Laughing Brown Beetle
September 8, 2009
This brown beetle is speckled white and makes a laughing sound while bobbing its head if provoked. All the images are of the same bug. IT doesn’t seem to move around much. I left it on my desk and it was still in the same spot when I came back about 45 minutes later. The antennae are about as long as the body and it rotates them in opposite circles from time to time. The legs end in hook-like “feet” and it is capable of clinging to things very well. Has no problem hanging upside down. Has two ant-like mandibles jutting downward from the base of the head. The white spots on the back appear to be arranged into loose chevrons pointing towards the posterior, there are three in all. There are two symmetric orange/tan spots on the back of the head. Antennae are ro ughly 1.5in in length. Body appox. 7/8th of an inch long 1/4in wide. Head is narrower then the body and about 1/3 of the total length.
Hissing Harry
Lexington, Virginia, USA

Possibly Southern Pine Sawyer

Dear Hissing Harry,
Your photos lack clarity, but we believe this is one of the Pine Sawyers in the genus Monochamus, possibly the Southern Pine Sawyer, Monochamus titillator.  You can compare your individual to images posted to BugGuide.

Possibly Southern Pine Sawyer

I need to know the name of this beetle ASAP
September 3, 2009
Hi bugman, my name is Adam, I found this bug while doing bio-inventories, and have to submit my findings on september 8th and this is the one I can’t Id. it was about 3 cm long X 1 cm wide. found near a wetland on a beaver chewed tree stump. taken 24 Aug, 2009, mid-day
How you want your letter signed    Name and title
Geographic Location of Bug    UTM 17T271051 5135443

Possibly Banded Ash Borer

Dear Adam,
The location you indicated for this sighting, UTM 17T271051 5135443 did not produce any matches in our web search.  For all purposes, you did not provide us with a location that we can use to assist you.  The desperation in the tone of your letter would indicate that this is important, yet you failed to assist us.  The best we are able to do with limited information is to say this specimen somewhat resembles the Banded Ash Borer, Neoclytus caprea, which can be viewed on BugGuide.  If the species is not correct, we are guessing it is a relative in the same genus Neoclytus, or at least in the tribe Clytini.  These clues should enable you to conclusively identify this specimen based on information you have that you have not provided for us.

Hey, Daniel.
I thought it was an interesting challenge, so I figured out how to convert UTM to GPS coordinates. Here is the location of the mysterious beetle! Daniel To view your map, click on this link or cut and paste this link into your browser’s location bar. http://atlas.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?email=1&mapd MapQuest.com is the Web’s leading provider of free Maps and Driving Directions. Visit us today at www.mapquest.com.
Daniel

Update from Eric Eaton
September 6, 2009
Daniel:
I agree with all three of your identifications.  Nice work.  Neoclytus longhorned beetles are also a bear to ID to species.
Eric

Hi bugman, This beetle was found approximately 500 meters south of highway 17 E, in Desbarats, Ontario, Canada. I hope that this will help determine the species. if you need more information, please contact me.
Adam

Strange bug on my Porch in AZ
August 26, 2009
Hello, I live in south eastern Arizona, and we recently bought this house. We have these strange bugs coming around the back porch when we turn the light on. I have no idea what they are and thought you might be able to help. We are wondering if there is anything to worry about with these. Thanks, Chris
Chris in AZ
Sierra Vista Arizona

Mesquite Girdler

Hi Chris,
We absolutely love our new server which we just started using this week.  It was a fine investment.  It enabled us to quickly search our own archive to identify your Mesquite Girdler, Oncideres rhodosticta.  We recall spending quite a bit of time in the past trying to identify this beetle, and we eventually requested assistance from Eric Eaton. We quickly located our September 2007 posting, and now that we have the scientific name, we can link to the BugGuide page as well.  Here is the information Eric Eaton provided us in the past:  “Females climb out on a mesquite twig and chew a deep groove around the diameter. Each female then lays an egg beyond the scar. The girdling kills the twig beyond the scar and the larval offspring bores in that dying wood. This, and other species of longhorned beetles, effectively prune trees and shrubs in this manner, literally shaping the forests and woodlands where they live. Eric“

Thanks Daniel!
I hope I can catch a midge in action. By the way, the root borer you posted is a Palo Verde beetle (Derobrachus geminatus). We have lot’s of them in Tucson- they’re HUGE, and they’re really active right now, during the monsoon. I like their fancy spiked collars! Here’s another!
Emily

Palo Verde Root Borer

Hi Emily,
Thanks for the suggestion on the Mexican Beetle.  An expert in the genus might be able to say for sure if it is a different species, but we are taking to the opportunity to post your Palo Verde Root Borer, Derobracus hoverei as its own posting.

winged nonflying long antennaed, solitary
August 3, 2009
This creature appeared by itself just beyond the edge of a wooden porch deck. It wasn’t looking very chipper–moving slowly, stumbling, crawling on leaves–so I offered it water and then honeywater in a saucer (which I feed troubled bees). It drank a little and then lost balance in the water and fell to the ground.
Not to worry, though, it went under the deck and emerged on the other side–twice–walking, not flying. This would be a total of around 16 feet of wandering.
I found it again about an hour after first spotting it, and it was on the steps kinda floundering, not totally upright and seemingly waving a few legs to get my attention, so I offered my finger and it rode on my hand while I got the camera.

Lion Beetle

This all happened yesterday, I haven’t spotted it today.
I hope the photos show it well. What really got our attention were the exceptionally long articulated antennae, long body and tail that the insect curved up from time to time, and short wings.
In one picture, you can see the second set of legs up in the air like a surrender or a show of ferocity.
Juliette Sterner
Olympic Peninsula Washington

Lion Beetle

Hi Juliette,
We have a guess for you, and we are going to request assistance from Eric Eaton to confirm or deny.  This is a Long Horned Borer Beetle or Longicorn in the family Cerambycidae.  Additionally, we believe it is one of the Flower Longhorns in the subfamily Lepturinae.  We believe we have identified it as Cosmosalia chrysocoma, a species with no common name.  According to BugGuide it can be identified by:  “The very dense, appressed, metallic golden pubescence is quite distinctive.“ The puzzling component of your photo is what appears to be a deformation of the elytra or wing covers.  We aren’t sure if it is a natural deformation, or caused by trauma, or if perhaps they haven’t fully expanded due to recent metamorphosis.  We hope Eric Eaton can shed some light on this.

Lion Beetle

Comment with Correction
I don’t know North America longhorns but I’m sure that you identified it wrong because if the second par of wings is unharmed so I tried to identify it myself and I found that it might be a Lion Beetle – Ulochaetes leoninus at least according to bugguide http://bugguide.net/node/view/65020/bgimage.
mardikavana

Thanks mardikavana,
We appreciate the correction.  Seems it must not be such a common beetle if there is only one image on Bugguide.  We decided to do a bit more web snooping and Answers.com indicates:  “DISTRIBUTION  Pacific coast, from British Columbia to southern California.
HABITAT  Pine forests.
BEHAVIOR  Look, sound, and behave like bumble bees.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET  Larvae bore into sapwood of conifers.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY  Eggs are laid at the base of standing dead trees and stumps.
CONSERVATION STATUS  Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS  Interesting example of physical and behavioral mimicry.“

Update from Eric Eaton
August 4, 2009
Hi, Daniel:
I agree with the identifications for both of the beetles:  A species of Derobrachus, and an example of the “lion beetle” as offered by others.  See what a great community you have created?:-)  I tell you, I learn as much from WTB as I contribute….
… Keep up the great job, Daniel:-)
Eric

Look at this big fella
August 1, 2009
I’m figuring it is a borer beetle. It was found at a cabin in Big Bear Lake, California.
Mark
BigBear, CA

Ponderous Borer

Hi Mark,
You are correct.  This giant is a Ponderous Borer, Ergates spiculatus and you may find information on the species on older posts on our website as well as viewing the information page on BugGuide.