unusual looking snout nosed insect
April 11, 2010
Hi Bugman
We hope you can identify this strange looking insect that we found in our back garden today.
I must admit, when I first saw it it was curled up and lying on its side in one of our bird feeding dishes, and as it’s six legs were all curled up with the body I initially thought it was very small yound bird that had died. However, when it went to move it I saw the legs move, and eventually the insect righted itself and stood up as per the attached photos (apologies as the second photo is a little bit blurred). Length is approx 1.4-2cm long.
A short while later it had climbed from the dish into the tree branch above, where it is now well camouflaged against the wood.
Cheers
Royston & Tania
Adelaide, South Australia
Elephant Weevil
Hi Royston and Tania,
This amazing creature is known as an Elephant Weevil, Orthorhinus cylindrirostris. You may find additional information on the OzAnimals website which indicates: “The Elephant Weevil is pest to the wine industry as it feds on grape vines.”
Elephant Weevil
found a beautiful bug, but can’t find it anywhere.
April 11, 2010
Hey!
My husband and I were out off roading in Southern New Mexico today and came across this little guy running across the road. The bright metallic blue/green caught our eyes… He was a fast little booger, and really didn’t want his picture taken. We think it’s a beetle of some kind, but not sure.
Cecilia
Southern New Mexico
Desert Spider Beetle
Hi Cecilia,
We couldn’t help but to immediately read your letter because of the subject line. This beauty is a Desert Spider Beetle or Black Bladder-Bodied Meloid, Cysteodemus wislizeni, one of the Blister Beetles. According to BugGuide, it ranges from Texas to Arizona.
Desert Spider Beetle
Locust or Hickory Borer beetle.
April 10, 2010
I took a photo of a beetle just yesterday. I posted it on a UK nature forum that I belong to, and someone very quickly replied back with an id – of a locust borer beetle. But after doing a search, I think it may be the hickory borer due to it being out now, rather than in September.
What are the differences
between the two, other than when they emerge.
Kathy
Yew Dell Gardens, Crestwood, Nr Louisville, Kentucky
Hickory Borer
Hi Kathy,
Your hunch that this is a Hickory Borer is most probably correct. As BugGuide indicates, the two species are similar, but Hickory Borers are active in the spring and Locust Borers in the Autumn, but BugGuide does not indicate how to separate the two species visually and we haven’t the necessary skill to do that either. Perhaps one of our readers can supply that information as a comment on this posting.
Need the Common Name of this Beetle
April 9, 2010
Photographed the first week of April, 2010. Found in the sand amongst Rabbit Brush and Mesquite at the Stovepipe Wells Sand Dunes. I am assuming that this is a beetle. May be a weevil, though. Are weevils and beetles related? Don’t know…
John
Death Valley Nat’l Park
Weevil from Death Valley
Hi John,
Thanks for resending this photo with additional information. BugGuide does not list a common name for this desert Weevil, Apleurus albovestitus. There is also a photo of it on the Field Guide to Beetles of California website, but again, no common name. All Weevils are beetles, but not all beetles are weevils.
¶ Posted 10 April 2010 § Weevils ‡ ° Can you identify this bug?
April 8, 2010
We found this bug walking across a dirt road near a river.
LFP
southern Vermont
Firefly Larva
Dear LFP,
This is most probably a Firefly Larva. There is a photo of a Photuris species on BugGuide that looks very similar. The larvae of Net Winged Beetles also look very similar.
What is this little bug?
April 6, 2010
I found it tonight.
Sleepy Guy
PA
Spider Beetle
This is a Spider Beetle, Gibbium aequinoctiale. According to BugGuide: “This species is a scavenger, feeding on a wide variety of dead plant and animal materials.
It has become a pest by feeding on dry stored products.” You might want to check the pantry to see if they have infested an old box of pancake mix or the forgotten cookies on the top shelf.
Hi Daniel,
Yup that’s right.. thanks for the response.. not happy to hear that though! This is the second one I’ve found in here.
The exterminator will be here tomorrow, that’s for sure.
I guess at least its not a tick, beceause that’s what it sort of resembles.
An exterminator won’t help if they are in the food unless you direct the exterminator to spray the food directly. You need to find out where they are feeding.
oh ok. I think they’re actually living off the wood grain in the ceiling (older building).
I am seeing them all over the place (usually dead (or nearly dead) on the floor, probably from falling).
I have no idea what to do if they’re in the wood ceiling.. but the exterminator is my only hope.
It’s invading my home
April 6, 2010
We get these beetles? in our house whenever it’s not winter. We find them mostly in the bathrooms and in the kitchen under the stove. Thanks,
C. Lloyd
Upstate NY, Saratoga County
Larder Beetle
Dear C. Lloyd,
Larder Beetles, Dermestes lardarius, infest stored foods, but they also do considerable damage to organic museum specimens. Larder Beetles may be found year round, and they have a cosmopolitan distribution. Search the pantry for the infestation.
Montana Beetle?
April 6, 2010
I photographed this insect, and some others, at about 8000 feet in central Montana in a Lupine field. Some were mating. They were quite large, I’m guessing about 1.5 inches. This was in July 2009. They were strikingly beautiful in the sunlight, and I would love to know what they were. And love your website too, by the way. Thank you.
Montana Hiker
Montana
Nuttall's Blister Beetle, we believe
Dear Montana Hiker,
This is a Blister Beetle in the genus Lytta, possibly Lytta cyanipennis based on images posted to BugGuide, or more likely, Lytta nuttalli, commonly called Nuttall’s Blister Beetle, also pictured on BugGuide.
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