ID of beetle
May 19, 2010
The young girl next door bought me this beetle for identification. It has a body length of 7 mm. Can anyone help? We live in Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Rick Speare
Roseneath, Townsville 19°21′S 146°50′E
Leaf Beetle
Dear Rick,
This is a Leaf Beetle, and we thought it resembled the genus Calligrapha which is well represented on BugGuide, a site devoted to North American species. BugGuide pictures a green species, Calligrapha serpentina, and it looks strikingly like your beetle, though the markings are slightly different, possibly within the variation found in the species. We found a single Australian Calligrapha on the Backyard Arthropod Project website, but it does not appear to be the same species as your individual. No Leaf Beetles pictured on the Brisbane Insect Website look like your specimen. Karl supplies an answer
May 25, 2010
Hi Daniel and Rick:
It looks like Calligrapha pantherina (Chrysomelidae), a species of leaf beetle that is native to Mexico and Central America. It was introduced to Australia’s Northern Territory in 1989 as a biocontrol agent to help in the fight against the invasive Spinyhead Sida (Sida acuta), also a native of the tropical Americas. It is host specific and apparently has been a successful introduction that has become established in the wetter areas of north Australia from Brisbane to parts of Western Australia. Regards.
Karl
Iridescent Green Weevil-Like Insect
May 11, 2010
Greetings,
One morning, I found this little guy sitting on the back of a hooded sweatshirt in my house. It’s around 3/16″ long. I thought it was some kind of weevil having a spherical head. I brought it outside in so I could photograph it. Even with it being rather cold, it still walked around making it rather difficult to get a good shot. I released it after a few glamour-shots.
The following evening I came home from work and put the same hoodie back on. After some brief yardwork I came back inside and saw something on my hand: It was what appeared to be the same insect from the day before!
Looking at the photos, the mandibles don’t look very weevil-like (to this neophyte).
Thank you!
TK
Cleveland, Ohio
Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil
Dear TK,
The Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil, Polydrusus sericeus, was “introduced from Europe, where it is widespread” according to BugGuide.
Green Beetle (?)
May 10, 2010
We found our beetle in our classroom during insect week (how lucky) so we were wondering if you could tell us what kind of beetle he is…
From Ms. Boehm’s Class
Houston, TX
Fiery Searcher
Dear Ms. Boehm’s Class,
This Fiery Searcher, Calosoma scrutator, is a type of Caterpillar Hunter. This large, colorful beetle is frequently illustrated in insect books.
can anyone tell me what this is?
May 20, 2010
Hi, I found your site recently and have found it really interesting and informative. I live in Bulgaria and have become amazed by the amount of different bugs here. This could be the first of many insects that I need help identifying, it was in my garden today and is the first I have seen like this.
DJ
Bulgaria
Checkered Beetle
Dear DJ,
WE are quite certain that this is a Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae, but we don’t know the species. BugGuide, one of our favorite sources of identification, has information on the family, including this description: “Body usually long and narrow, covered with bristly hairs and often marked with red, orange, yellow, or blue.“ We believe we have identified your Checkered Beetle as Clerus mutillarius on the BioLib website. According to the TrekNature website: “The beetle breeds under loose bark, mainly on conifer trees, where both adults and larvae feed on the grubs of other beetles, especially bark beetles.“ According to Wikipedia, Clerus mutillarius appeared on a postage stamp for the German Democratic Republic in 1968.
1
Could you please identify this insect for me?
May 21, 2010
Hi, I took this photo in the Big Cypress area of the Florida Everglades. It was feeding on a ladybug. I was hoping that maybe you could identify this insect as I am not having any luck! Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Alan Hochman
Big Cypress area of the Florida Everglades
Milkweed Assassin Bug eats Ladybug
Dear Alan,
This predator is an Assassin Bug, probably in the genus Zelus, but we don’t know the species. BugGuide indicates between 7 and 12 species in the genus Zelus in North America. Your individual resembles the Milkweed Assassin Bug, Zelus logipes, but the photos of that species on BugGuide do not have the striped legs and antennae that are so distinctive in your photo.
Karl finds a match
Hi Daniel. I did a quick search and couldn’t find any other species that matches this pattern. The Bugguide has many pictures of Zelus longipes and a few of them do have the striped legs and antennae. The link below has a photo of a specimen from the Everglades that looks pretty much identical (slightly different pattern on the head and thorax). It is identified as Z. longipes but there is also an interesting exchange of comments about whether it is a color variant or a separate species. K
http://bugguide.net/node/view/93032/bgimage
Eric Eaton cites same link
Daniel:
It *is* a milkweed assassin bug, Zelus longipes, though you are not alone in being confused. Check out this image and thread:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/93032/bgimage
I would not have known either, my friend.
Eric
Tiger Beetle
May 20, 2010
Hi Daniel,
I ran across this beautiful fellow this morning. Had a long lens on the camera so I was able to circle it for photos. I went closer for a better look because I thought it had something in it’s mouth. Unable to get very close, it went from sitting to “warp” speed, in less then a blink it was out of sight. I have “fished” the larva from their holes in the ground and it is hard for me to even imagine such an ugly larva turning into one of these beautiful beetles. (color not his face) Never really looked at one of these before and had no idea what it was…Thanks to you and your website I took the time for a good look and was able to identify it. Thank you once again.
Richard
North Middle Tennessee
Six Spotted Tiger Beetle
Dear Richard,
Letters like yours are the reason we love working on What’s That Bug? so much. Your personal perspective, vivid descriptions and gorgeous photos are a marvelous addition to our website.
Six Spotted Tiger Beetle
Beautiful Beetle
May 8, 2010
Here is a pretty beatle i found in my dogs bowl this morning, and thought i’d take some pics that ya’ll might enjoy. I was also wondering if this beatle is the end result of all the grubs i keep finding, i sent a pic of them before to ya’ll asking but havent heard anything. But here enjoy this beautifuly colored beatle.
Caitlyn in Austin
leander texas
Fiery Searcher
Dear Caitlyn,
We are very happy we decided to look at some old letters from when we were out of the office. This gorgeous beetle is a species of Caterpillar Hunter known as a Fiery Searcher, Calosoma scrutator, and you may read more on BugGuide. Both adults and larva are ravenous predators that feed on caterpillars. Though we haven’t seen your other letter, the larvae of the Caterpillar Hunters are not at all grublike.
Mating bugs
May 20, 2010
Hey i found them in our flower bed mating. Not sure what these are but look harmless.
Corey
Prince Edward Island, Canada
Mating Lily Leaf Beetles
Dear Corey,
These are mating Lily Leaf Beetles, Lilioceris lilii, a species accidentally introduced from Eurasia into Canada where it has become very well established.
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