rss White bugs on my Dogwood
Location: Western Washington, Bellevue
August 7, 2011 5:59 pm
Hello Bugman!
Just wandering through my yard and noticed these little guys all over my dogwood and spreading to the cedar and apple next to it. Should I be concerned?
Signature: Thanks, John
Scale Insects
Hi John,
You have Scale insects, and you should try to get rid of them. We use a spray of soapy water on our plants to help eliminate Scale.
some type of bark lice?
Location: Cold Lake, AB, Canada (North East Alberta)
August 10, 2011 12:11 am
Found these guys ALL over a small cedar tree in my front yard. They covered it from top to bottom and from trunk to branch tip. The tree is now gone (was getting rid of it anyway not cause of the bugs) but there is an identical cedar four feet away from it with no bugs at all. I noticed them when I was putting a bird back in it’s nest that fell out of the infested tree. I also noticed a non stop flow of ants in and out of the tree picking these guys up and leaving with them. Also a huge amount of common blow flies in the tree as well. Any idea what these are? Been all over the net and I don’t think they are ticks or mites, closest things i could find to them were bark lice. Hope you can Help!
Signature: Chris
Cedar Aphids
Hi Chris,
These are Aphids, not Bark Lice. Whenever we receive photos of large Aphids on conifer trees, we immediately suspect that they are some species of Giant Conifer Aphid in the genus Cinara. We started to research a species that might be specific to cedar, and we found a technical paper in the online Journal of Bacteriology entitled The Striking Case of Tryptophan Provision in the Cedar Aphid Cinara cedri. Alas, BugGuide did not have any pages devoted to the Cedar Aphid, however, you may compare your images to other Giant Conifer Aphids posted to BugGuide. Aphids are insects that suck sap from plants and they produce a byproduct that is sticky and sweet and is called honey dew. Many ants form symbiotic relationships with Aphids and other Hemipterans because the ants feed on the honey dew. The ants will move the Aphids from location to location to ensure a constant renewable food source for both the aphids and ants, however, this relationship often has negative impacts on the health of the plants the Aphids are feeding upon. For this reason, Aphids are often called Ant Cattle. You should monitor the smaller cedar tree in your yard to ensure that it does not become infested with Cedar Aphids.
Cedar Aphid
New Beetle/Moth Species?
Location: Belize
August 8, 2011 9:40 pm
Hi,
I was in Central America, Belize in July 2011 and I was in the jungle of Lamanai and I spotted this beetle/moth.
While I was walking with my girlfriend, this insect flew close to her and it had beautiful blue wings while in flight with an intricate design when on the ground.
Can you help me identify this insect? Our tour guide said he’s never seen such an insect and it MAY be a undiscovered species!
I have attached a photo.
Thanks!
Michael
Signature: Danzer bug
Lanternfly from Belize
Hi Michael,
Online information on tropical species identification can often be quite sketchy and inaccurate. We can tell you that this is a Fulgorid Planthopper in the family Fulgoridae, and that they are commonly called Lanternflies, but we cannot commit to a species identification. That might take hours of searching the internet and not produce anything conclusive.
August 4, 2011
We walked back to the Milkweed Meadow in Elyria Canyon Park this morning to check on the status of the two Monarch Caterpillars, Danaus plexippus, thinking that they might have transformed into chrysalides, but I could only find one of the caterpillars. Hopefully the other was just elsewhere, or perhaps it found a nice place to metamorphose into a chrysalis
Monarch Caterpillar
A very wary Bumble Bee would not let me get close enough with the camera, and after several aborted attempts, we were lucky enough to get a few photos. This is most definitely not a Yellow Faced Bumble Bee. We were not able to get any photos of the abdominal markings until the last image.
Crotch's or California Bumble Bee???
Just as it was flying off it showed its signature markings, but interestingly, it doesn’t match any of the images on BugGuide for the four species that Charles Hogue, in his landmark book Insects of the Los Angeles Basis, indicates are found locally. After a bit more searching, we determined it might be Crotch’s Bumble Bee, Bombus crotchii, based on the illustration on the North American Bumble Bees and confirmed on the third photo down on the Las Pilitas Nursery webpage, and that appears to agree with this BugGuide image as well. The Discover Life website also has photos. Continued research is filling us with doubts. It seems to match what we identified as a California Bumble Bee when we found one napping on the wisteria this spring.
Crotch's or California Bumble Bee???
There appeared to be more Large Milkweed Bugs today than on Sunday, and there were several places where the Milkweed Aphids, AKA Oleander Aphids, Aphis nerii, were quite plentiful. Read more about Milkweed Aphids on BugGuide.
Milkweed Aphids
Before leaving, I made sure to pull some more Marestail or Horseweed, Conyza species (See Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide or CalFlora) and more of that prickly yellow flower that is still not properly identified that might be a Spiny Sowthistle, Sonchus asper (See Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide).
Update: on the Bumble Bee identity
August 5, 2011
Now we aren’t certain if the Bumble Bee is a California Bumble Bee or a Crotch’s Bumble Bee.
Update: August 7, 2011
I returned to the Milkweed Meadow in Elyria Canyon Park to search for the Monarch Chrysalis, but the only caterpillar I could find has still not metamorphosed.
Monarch Caterpillar in Elyria Canyon, August 7, 2011
I did get some additional photo of the Bumble Bee as well. Here are the abdominal markings from a different angle.
Which Bumble Bee is it? Crotch's or California???
Update: August 11, 2011
I made a trip to the Milkweed Meadow in Elyria Canyon Park this evening about 6:30 and I was unable to find any Monarch Caterpillars. I hope they wandered away from the milkweed to find a suitable location to transform into chrysalides. I photographed a couple of Large Milkweed Bugs.
Large Milkweed Bugs
The new addition to the insects that have become part of the milkweed ecosystem are Small Milkweed Bugs. I found them on two different milkweed plants.
Small Milkweed Bugs
The individual I photographed was a difficult subject, and it kept hiding among the blossoms of the milkweed inflorescence. I needed to intervene by including my hand in the photo to get a nice angle on the unwilling subject.
Small Milkweed Bug
Brazil bug
Location: Rio Negro, Brazil
July 31, 2011 3:56 pm
I found this beauty off the Rio Negro, north of Manaus, Brazil, close to Barcelos. Any idea what it could be? Definitely the strangest insect I’ve seen with my own two eyes!
Thank you very much!
Regards,
Jason Drake
Signature: Jason D.
Fulgorid Planthopper
Hi Jason,
This unusual insect is a Fulgorid Planthopper, a diverse group of insects with many exotic members, especially those residing in the tropics. The white filaments are actually a waxy substance produced by the insect, presumably for protection. Many members of the insect order Hemiptera, and that includes the Fulgorids, produces similar waxy secretions. While we do not know the exact species, we did find a matching photo on the Animals and Earth website.
July 31, 2011
Each month, on the fourth Sunday of the month, the Mt Washington Beautification Committee, co-hosted by Clare Marter Kenyon and Daniel Marlos, meets at 9:30 AM near the Red Barn in Elyria Canyon State Park. Clare takes the lead with native plant germination in the nursery and Daniel goes out weeding in areas that need special attention. This month the weeds that were targeted were invasive Conyza and an unidentified yellow thistle type plant. Daniel is especially concerned about invasive weeds crowding out the native milkweed. Elizabeth is seen pulling weeds from around the milkweed.
CLICK TO ENLARGE Elyria Canyon Work Party August 28, 2011
There is a wealth of insect life on the milkweed. Daniel saw two Monarch caterpillars of approximately the same age. They were on two different plants about ten feet apart.
Monarch Caterpillar 20110731 AM
Two different caterpillars were photographed in the morning, but in the afternoon, only the one feeding on the leaves was photographed. The other Monarch Caterpillar was feeding on blossoms. The detail that is missing from the live experience in the static photo is the twitching of the front fleshy pseudo-antennae.
Monarch Caterpillar 20110731 PM
While they were not plentiful, adult Large Milkweed Bugs, Oncopeltus fasciatus, were found singly or in pairs on the blossoms.
Large Milkweed Bugs
One pair was caught In Flagrante Delicto.
Large Milkweed Bugs Mating
TO BE CONTINUED …
… And the last of the insects found on the Indian Milkweed, Asclapias eriocarpa, were the yellow Milkweed Aphids.
Milkweed Aphids are tended by Argentine Sugar Ants
If you live in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mt Washington, or nearby Highland Park, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, South Pasadena, Atwater Villiage or Silverlake, and you want to volunteer some time on the fourth Sunday of August, come join us. Most of our volunteers walk in from various entry points to Elyria Canyon Park, but there is one small parking lot at the end of Wollum Street near the intersection of Division Street. Park in the lot and walk up the path. When the path divides, take the right path and wind uphill through the trees. When you get to the crest, you should be able to see the Red Barn down below. Stay on the paths to avoid poison oak. Take note that there is a gate on Bridgeport Drive, and we do not recommend parking there to drive to Elyria Canyon Park. If you would like additional information, please leave a comment.
White feathery insect
Location: Biggsville, Il.
July 29, 2011 4:47 pm
I saw this small white angel shaped insect in the shade garden on July 10th. I have seen it since then but it was flying or better said floating in the wind. It is about a 1/4” in length. I apologize for the clarity of the picture. Thanks for your help in advance.
Signature: Randy Anderson
Woolly Aphid
Hi Randy,
This is a Woolly Aphid in the subfamily Eriosomatinae, and we do not have the necessary skills to identify it to the species level, but you may compare your image to this photo on BugGuide. It is the end of the month, and we frequently get requests to identify a small white fairy insect, and many times no photos are included because Woolly Aphids are so tiny. We have decided to feature your photo as our Bug of the Month for August 2011, and we won’t go live with the posting until tomorrow.
Treehopper from Brazil
Location: Brazil, Northern Pantanal (MT)
July 16, 2011 11:23 am
Hello, I have photographed this Treehopper in Brazil, Northern Pantanal.
Shearching the Internet, I have found http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2011/02/06/treehopper-from-peru/ this page and thought mine was very similar.
I liked the site and decided to register to try to ID this…
Signature: www.lgphotography.fr
Unknown Treehopper from Brazil
Dear www.lgphotography.fr,
We still do not know the identity of this spectacular Treehopper, and perhaps this additional posting will lead to a proper species identification.
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