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black with checkers and has wings 1.5 inches long
July 16, 2009
Found this bug hanging around the hangar. What is it?
Sorry I don’t want a letter just curious as to the bug is. Thanks
Chesterfield Missouri
Cottonwood Borer
Dear Sorry,
This beautiful beetle is a Cottonwood Borer. Most of our reports come from Oklahoma and Texas.
Brazilian bug from semiarid region
July 16, 2009
Hi Bugman! I was found this bug in Brazil, state Pernambuco. Looks a Cerambycinae but I can not identify. Can be an unknown species?
Balazs
Brazil, state Pernambuco
Longicorn from Brazil
Dear Balazs,
We are a bit pressed for time this morning, and have not had any luck identifying your longicorn. We believe it is one of the Prionids and the feathered antennae are quite distinctive. We have seen similar antennae on an Australian Longicorn, Piesarthrius marginellus, but that is obviously a different species. Hopefully, one of our readers will write in with a correct identification and link.
Longicorn from Brazil
Update: From Eric Eaton
Daniel:
Realized I hadn’t been to the WTB for too long. Shame on me:-) I’ll get to the longhorn, but meanwhile….
Eric
Update: From Eric Eaton
Daniel:
Congratulations to Tina for coming to the same conclusion I would have for the wonderful Brazilian longhorn: Psygmatocerus wagleri. I hope she knew which subfamily to look under! LOL! Still would have exhausted my lunch hour hunting for that one when I ‘do’ know where to look!
Eric
Black and light blue striped-antaennaed flying beetle-looking bugger
July 14, 2009
It can be said we already attract an odd assortment of characters, but this week a friendly beetle-looking bug befriended *us*. My roommates and I live in Anaheim, CA (about 20 min. south of Los Angeles), and the bug seems to have taken to our little corner, hanging out in our trees, rose bushes, and carport for several days now. The belly is a light baby blue, the back is predominantly black, and the antennae is striped with the two colors. Any ideas? Thanks!
Friends of the friendly bug
Southern California
Banded Laurel Borer
Dear Friends,
This beautiful beetle is known as a Banded Laurel Borer and it is found throughout western North America.
Thank you! Keep up the good work on your fun website, and good luck with the book!
Beautiful brown beetle
July 13, 2009
This was taken on Sat. (July the 10h) in Charlotte, NC. We had a huge yardsale (we made $666.25) and the door to the house was open and this fella was on the kitchen wall. I am on WTB daily and often use it to identify things that I cannot readily identify. I love this site! The beetle (a longicorn possibly) was about an inch long. I took some photos and then let him out into the woods behind the house.
Brian R. Lucas
Charlotte, NC
Spined Oak Borer
Thanks for your nice letter Brian,
This is a Spined Oak Borer, Elaphidion mucranatum. According to BugGuide: “Eggs are laid beneath bark of dead hardwoods. Larvae feed beneath the bark for the first year and feed deeper the second year. Adults come to lights, bait traps.“
Excellent I can add that one to my collection of insects I can identify. I had a huge Chalcophora virginiensis land on me at the Reedy Creek Nature preserve here in charlotte a few months back and it totally freaked out the guys I was playing disc golf with (I play almost every day) I got to identify it and tell them about itt. I am now the “bug guy” for our club I identify and inform people about all the neat bugs (and additionally reptile/amphibians) on our courses. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a picture of the lime green assassin bug that visited the yard sale. You guys rock, and condolences on the fishes.
Thanks for the condolences Brian. There will be more fish soon enough. The sad part is that we rescued them from the community aquarium and kept them alone and fed them for four days. We just misjudged what a young Angelfish will try to put in its mouth. We won’t make that mistake again.
Red Oak Sawyer
July 13, 2009
This lovely lady was sitting on my back porch during a rainstorm in july. She was very slow moving and docile, although when i got to bothersome she made a high pitched squealing/croaking sound. I waited for the rain to stop and returned her to the backyard.
Morgan
Birmingham, AL
Red Oak Borer
Dear Morgan,
Thanks so much for providing us with these excellent images of a Red Oak Borer, Enaphalodes rufulus. According to BugGuide: “Two-year life cycle. Eggs are laid beneath the scales of the bark on living oak (or sometimes maple) trees. Larvae feed beneath the bark for the first year, then migrate to heartwood for second year. They overwinter as larvae and pupate in spring, emerge in spring and summer. Can be abundant enough to cause substantial damage at times. Adults come to lights.“
Red Oak Borer
What bug is this?
May 28, 2009
Had a few people look at this, yet nobody could identify it properly. The common consensus is that it looks like some kind of wasp. But I’m unable to locate anything like it with numerous google searches. I’m hoping you can enlighten me.
Thank you!
Marcus J
Northern Utah, USA
Red Headed Ash Borer
Hi Marcus,
This is a Red Headed Ash Borer, Neoclytus acuminatus. It is commonly believed that is mimics wasps for protection. Read more about the Red Headed Ash Borer on BugGuide.
stripy tiger scary flying weirdo bug
July 11, 2009
dear bugman, this peculiar insect was zooming around my living room this evening. i live on a forested hillside in trinidad with a variety of visitors but i have never encountered anything like this. it is the beginning of the rainy season and very hot.
shaken but interest stirred
cascade, northern range foothills, trinidad
Harlequin Beetle
Dear Shaken,
This is a Harlequin Beetle, Acrocinus longimanus. According to the Encyclopedia Britanica website: “The common name refers to the beetle’s gaudy pattern; the Latin longimanus of the species name refers to the extremely long forelegs of the males. These legs are usually longer than the beetle’s entire body, which can measure nearly 76 mm (3 inches). In addition to serving as a sexual advertisement to females, the long legs help the males to traverse the branches of trees (the beetles fly as well as crawl). Despite the seemingly conspicuous colours, the harlequin hides itself effectively among the lichen- and fungus-covered trunks of tropical woods such as fig trees.
Ranging from Mexico to South America, this beautiful beetle feeds on sap and lays its eggs on the trunks of dead or dying trees. It is active during the day but can be attracted to lights at night. Females prefer to lay their eggs on trunks and logs with bracket fungus, which provides excellent camouflage. Before laying, the female gnaws an incision about 20 mm (0.8 inch) wide and 7.6 mm (0.3 inch) deep in the bark. She will lay 15 to 20 eggs over the course of two to three days. When the larvae hatch, they bore into the wood. When they mature at seven to eight months, the 13-cm (5-inch) larvae tunnel further, where they dig a cell in which to pupate. The adult beetle emerges four months later, gnawing its way out of the wood. The life cycle is annual.”
three unknown insects
July 10, 2009
I am enclosing three photos of bugs we have found around our Phoenix AZ home. We liv next to a wash and have lots of lizards and birds, and expect to have some insects but two spiders we cannot identfy and now a giant beetle. Can you help us?
Deborah
Phoenix AZ urban neighborhood near wash
Palo Verde Root Borer
Hi Deborah,
We already sent you a quick response identifying your Solpugid and Tailless Whipscorpion, neither of which is an insect, and neither of which is venomous or harmless to you. The third photo we are happy to post to our site. It is a Palo Verde Root Borer, Derobrachus hovorei. According to BugGuide it is found in the “southwestern United States (AZ, CA, NM, NV, TX) and northern Mexico” and adults are attracted to lights. Thanks for including the quarter for scale.
palmetto-like bug with fuzzy antennae
Jul 10, 2009
palmetto-like bug with fuzzy antennae
These interesting critters parked themselves on our door after a rainy day. They were bigger than the roaches we have here in the south. We haven’t seen them since that night. We were wondering what these rare insects are called.
Thanks from Clemson
South Carolina
Tile Horned Prionus
Hi Clemson
This is one of the Root Borers in the genus Prionus, the Tile Horned Prionus, Prionus imbricornis. You may read more about this species and its relatives on BugGuide.
Checkered Beetle, I think
12 July 2009, 9:03 AM
We have lived in Southern California for two years and this is the first time I have ever seen this “bug.” First discovered it in the garage a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was a roach at first, but because of the markings, I decided it wasn’t. A few days later there was one in my bedroom, high up on the wall near the ceiling. This one is on the wall in the dining room; near the back patio door, also high up near the ceiling. My 4 year old son asked, “what kind of bug is that?” I didn’t know, so here we are asking you! Thanks!
Sara and Lane
Coastal Southern California
Eucalyptus Borer
Hi Sara and Lane,
You are the first letter we are posting in over two days. We have been without a computer while Apple transferred data from the old computer to the new one. This is a Eucalyptus Borer in the genus Phoracantha. We believe it is Phoracantha recurva described on the UC Davis Statewide Integrated Pest Management Website as: “mostly cream to yellowish; dark brown areas primarily limited to rear third of elytra”
Green, metallic beetle in Texas
Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Hi! My husband found this out in our backyard today. July heat in Waco, Texas. It was just crawling around in the grass, and hopped up onto the back porch when he called me out there to see it. Ive tried a few friends…but I get answers from Borer Beetle to Green Bug. Thanks!
Traci
Texas
Bumelia Borer
Hi Traci,
Of the answers you received, Borer Beetle is correct, just not very specific. Though there are other families with wood boring beetles, Borer Beetle would generally refer to the family Buprestidae, or the family to which this Bumelia Borer, Plinthocoelium suaveolens, belongs, Cerambycidae. The Bumelia Borer according to BugGuide is found in the Central and Southeastern U.S.
Shiny Longhorn beetle in Central America
Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 12:40 PM
This beetle was found in my garden in El Salvador; he was perched on one of our palm trees during the mid-day. He is a good 3-4 inches long and at least 1 inch wide. The segmented atennae are about 3 inches long, he has six jointed legs and what look to be pinchers in the front. Can you please see whether you can find out what this guy is and whether he would be considered a garden pest? Thanks a lot!
Ashley
El Salvador
Callipogon barbatus
Hi Ashley,
Back in November 2007, Eric Eaton identified this tropical longicorn as Callipogon barbatus. We also received a submission in June of 2007. Both of those examples were from Mexico though the Coleoptera website says it hails from Panama and Guatemala.
