Random BugLocation: Northwest – Washington State – Western side
August 16, 2010 7:45 pm
Me and my family have been trying to figure out what this guy is. He seems to have poped out of no where. He seems to have beetle features but is black and white with a horizontal line pattern up his back. Also just below his head is a giant black circle.
Kiriku
Banded Alder Borer
Hi Kiriku,
We just finished posting another photo of a Banded Alder Borer, also known as a California Laurel Borer, Rosalia funebris, just a few minutes ago.
¶ Posted 16 August 2010 § ‡ ° unknown bug
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon
August 16, 2010 8:57 pm
We were hoping you could help identify this bug we saw on vacation. Never seen anything that looked like this before.
Thanks!!
Jenny
Banded Alder Borer
Hi Jenny,
In our opinion, the Banded Alder Borer, the insect represented in your photograph, is probably the most beautiful North American beetle.
Thank you! You’re right it was very beautiful and unique. 
¶ Posted 16 August 2010 § ‡ ° bug identification
Location: Central Texas
August 12, 2010 11:58 am
Could you please identify this bug. I live in central Texas. 100 degree weather right now. Was on our wood pile
Nina F
Mesquite Borer with Phoretic Mites
Hi Nina,
We wish your photos were not so blurry and that they had more detail. This looks like a Locust Borer, Megacyllene robiniae, and it appears to be covered with Mites. We suspect they are Phoretic Mites and not Parasitic Mites. Phoretic Mites are opportunistic, and they use other insects for transportation purposes. We have never seen such a large quantity of Phoretic Mites on any insect other than a Carrion Beetle. Was the wood in your wood pile black locust? Knowing that would add evidence to our assumption that the beetle in your photo is a Locust Borer.
Mesquite Borer with Phoretic Mites
Update: Nina provided us with a comment that the wood pile is 90% mesquite and 10% oak, and that made a huge difference. Her borer is a Mesquite Borer, Placosternus difficilis, which looks very similar to the Locust Borer. BugGuide even provides a visual comparison.
¶ Posted 16 August 2010 § ‡ ° California Root Borer???
Location: Northeastern United States (Ohio, USA)
August 13, 2010 9:00 pm
Dear Bugman: This bug was on our screenhouse while we were camping in our home state of Ohio in the middle of July. From your photos it resembles the California Root Borer but we are a long way from there. This one also appears longer. This was a big bugger about 2 1/4 inches long. At first glance before the pic was took it looked like it had silver drops for eyes along with the gold bands and we wondered if it had been eating radiation. I’ve seen many bugs in my day but not like this one.
Kathy (Ohio)
Brown Prionid
Hi Kathy,
For some reason, your entire digital file didn’t properly download and there are missing pixels that have cropped into this Brown Prionid’s abdomen. Your observation that it looked similar to a California Root Borer is quite astute as they are both in the same tribe, Prionini. Your Brown Prionid is Orthosoma burnneum, and according to BugGuide it is found in moist forested areas from May to November. Though there is an extended sighting period noted, most of the submissions of Giant Root Borers in the subfamily Prioninae, humorously referred to on BugGuide as “The Really Big Borers” come in July and August.
Hello Daniel,
Thanks for your quick response and thorough information. I’m sorry about the cropped pic. My son took the pic and IM’ed it to me. If I can get a better one from him, I will email it to you. My brother and I are very interested in bugs. We have said that since our weather here in Ohio has been very hot and humid this summer and likened to the southern US climate that we may start to see insects indigenous to that area migrating up north. We feel this is an interesting concept and worth the watch. If I notice this then I will email you the info.
…
Kathy C. Seeman
¶ Posted 15 August 2010 § ‡ ° Orange bug
Location: Brittany, Northern France
August 14, 2010 10:42 am
This bug crawled out of a woodpile. The nearest I can get to it with my identification book is the cardinal beetle, pyrochroa occinea, but this one has orange lower legs and the wing covers (elytra) are a different shape.
Thanks for your help!
Permaculture in Brittany
Longicorn
Dear Permaculture in Brittany,
We were not familiar with the Cardinal Beetle, so we researched it. It is a Fire Colored Beetle in the family Pyrochroidae. Your beetle is a Longhorned Borer Beetle or Longicorn in the Family Cerambycidae. We located a website of Longicorns from France, and we believe your beetle is Corymbia rubra. The following information is provided in the Lepturinae subfamily page: “Vit sur troncs abattus de conifères, saules et fleurs, visible d’Avril à Juillet La femelle est plus grande que le mâle qui a un pronotum noir Larves dans les troncs de conifères morts Tribue des Lepturini” but alas, we do not speak French, but perhaps our website’s translation feature will crack the code. The Garden Safari website discusses the sexual dimorphism of the species, and that indicates the coloration of your specimen makes her female. The Garden Safari indicates: “With the majority of beetle species the male and the female are almost identical. In a few exceptions, however, there are striking differences between the two genders. This is the case with Corymbia rubra, a species quite common on flowers in the gardens. The male is slender, brownish and has a black neck shield. It seldomly reaches a length of over 15 mm. The female is bigger and more plump, reaching some 20 mm in length regularly. Her body is reddish, including the neck shield. Actually they do look like two completely different species! This particular species is very rare in the UK because the plants the larvae feed on are not indigenous in Britain. It is still often referred to by either of its former scientific names Leptura rubra or Stictoleptura rubra.”
Very many thanks for your comprehensive reply, Daniel. I’ve posted your help on our blog http://permacultureinbrittany.blogspot.com/ . I’m getting more interested in beetles, especially dung beetles with regard to pasture improvement, so shall keep visiting your site but not bothering you too often with questions. I might treat myself to your book when it’s published too.
Best wishes,
Stuart and Gabrielle
Hi Stuart and Gabrielle,
We peeked at your blog, and your grounds made us a bit envious as it compares to our own tiny plot in Los Angeles with its three young chickens (anticipating the first eggs), vegetable patch and compost pile.
¶ Posted 15 August 2010 § ‡ ° Is this a beetle?
Location: Southern Oregon
August 13, 2010 2:19 am
Hi. There is a huge beetle on my window screen. The body measured 1.5” and the antennae are probably the same. I live out in the woods of southern Oregon and keep getting weird bugs trying to get in but this one is creepy. I can’t get a good picture of the head or mandibles (which are huge!). Can you please tell me what this is? Thanks.
Anna
California Root Borer
Hi Anna,
This impressive beetle is a California Root Borer, Prionus californicus. The mandibles are necessary so that the adult beetle can chew its way to the surface after pupation. The larvae bore in rotting wood that is in contact with soil and they pupate inside the wood. Adults, especially males, are attracted to lights. Your specimen is a male judging by his antennae. This is the second image of a California Root Borer we are posting this morning.
¶ Posted 13 August 2010 § ‡ ° I have found this hanging it out, didnt like pics taken
Location: Selah,WA
August 13, 2010 3:29 am
Hey Bugman glad i found the website, i came home at 12am and found this beetle hanging out in front my neighbors door
Thank you Lucas Clark
California Root Borer
Hi Lucas,
You have encountered a California Root Borer, Prionus californicus, a member of the Longhorned Borer Beetle subfamily Prionini. There are sixteen known species in the genus in North America that look similar and you may read about them on the BugGuide information page for the genus. Your specimen is a male as evidenced by his well developed antennae. The males are frequently attracted to porch lights.
thank you i appreciate the speedy reply, i guess i have never seen them before
¶ Posted 13 August 2010 § ‡ ° Locust Borer mimics wasp
Location: Fairfield, Maine USA
August 8, 2010 3:22 pm
Dear Bugman,
Today I found this thing in the Goldenrod. First I though it was wasp, but as I got closer I knew it was not a wasp. I got a bunch of pictures of it feeding on nectar. It was hard to get a view of the underside because it was always clinging against the flower. I looked it up on B.G. and it seems to be an adult Locust Borer-Megacyllene robiniae. Can you confirm the identification? It’s larva seem to be considered a pest to Black Locust trees…
Thanks
James R
Locust Borer
Hi James,
Your identification is correct, and yes, the Locust Borer is an excellent wasp mimic. We are thrilled to receive your images of the adult Locust Borer on its favorite food flower, the Goldenrod.
Locust Borer
¶ Posted 09 August 2010 § ‡ ° 
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