rss No its not a teddy bear!
Location: Mannford OK
June 1, 2011 9:15 pm
I saw this bug at my mother house June 1st in Mannford OK. The thing flew away.
Can you tell me what it is?
Signature: Marne
Clavate Tortoise Beetle
Dear Marne,
The markings on the elytra of the Clavate Tortoise Beetle do resemble the outline of a Teddy Bear.
Blue Beetle ID
Location: central California
June 1, 2011 1:32 pm
Hello Bugman,
Can you help me in identifying these beetles? Sure are eye-catching.
Thank you very much.
Signature: Dak
Blue Milkweed Beetles
Hi Dak,
These distinctive beetles are called Blue Milkweed Beetles, Chrysochus cobaltinus, and we are quite pleased that you captured one pair in the act of mating.
Hello Daniel,
Thank you for your quick ID and for maintaining such a interesting site!
Dak
round red and black beetle
Location: Northeast Illinois
May 29, 2011 9:32 pm
Hello. I saw this beetle on my butterfly weed at dusk. It was very shiny, round, highly domed, and larger than a normal ladybug – maybe half an inch across.
Can you ID it? Thanks!
Signature: Clare
Swamp Milkweed Beetle
Hi Clare,
WE are guessing that the plant you are calling “butterfly weed” is actually a species of Milkweed because this is a Swamp Milkweed Beetle, Labidomera clivicollis. The caterpillars of the Monarch Butterfly feed on Milkweed and the flowers attract numerous species of butterflies. Many of the insects that feed on milkweed have aposomatic warning coloration (black and red) as feeding on milkweed either makes them distasteful or possibly toxic to predators.
iridescent beetle
May 29, 2011 11:22:19 AM PDT
found in montano de oro state pakr, CA
may, 2010
Clare
Skeletonizing Leaf Beetle
Hi Clare,
Interestingly, when we searched BugGuide for the identity of this Skeletonizing Leaf Beetle, we discovered an image posted there that we also have on WTB?, but which has been unidentified. The larvae of this beetle, Trirhabda flavolimbata, feed on the leaves of Baccharis. We were uncertain if they were Sawfly Larvae or Leaf Beetle Larvae, and now we know that they are the latter.
Update: May 29, 2011 3:22 PM PST
In a moment of clarity, we realized all we need to do is to copy the previous posting onto the chronological end of this posting.
Skeletonizing Leaf Beetle Larvae on Baccharis
caterpillars in coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) in Carpinteria, CA
Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 9:38 PM
I’m not sure what these green caterpillars are. There were hundreds of them in the Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis) at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park this past weekend.
John Callender
Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park, Carpinteria, CA
Hi John,
We will check with Eric Eaton, but we believe these are Sawflies and not Caterpillars. Sawflies are the larval form of a non-stinging member of the order of insects that includes ant, bees and wasps, Hymenoptera.
Update:
Daniel:
Hard to tell from the image, but either sawfly larvae or chrysomelid leaf beetle larvae.
Eric
Update: May 29, 2011
Upon searching for the identity of a Skeletonizing Leaf Beetle on BugGuide, we discovered that these are the larvae of Trirhabda flavolimbata.
beetle
Location: Sheffield MA
May 13, 2011 8:21 pm
Found this morning May 13 at Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield MA.
Appx 1/4 inch in length.
Signature: Tom
Leaf Beetle
Dear Tom,
This is a Leaf Beetle in the genus Calligrapha, but we are uncertain of the species as so many species in the genus look very similar. The markings on your individual closely resembles this photo of Calligrapha amator posted on BugGuide.
Beautiful Golden Beetle
Location: Columbia, Maryland
May 13, 2011 9:48 am
Dear ”Bugman”,
Today my son found a beautiful bright metallic gold beetle with the most intricate design on it’s wings in our house. I HATE bugs but this one was quite pretty. It was the size of a ladybug. The design almost looked like a lace design. It had a black head and it had red wings. I looked up other pictures on the internet of tortoise beetles and they didn’t quite look like what we saw. Maybe you can help? I have never seen anything like it before.
Signature: Jennifer
possibly Dogwood Leaf Beetle
Dear Jennifer,
This is one of the Leaf Beetles in the genus Calligrapha. It most closely resembles the Dogwood Leaf Beetle, Calligrapha philadelphica, which is pictured on BugGuide, or the Common Leaf Calligrapha, Calligrapha multipunctata, which is also pictured on BugGuide. Our money is on the Dogwood Leaf Beetle because the markings on the individual in this photo on BugGuide most closely resemble the markings on your individual.
Thank you! I did figure it out later in the day yesterday. I figured it was a Calligrapha multipunctata which eats willow trees I guess? But the one you stated Calligrapha philadelphica definitely makes sense. The picture I took did not do the beetle any justice. It looked like it had been spray painted a beautiful metallic gold. And it had maroon colored wings under it’s gold wings. I have never seen one before. Very pretty!
-Jennie
Beetle on Citrus
Location: West Los Angeles, CA
April 19, 2011 2:54 am
I saw this beetle on a citrus shrub in my yard last month in West Los Angeles in the Santa Monica Mountains. It’s about the size of a Ladybird Beetle.
Signature: Robert
Australian Tortoise Beetle
Hi Robert,
According to BugGuide, the Australian Tortoise Beetle or Eucalyptus Tortoise Beetle, Trachymela sloanei, was: “Introduced from Australia. First recorded in 1998 in California.“ BugGuide also indicates that it feeds on Eucalyptus, and there is no indication it feeds on citrus. The County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commissioner has an excellent pdf on this “new agricultural pest for Southern California.
Thank you so much for the ID on this beetle. It just so happens that we have two huge Eucalyptus trees in our yard. Somehow he found his way to the citrus.
Thanks again.
Robert
Cowboy Ladybug?
Location: Austin, Texas
April 16, 2011 11:58 am
Hello! I found this beetle about a month ago, in mid-March, here in Austin, Texas. I was struck by its country-western look, and blogged it as a ”Cowboy Ladybug.” But do you know a more accurate title for this beautiful beetle?
Signature: Jessica
possibly Common Willow Calligrapha
Dear Jessica,
This is a Leaf Beetle in the genus Calligrapha. According to BugGuide, there are 38 species in North America. We believe your individual most closely resembles the Common Willow Calligrapha, Calligrapha multipunctata, based on photos on BugGuide.
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