name that bug!
Location: cordova, tennessee
June 24, 2011 11:02 pm
any ideas. might the one be a type of tortoise beetle (?)
i have no idea about the green and orange one (about 1cm length)
Signature: mavis
Sharpshooter
Hi Mavis,
Your green and orange insect is a Leafhopper in the group known as the Sharpshooters, and we believe we have correctly identified it as Graphocephala versuta on BugGuide. According to BugGuide, this species sucks the juices from “leaves of blackberry, grape, honeysuckle, privet (Ligustrum spp.), cherry and various other deciduous trees.” This remark may also be significant: “Some individuals may be vectors of the bacterium (Xylella fastidiosa) that causes Pierce’s Disease in grapes, and Bacterial Leaf Scorch in a variety of deciduous trees.” The creature in your other photo is not something that we recognize.
you are absolutely right and i thank you. i have been documenting the bugs/spiders… that i find in my yard in a 5 day bio blitz. it has been most interesting.
mavis
¶ Posted 25 June 2011 § ‡ ° Flatid bug
Location: Unknown- possibly Central America
June 17, 2011 5:21 am
Hello,
I’m currently updating our small Hemiptera collection at Manchester Museum. This specimen came with no label. I’ve searched for visual information online but have found nothing save for a plate in Biologia Centrali America which shows an illustration of a similar looking species. The plate can be found here (no. 17)
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/bca/navigation/bca_18_01_00/bca_18_01_00showplate.cfm?id=172
The Biologia Centrali-America lists the species as Flata conspersa (its modern name seems to be Doria conspersa), however I can find no more information on this insect, and was hoping I could get a second opinion. Is it a Doria?
Many Thanks,
Signature: Gina Allnatt, Curatorial Trainee at Manchester Museum
Flatid Planthopper
Goodness Gina,
You probably have better credentials than we have. We’re just visual artists with a little extra time on our hands and we have no formal entomological or even naturally scientific training. Based on our visual observations compared the gorgeous old illustration in the image in the link you provided, we believe you have nailed this identification as Flata conspersa, the genus which has obviously undergone more recent taxonomic revision. We would suggest that you log onto our posting and supply a comment. In the future, should an expert in Flatids write to us, that person may be able to confirm this identification and you will automatically be notified.
Bug on my Gay Butterflies
Location: Central Texas
June 1, 2011 7:22 pm
I went out to water our flowers this evening and noticed these bugs on my Gay Butterflies. As you can see from the attached photo, there are plenty of them. I have not been able to identify them from my searches and would like to identify if they are harmful to our flowers or if they will be okay to leave alone. The bugs have 6 legs, 2 antlers/feelers, and what looks like two feelers or antlers on their back behind their back legs. We have a lot of lowers in the flower bed (26 to be exact) and the gay butterflies are the only thing that seems to attract these critters.
Signature: Derrick
Milkweed Aphids
Hi Derrick,
You definitely have Aphids, and we have never heard of a plant called a Gay Butterfly, but it appears to be a milkweed, which would be strong evidence that your Aphids are Milkweed Aphids, Aphis asclepiadis. They do match the images posted to BugGuide. Using pesticides may compromise the butterflies you are hoping will be attracted by the plant. We would suggest a strong spray of water from the hose to remove the Milkweed Aphids.
help with ID
Location: southern California
May 30, 2011 1:08 pm
I found this bug living on a plant called lochroma in my yard. I don’t remember seeing this bug before. They are grouped up on the stems of the plant and where the stems branch out. There is a steady steam of ants coming and going to the clusters of this bug. I sprayed with neem oil yesterday but they look fine and healthy today.
Signature: Scott
Keelbacked Treehopper Nymphs
Hi Scott,
Our suspicions that you have an infestation of Keel Backed Treehopper nymphs, Antianthe expansa, was confirmed when we substantiated that your plant, lochroma, is a member of the family Solanaceae which contains tomato, pepper and eggplant. We have periodical infestations on our tomato plants in Los Angeles, especially plants that have overwintered. Adult Keelbacked Treehoppers are bright green. There is some good information on this Backyard Garden page. The ants are attracted to the honeydew produced by the Treehopper nymphs.
Keelbacked Treehopper Nymph
¶ Posted 31 May 2011 § ‡ ° Flat oval brown/grey with white margin larva on elm in NH
Location: Concord, NH
May 29, 2011 1:19 am
Just discovered several 6 to 8 millimeter flat oval larva in clusters on young Elm tree in Concord, NH. We believe ants have been farming aphids on this tree in the past and we expect they are at it again. When I scraped the clusters they are soft and become an orange-red ink like (blood colored?) mass. They seem to have collected at regions where the bark is splitting as the tree grows and at sites of pruning last fall. One photo shows how they appear to have a fuzzy white margin.
Signature: Planting Trees for Shade.
Scale on Elm
Of the European Elm Scale, Gossyparia spuria, BugGuide indicates: “Sap-sucking can cause stunted, chlorotic foliage, premature leaf drop and branch dieback. Associated black sooty mold growth from honeydew secretions on tops of branches gives trees an overall black appearance. Honeydew secretions are also a common nuisance to cars parked under infested elms.
Introduced from Europe.” It seems the European Elm Scale is an Invasive Exotic species.
European Elm Scale
Unknown leafhopper
Location: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples FL
May 24, 2011 9:12 pm
The leafhopper in the attached photo has appeared in May in Southwest Florida. I have found two photos of it online, but neither identified the species. It appears to be a powdery white with bright yellow eyes. Any ideas?
Signature: Bug curious
Citrus Flatid Planthopper
Dear Bug curious,
According to BugGuide, the Citrus Flatid Planthopper, though it is frequently found on citrus, it can also be found on a “wide range of other host plants” and then goes on to state that it “‘Feeds on just about anything green’ (Dr Hamilton).” It is also called a Floury Mothbug.
1
¶ Posted 25 May 2011 § ‡ ° Black bug orange legs
Location: Bisley, Glos
May 16, 2011 12:44 pm
100,000s of these on my chicken shed all over the place have been there for a couple of weeks wandering around not sure what they are doing or where they have come from have got a common xmas tree next to it have they hatched in it? what do I do with them the chickens don’t like them and have stopped laying
Signature: olivia
Aphids and a Mystery
Dear Olivia,
In our haste to respond to as many identification requests as possible so that we can get back to formatting the powerpoint presentation we are giving at the Theodore Payne Foundation in two weeks, we are firing off single word identifications. We continued to read your letter as we hit send and we halted at the comment you made about the chickens having stopped laying. Since Daniel had a bad experience with chickens last year and he plans to get three more hens in mid June, your comment seemed to warrant further exploration. These are Aphids, and the presence of the conifer tree nearby might indicate that they are Giant Conifer Aphids in the genus Cinara, but your photos are not that sharp and accurate species identification might not be possible. It is intriguing to us that chickens, which are known to love insects, are shunning these Aphids. We don’t have an answer, but perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide insight. We wonder if the appearance of the Aphids might be related to the egg laying moratorium. Again, we don’t know, so we pose this as a Mystery. We are also going to feature your posting in our banner of changing features in the hope of getting you an answer. If you supply a comment to the posting, then you will be notified if there is an additional comment in the distant future as we delete answered emails and we do not maintain contact information.
On hyacinth bean vine
Location: Houston, TX
May 14, 2011 10:22 am
It’s May, and almost overnight, these bugs have taken over my hyacinth bean vines. Who are these guys and can you convince me that I should love them?
Thanks!
Signature: Poston
Aphids
Dear Poston,
You (more correctly, your hyacinth bean) have Aphids. Since the female Aphid gives live parthenogenic birth to female clones, Aphids can reproduce in prodigious numbers at an expedited rate. One Aphid seems to become thousands in a rapid period of time. We have no fondness for Aphids which infest plants sucking their nutritious juices and potentially spreading pathogenic viruses to the plants. Since your hyacinth bean is a potential food plant, we do not recommend pesticides, and we personally limit the use of pesticides since they do not discriminate between beneficial and injurious species. A strong jet of water from the hose should knock off the Aphids and they can then become prey to various spiders and other creatures once they have been knocked off the food plant. You can also try to encourage insects like Lacewings and Lady Beetles as they both relish Aphids as food.
¶ Posted 14 May 2011 § ‡ ° 
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