Skip to content

Category Archives: Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers   rss

Aggregation of Unknown Red Hemipterans in Brazil

Red-orange bugs by the thousands in Southeastern Brazil, 800 m. asl
Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 5:01 AM
Our garden in Petropolis (Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil, 22º22′S 43º06′W), in the Serra do Mar, about 800 meters asl) is now filled with tens of thousands of these little red-orange bugs, with size varying from one millimeter to a centimeter. They apparently do not cause any damage to the plants, but seem to be associated with the red fruits of a nearby tree, which are all over the ground at this time of the year.
Eduardo Viveiros de Castro
Serra do Mar, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (22S43W)

redorange bugs brazil 1 300x225 Aggregation of Unknown Red Hemipterans in Brazil

Unknown Nymphs from Brazil

Hello Eduardo,
You were quite accurate in calling these bugs. They appear to be immature Hemipterans, probably True Bugs. Since they are immature, they may change in appearance as they mature. Mature Hemipterans usually have wings. There are many North American species of Hemipterans that form large aggregations like the ones depicted in your image. One of the most common is the Boxelder Bug. We are going to post your images in the hope that one of our readers can locate an accurate identification for you.

redorange bugs brazil 2 300x225 Aggregation of Unknown Red Hemipterans in Brazil

Hemipteran Aggregation

Many immature True Bugs are quite similar in appearance and it may be very difficult to get an exact species identification without seeing an adult insect.

redorange bugs brazil 3 300x225 Aggregation of Unknown Red Hemipterans in Brazil

Hemipteran Aggregation

Update: Aggregation of Unknown Red Hemipterans in Brazil
Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 3:26 PM
Hi Daniel:
Hemipteran nymphs are always difficult to identify, but I believe the ones posted by Eduardo are probably in the family Lygaeidae (chinch bugs and seed bugs). They really look very similar to early instar Large Milkweed Bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus), which range from the southern USA to Brazil. I don’t think that that’s quite it, however, for a variety of reasons (no mention of any sort of milkweed; the larger juveniles would be showing some black markings; Eduardo’s nymphs clearly have white-tipped antennae). It could be some other Oncopeltus species or it could be a related species – there are plenty to choose from in Brazil. Regards.
Karl
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showimage/995/

Posted 23 February 2009 § True Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Probably Fulgoroid Planthopper from Puerto Rico

From Puerto Rico: Hemiptera or Diptera?
Sun, Jan 25, 2009 at 7:32 AM
I thought this would be a bug, but upon looking at it more closely I believe I see alteres. Perhaps a sort of fly? It would perch on leaves and stay immobile for long periods of time. Photographed during the day, Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico.
Alejandro Sanchez
Lowland rain forest, Luquillo Mountains, eastern Puerto Rico

fly puerto rico alejandro 2 286x300 Probably Fulgoroid Planthopper from Puerto Rico

Hemipteran from Puerto Rico

Hello Alejandro,
We believe this is a fly in the order Diptera, but we are uncertain beyond that. We will check with Eric Eaton to see if he is able to provide additional information. We would not entirely rule out that this is a Hemipteran, because although the image appears to indicate halteres, the knobbed, thread-like, hind wing organs of flies, our ancient volume of Comstock’s An Introduction to Entomology states on page 59: “The hind wings of the males of the family Coccidae are also threadlike.”

fly puerto rico alejandro 208x300 Probably Fulgoroid Planthopper from Puerto Rico

Hemipteran from Puerto Rico

Correction: From Eric Eaton
Monday, January 26, 2009
Ok, the “fly” is some kind of hemipteran, probably a fulgoroid hopper, but in the tropics there are entire families not seen in North America….
Eric

Update: Tuesday January 27, 2009
Hi Daniel:
The web site Fulgoromorpha Lists on The Web (FLOW) lists only seven fulgoroid species for Puerto Rico, in two families (Achilidae and Cixiidae) and five genera. I was not able to locate images of any of the listed species, but based on related species it looks like it is probably a Cixiid (Bothriocera bicornis, Cubana tortriciformis or Oliarus cingalensis). It looks quite similar to the Bothriocera images on Bugguide. Regards.
Karl
Links: http://flow.snv.jussieu.fr/cgi-bin/flowexplorer.pl?lang= en&page=country&id=40

http://bugguide.net/node/view/43853/bgimage

Posted 25 January 2009 § ‡ Comments (1) °

Barnacle Scales

Unknown insect eggs(?)
Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Unknown insect eggs(?)
I found these on a plant in my backyard in Southern California. The plant is low and spindly and sits about two feet from a fountain that is always running. When I first took the pictures I didn’t notice the spider in the background. Yesterday, the two spiders were “face to face”. Now I notice that the one ate the other. Are they spider eggs? Did she eat him, like a black widow? What struck me about whatever these things are are their uniformity, abundance and metallic looking details.
SoCal Soundguy
Monrovia, CA

barnacle scale monrovia 300x193 Barnacle Scales

Barnacle Scales

Dear SoCal Soundguy,
These are Wax Scale Insects known as Barnacle Scales, Ceroplastes cirripediformis. You can confirm the ID on BugGuide which indicates that it is a pest on quince and citrus in Florida. It is also reported from California. Images on BugGuide include specimens found on pomegranate, camellia and sage. We located a PDF online that pictures another similar looking species, Ceroplastes ceriferus, listed as the Indian Wax Scale. Soft Scale insects are plant sucking insects that can do major damage to plants if they get too plentiful. We wish you were able to provide us with the host plant name. It looks like it might be lantana, but we are not certain.

barnacle scale monrovia 2 300x189 Barnacle Scales

Barnacle Scales

Follow up: Wax Pests
Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 2:53 PM
Daniel,
Thanks for your prompt, informative reply. You were interested in the
plant the finding came from. Not only did I send you a picture of the
plant but I did you one better: I included a picture of the plant tag
that the horticulture garden I bought it from (Huntington Gardens)
identified it with. The plant is Salvia Ulignosa.
I didn’t realize how many of these things were on the plant until I
pulled them off (they came off easily) or clipped high denisty clusters
like the branch shown. Then I burned them with a blow torch. I figured
that was the most definitive way to destroy them, lest they survive a
trip to a landfill and cause someone else a headache. …
Chuck
SoCal Soundguy
P.S. I have so tell you how satisfying it is to write your site. Answers are typically prompt, but always knowlegable and succinct. Thank you!

barnacle scales 3 chuck 213x300 Barnacle Scales

Barnacle Scales

Posted 11 January 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Fulgorid Planthopper Nymph

grasshopper???
Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 12:59 AM
hi there. I was recently on a hike in Eshowe South Africa and came across this bug. It looks like grass hopper family to me, but I cant be sure. I’d love it if you could Identify it for me! icon smile Fulgorid Planthopper Nymph
Michelle Krystle Govender
Eshowe SA

fulgorid planthopper south africa 300x224 Fulgorid Planthopper Nymph

Immature Fulgorid Planthopper

Hi Michelle,
We believe this is an immature Fulgorid Planthopper.  Other than that, we can’t give tou specifics on the species.  We have gotten numerous images from South Africa in the past week.

Posted 07 January 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Conifer Aphid

Found on the Christmas Tree
Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 10:28 AM
EEK! I went to take down my Christmas tree, which we cut from a tree farm in Florida. Crawling all over my angel at the top of the tree were these bugs, ranging in size from tiny (rice-sized) to one or two about the size of a fine-point Sharpie head. It has six legs, three on each side. One set appears to protrude from nose, like antenna. The next, slightly larger set is a bit further back, and the third set is still on the middle part of the body, but much longer. It is tear-drop shaped, and the butt seems to have a bit of a point to it. It’s dark gray. I thought they were ticks, but it only seems to have 6 legs. They were ALL over the angel, and moved very quickly. I am trying to decide what to do with the tree, my first inclination is to pitch the whole thing but of course it has my most expensive decorations and lights on it.
Beverly J.
Orlando Florida

conifer aphid beverly 300x245 Conifer Aphid

Conifer Aphid

Hi Beverly,
We wanted to check with Eric Eaton before we misidentified your insect and caused you undue alarm.  According to Eric:  “The insect is a conifer aphid in the genus Cinara.  They tend to be gray or brown rather than green, and they are quite large for aphids, too.  So, no worries.”

Posted 03 January 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Possibly Fulgorid Planthopper Nymphs

Unknown insects from Madagascar
Mon, Dec 29, 2008 at 8:36 PM
Found incidentally during a geological prospection in arbustives impenetrable hills:)
Two groups of individuals’ about twenty each, unite in end of branch, close to the soil. Do not steal (chrysalises? In transformation?)
Aragon
North of Madagascar (Ambilobe region)

fulgorid nymphs madagascar 300x225 Possibly Fulgorid Planthopper Nymphs

Immature Fulgorid Planthoppers

Dear Aragon,
What we are certain of is that these insects are in the order Hemiptera which includes True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies and probably in the Superfamily Fulgoroidea, the Planthoppers.  Many immature Fulgorid Planthoppers  secrete a white waxy substance that forms filaments and the wax is a protection for the soft bodied insects.  We suspect this may be one of the Fulgorid Planthoppers, but we are not certain.  There is a spectacular Central American Planthopper, Cerogenes auricoma , that also produces the waxy filaments as an adult.  We will continue to try to identify this insect more specifically, and we also welcome any input from our readership.

fulgorid nymphs madagascar 2 300x225 Possibly Fulgorid Planthopper Nymphs

Immature Fulgorid Planthoppers

Posted 30 December 2008 § ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

Oleander Aphids

Pollen ?
Fri, Dec 26, 2008 at 6:29 AM
Hi Bugman!
I don’t want to abuse but I have 3 different pictures. The first one we though it was pollen, but when we got close-up, we were surprised that they were small yellow bugs that we can’t identify (took at 11p.m)…
The second one is some kind of ‘spiky’ flying thing! It did not stayed long enough on the leave for me to take a better picture of it. It is about 2.5 inch long…
And the last one was taken on a grass piece, so they are very small and there’s a lot of them..
The 3 pictures were taken during summer 2008 in a Montréal park. And i’m sorry if I’m not expressing myself very well, I’m not used to write in english!
Thanks you Bugman!
Philippe
Montréal, Québec, Canada

yellow aphids philippe 198x300 Oleander Aphids

Oleander Aphids

Hi Philippe,
The yellow insects are Aphids, and we believe they are Oleander Aphids, Aphis nerii, a species introduced from the Mediterranean that now ranges over much of North America.  The species is now cosmopolitan.  According to BugGuide, they feed on milkweed as well as oleander and we get them every year on our potted Hoya plants.  BugGuide also provides this information:  “Males are apparently absent from North American populations–reproduction is by parthenogenesis.”

Posted 26 December 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Leafhopper from Australia

Unidentified Shovel Nosed Hemiptera (Aussietrev)
Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 2:37 PM
Hi Guys,
Found this guy on a Gum Tree but cannot get an ID worked out. Possibly in the Spittle bug family but cannot find anything similar. Hoping someone can help with the ID for this weird looking guy.
Merry Xmas and thanks for all the great work you guys have put in this year, especially with the new website.
aussietrev
Queensland (Capricornia Region)

leafhopper australia trevor 225x300 Leafhopper from Australia

Leafhopper

Hi Daniel,
This morning I posted a weird shovel nosed critter which I have since had identified, at least to family, by Dave Britton, collections manager of Entomology at the Australian Museum.
He said that is a leafhopper (Cicadellidae) in the tribe Ledrini. This webpage covers most of what is known about them.
http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/ascu/leafhop/cica16b.htm
Looking through the closest match I found was Platyledra caldida Evans. Apparently this group is exclusive to Australia and is the largest leaf hopper in the world growing to 28mm.
The one in the picture I sent would have been very close to that.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all at WTB,
regards,
Trevor Jinks

Hi Trevor,
Thanks for sending your Leafhopper image and also for providing a link to a great resource page.  We have been struggling to address our Christmas cards, and have been neglecting posting letters to the website in a timely manner.

Posted 24 December 2008 § ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

Page 19 of 32« First...10...1718192021...30...Last »