
This fellow was resting on an old windowsill in June. (Location South Carolina) I’m not sure what he is, but I thought his expression was pretty neat and wanted to share him/her.
~Enjoy !~
Melissa ‘Liss ‘ Burnell
Hi Liss,
Your critter is a Bee Assassin, Apiomerus crassipes, one of the Assassin Bugs.
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Posted 04 August 2008
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