Darth Maul bug in China
July 4, 2010
I have a grape tree growing in my back yard. I few months ago, as spring turned to summer, small black bugs, with white spots, started appearing on the tree (looking a lot like Shadows from Babylon 5.) I hosed the tree with water, and they disappeared. But now they are back, looking bigger and meaner! :s
It’s summer here now, with temperatures up to 40 C.
I just want to know if they are dangerous or not. After all, this is China, and you can never be sure of anything here….
HuanChu
Beijing, China
Lycorma delictula
Dear HuanChu,
Last June we received our first identification request from China for this immature Fulgorid Leafhopper which Karl, a longtime contributor to our website identified as Lycorma delictula, the White Cicada. Here is an excerpt from Karl’s response last year.
Another Update from Karl
Unknown Chinese Hemipteran
July 31, 2009
Daniel:
I dug a little deeper and found an interesting story behind this handsome creature. The species is Lycorma delictula (Family Fulgoridae : Subfamily Aphaeninae) and it has the erroneous common name White Cicada. Originally from southern China, it has been on the move recently and appears to have made quite a nuisance of itself outside of its natural range, particularly on the Korean Peninsula. I even found one reference in a report on China-Korea trade relations where it was referred to as “adding insult to injury”. It makes a living by sucking tree sap. Regards.
Karl
¶ Posted 05 July 2010 § ‡ ° Mystery Red and Blue Insect
June 4, 2010
While weeding my herb garden, I found the most beautiful little mystery bug relaxing on one of my peppermint plants! He was very small, maybe 7mm long. I’d never seen one before! I’d love to know what this guy is, so I know if he’s a danger to my herbs or not.
Katy
Toledo, OH
Candystriped Leafhopper
Hi Katy,
This Candystriped Leafhopper, Graphocephala coccinea, is one of the Leafhoppers in the Sharpshooter subfamily Cicadellinae. BugGuide has a nice information page on the species.
2
¶ Posted 04 June 2010 § ‡ ° Red nosed bug in Chinese school
May 16, 2010
Hi Bugman,
This crazy looking bug flew into my classroom here in China. The kids tried to stamp on him but I managed to save him and pop him back out the window.
I’m intrigued to know what he is, I assumed his name would mention the huge red nose he’s sporting, but I’m not having any luck searching.
Joe in China
Guangzhou, South China
Lanternfly
Hi Joe,
This is a Fulgorid Planthopper, and it is sometimes called a Lanternfly. This species is Pyrops candelarius, and we located a photo of a mounted specimen on a museum website, and there is a brief description and photo of a living specimen on Wikipedia.
Lanternfly
¶ Posted 17 May 2010 § ‡ ° Extremely cute mystery beetle – help?
April 19, 2010
Hi, WTB!
I have no idea what this bug is or where it came from. I was sitting on our front porch when he (I’ll assume it’s a he) came strolling across the banister. I ran in the house, grabbed the digital camera, and stood there fumbling with it while Mystery Bug stood around waiting for me to get ready. He was extremely cooperative throughout the process and didn’t seem to mind the profanity spewing forth out of me as I attempted to operate the camera and deal with the fact that it refused to let me zoom in on anything and that its “macro” setting lies like a dog (but makes flowers ten feet away look AMAZING).
In any case, the pictures do this little bug no justice. It was about the size of my pinky fingernail and it had little pink eyes set very far apart on its head like a cow. It seemed to flutter its wings nervously now and then, but didn’t fly away even when poked at. In fact, I wasn’t altogether all that sure it could fly at all until it finally did, after I was done, very quickly.
In addition to the three pictures I have enclosed here, I also have some very lovely snapshots of our porch and flowerbed with a comically out-of-focus bug in the middle of them if you are interested.
Any help you could provide in identification would be greatly appreciated.
Love Always,
Ben
Spartanburg, SC
Treehopper
Hi Ben,
This is a Treehopper, and we are relatively certain it is Smilia fasciata based on images posted to BugGuide.
Treehopper
¶ Posted 19 April 2010 § ‡ ° Rocket Bug
April 15, 2010
Photos are 2010-04-10
Three stages of the bug
Host plant is Ceanothus megacarpus
Santa Monica Mountains, CA
Bug oozes clear fluid
Bug length ~ .25 inch
Pinetar
Santa Monica Mountains, CA
Planthopper
Dear Pinetar,
This is a Planthopper in the superfamily Fulgoroidea, but we have not had much success identifying the species on BugGuide. Your photos are quite wonderful and comprehensive. They depict the winged adult as well as the nymphs, and the white individual is a newly metamorphosed adult.
newly metamorphosed Planthopper
We like when the host plant species is identified in the letter as that often helps in the identification, but in this case, our early attempts at species identification have drawn blanks. We are going to try to find some experts who can assist in this identification, but we have additional questions. Is the host plant in a garden or is it growing wild? We believe your individuals are in the family Issidae which is represented on BugGuide with this information: “Issidae usually have shorter wings than Flatidae, and lack the warty surface on the forewings where they meet over the back. Issid nymphs have straight, bundled wax filaments projecting from the rear, not bushy as in flatid nymphs.“
Immature Planthoppers
Daniel
Thank you for your speedy and accurate reply. I am impressed.
Your ID as Issid Neaethus (photo 64951) looks darn close.
My darling Rocket Bugs are from the wilds of the Santa Monica Mountains – on the Old Boney Trail at ~1,800ft.
I have attached 3 more frames that might help.
304 - rocket bug face-off
310 - another close-up of our plant hopper
299 - this frame has 2 interesting features
1 – 2 nymphs in an alternate phase, where the rocket exhaust is gone, the abdomen is greatly swollen, the eyes have darkened and the wings are enlarged and in permanent extension. Perhaps it is about to enter metamorphosis
2 – note the clear fluid on a twigglet near the bottom of the frame – this is from the plant hoppers. It caused the ground to look like it had rained and is what made me stop and investigate the source.
At first I thought the ‘rain’ was coming directly from the ceanothus – and without thinking I tasted it – now my wife says I’m beginning to resemble a rocket bug - I do have to admit that the little guys are starting to look darn right beautiful to me – and maybe I am developing a hankering for that big-pod buckbrush – so what. She hopes I enter metamorphosis and fly away.
Oh well – it’s all for science – there has to be some sacrifice.
Thanks for your continued interest in this bug.
Let me know what you scare up.
Planthopper Nymphs
Hi John,
Thanks so much for the follow up information. We will link to Neaethus on BugGuide. Many Aphids and Planhoppers exude honeydew which is sweet and sticky.
Issid Planthopper Colony
Rosemary bush bug infestation
April 11, 2010
Came home today (4-11-10) to find my rosemary bush covered in these soapy, bubbly masses. Inside the bubbles are tiny beetle critters that are half black and half yellow. (front half is black, rear half is yellow) Crawling around the bush are all black ones. They are only a mm or 2 big. Although rosemary is supposed to repel mosquitos, mine houses a swarm of skeeters. Couldn’t find any mosquito stages that look like these. They have 6 legs and no wings-they sure can jump, though! Very oval shaped, no distinguishable head from the rear. Slow walkers. Tried to get pics but they are too small for my camera to focus. Kind of looks like the black/yellow ones are creating the bubbles. Included a somewhat visible pic of the plant with the soapy stuff. Also, the leaves of the rosemary seem to be getting a yellowy spotting, not their usual even-toned green. Could this be due to the bugs? What should I do about them? Any insight at all would be helpful. Thanks!!
Confused in California
Southern California
Spittle from Spittlebugs
Hi Rosemary,
This is spittle produced by a Spittlebug, a small leafhopper-like insect that produces a frothy mass from its anus as protection. The immature Spittlebug does not leave the spittle mass, but the winged adult is more mobile.
Spittle from Spittlebug
Thank you so much for the information! Sounds like they are basically harmless and this is a very hardy Rosemary so I’ll let the critters be. Thanks again for your fast response!
2
¶ Posted 11 April 2010 § ‡ ° Interesting Insect from NW Costa Rica
March 31, 2010
I found this beautiful bug sitting on a smooth-barked tree over a stream at mid-elevation in a park at Rincon de la Vieja in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica’s northwest. I truthfully do not know what this beautiful creature is, my friend called it a treehopper or leaf hopper or something but I’m sorry I can’t be of any more help.
Dave
Rincon de la Vieja, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Lanternfly from Costa Rica
Hi Dave,
This is a Fulgorid Planthopper, commonly called a Lanternfly. We posted a photo of this species this past January, and Piotr Naskrecki identified it as Phrictus quinquepartitus.
2
¶ Posted 31 March 2010 § ‡ ° Whitefly Pupa???
March 29, 2010
3:1 before crop. I’m completely oblivious to what this is….
Found it on a tangerine leaf this December.
Jonathan Campos
Los Angeles, CA
Unknown Scale
Hi Jonathan,
This appears to be some species of Soft Scale Insect in the family Coccidae. We found a photo on BugGuide of Saissetia coffeae that looks similar, but different nonetheless. There is also something of a resemblance to the Soft Brown Scale, Coccus hesperidum, also pictured on BugGuide. We are fairly certain your photo depicts a different, though related species. Scale Insects can do great harm to agricultural crops and ornamental plants. We are concerned that this might be a newly imported Citrus Pest as though the threat of the Citrus Psyllid, profiled on Featured Creatures, isn’t enough.
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