black and white striped bug
July 14, 2010
I found this bug located against the side of a building in Downtown Vancouver and had never seen it before. It has been there for two days in the same location and only moved up or down the wall. It is currently summer and warm between 15C and 23C.
Curious in Vancouver
Vancouver, BC Canada
Banded Alder Borer
Hi Curious,
The Banded Alder Borer, Rosalia funebris, ranges from Alaska to California on the west coast, and in California is is also known as the California Laurel Borer.
¶ Posted 15 July 2010 § ‡ ° Beetle ID
July 11, 2010
What is this bug? It was on the side of my house July 10, 2010 on a nice warm night when I went out to take pictures of a beautiful rainbow.
Missy
Southern Maine
Broad Necked Root Borer
Hi Missy,
We have received many identification requests for Broad Necked Root Borers, Prionus laticollis, recently, and we have posted many of the photos. They have all been of females with ovipositors visible. Your beetle is a male of the species. The males have much more pronounced antennae.
¶ Posted 12 July 2010 § ‡ ° Black / Orange Beetle with large orange tail
July 8, 2010
Saw this large Black and orange tailed beetle in my garden in upstate NY, near the capital. One of the biggest bugs I am seen around this area. Can you help identify it?
Sincerely Ryan
Upstate NY
Broad Necked Root Borer
Hi Ryan,
This is a female Broad Necked Root Borer, Prionus laticollis, a species that we have posted several images of in the past few days. The orange tail that you describe is her ovipositor and she uses it to bury her eggs where the hatchling larvae have access to roots, their food source.
¶ Posted 09 July 2010 § ‡ ° Cottonwood Borer
July 7, 2010
I found this bug in my back yard and looked it up on your website. Using your recourses, I think I have correctly identified this insect but I think that my photos depict this insect better than the one demonstrated on your website.
If you agree, you’re more than welcome to use them.
George Gonzales
North Texas, Euless
Cottonwood Borer
Hi George,
Your identification of the Cottonwood Borer, Plectrodera scalator, is correct. We are not certain which of the many photographs posted to our website you are comparing your images to, but the submissions from our readership run the gamut from totally blurry to finely focused and of high resolution. Since the beginning of our site migration last year about this time, we have offered a new feature of being able to enlarge the images posted to our site to a maximum of 800×550 ppi, and all previous images are much smaller files.
Cottonwood Borer
¶ Posted 08 July 2010 § ‡ ° large black &white striped bug with thick antena
July 8, 2010
i spoted this bug crawling on a wall in by back yard. It scared the heck out of me .i had never seen anything like it before. any idea what it is?
christina
southern california
Banded Alder Borer
Hi Christina,
This Banded Alder Borer or California Laurel Borer, Rosalia funebris, is a native insect that is sometimes attracted to paint fumes.
¶ Posted 08 July 2010 § ‡ ° Black beetle with retractable stinger
July 7, 2010
We found this bug on the side of a maple tree. It is about two inches long not measuring what looks like a stinger that it can retract. It doesn’t move much and looks impressive. We looked all through the beetle pictures and couldn’t find a match. Can you help us?
Thanks!
Walnut Hill Gang
Natick MA
Broad Necked Root Borer
Dear Walnut Hill Gang,
Your beetle is a female Broad Necked Root Borer, Prionus laticollis. The stinger is actually the ovipositor of the female and she uses her ovipositor to deposit eggs. According to BugGuide: “Eggs are inserted into ground (or under litter) in groups. Larvae tunnel downward to feed on living roots of a variety of trees and shrubs. At first they may feed on bark, but then proceed to hollow out small roots. Pupation occurs in spring, about 10 cm under the ground. Life cycle probably three years.“
Broad Necked Root Borer
¶ Posted 07 July 2010 § ‡ ° Identifying Giant “Beetle” in Tucson
July 6, 2010
Hello, this passed fourth of July, I was called in to carry children away from a giant scary bug. By the time I had gotten there, three children, all under the age of six were cautiously trying to get through the front door, which was guarded by an unknown watch-dog of a bug. For kicks, would you be so kind as to identify it, and let them know how much danger, (If real or not hah) they were in?
It was about a little bigger than a pill bottle from top to bottom.
The bug itself was very docile if at times it moved fast, it was only to retreat from them and possibly light sources.
I’ve searched high and low and have not been able to identify our friend here. Apologies for only being able to provide one picture, it was hectic at the moment.
Thank you in advance.
Sincerely, Alejandro Incognito
Tucson, Arizona Southwestern USA
Palo Verde Root Borer we believe
Dear Alejandro,
Your photograph shows the general outline of a Prionid Root Borer in the subfamily Prioninae, but there isn’t enough detail to conclusively identify the species. There are many species that can be found in Arizona, as browsing through the possibilities at BugGuide will reveal. Our best guess on this is the Palo Verde Root Borer, Derobrachus hoverei, as it most closely resembles the general structure and coloration discernible in your photograph. All of the Prionids have strong mandibles because after they metamorphose into adults, they need to chew out of the roots and stumps where they have spent their larval years feeding on wood pulp. According to BugGuide: “Adults attracted to lights.”
¶ Posted 06 July 2010 § ‡ ° Long, sedentary beetle in NJ
July 4, 2010
Hi,
I trolled BugGuide with no success. This critter, with a length of about 3 or 4cm, stayed stationary all evening. It was about 70F with moderate humidity on a clear night.
Thanks, and happy 4th!
Greg in NJ
Central NJ
Brown Prionid
Good Morning Greg,
Your beetle is the Brown Prionid, Orthosoma brunneum, and it can be recognized, according to BugGuide, by “Light brown, sides of elytra parallel. 11-segmented antennae, rounded, never flattened.“
2
¶ Posted 04 July 2010 § ‡ ° 
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