Swarming, green/yellow abdomen, large antennae
April 6, 2010
I was sitting on the back porch around 8p and heard the sound of several large bugs hitting the side of my house. When I saw them there probably 50-100 or more crawling, swarming, and apparently mating. They were on the north and east sides of the house. I tried an insecticide on them but that didn’t seem to help. Do you know what this is and what should I do about it?
Jeff in Louisville, KY
Louisville, Ky
Hickory Borer
Hi Jeff,
Another reader just left a comment on a posting of a Locust Borer in the belief that she had identified an insect that recently appeared. The Locust Borer, Megacyllene robiniae, and your insect, the Hickory Borer, Megacyllene caryae, are in the same genus, and they are very difficult to tell apart, but the Locust Borer appears in the autumn, and the Hickory Borer appears in the spring. We wish your photo was more in focus.
find a click beetle
April 6, 2010
Dear Bugman,
I can see that many folks find strange creatures, take a picture, and then ask you to identify the odd looking things.
Though I have used your site numerous times, I truly cringe at almost all of the photos. In fact, there are some, that I can not even bring myself to see. Having said that, I now homeschool three children, and in our studies it is extremely important that they grow to love nature. That includes the bugs. So, with great effort, I overcome my desire to scream and smash, and I gently capture the insects that roam around our home. We admire them and learn about them for a brief time and let them go again. This week, we have found a really nice big black Carpenter Bee! Your site helped us identify it.
So, with the greatest trepidation, I must ask for your help in the reverse. At some point in the past I had an encounter with a click beetle. It was startling, to say the least (remember, I shudder at all bugs), but interesting in how it flips over. I still live in Chandler Arizona USA where I met this click beetle. So now I get to my question….. Could you tell me where to look for another click beetle? My children would be ever so happy to see this little bug, which has also been romanticized in a children’s book by Eric Carle (which by the way is how I came to know what the bug was that I had encountered). Any ideas of where to look for these? Thanks in advance for any information you could share.
Michelle and her three kiddies
P.S. Chandler AZ is southeast of Phoenix, in the valley, and we live in a subdivision with lizards, geckos, black widows,lots of ants, but no scorpions (thankfully).
Dear Michelle,
Click Beetles are often attracted to lights, so you can try leaving the porch light on to see what arrives.
Bug seen in Anza-Borrego
April 4, 2010
Dear Bugman,
We saw this guy crawling across the sand in Anza-Borrego State Park on March 21, 2010. Any ideas?
Madena and Charlie
Anza-Borrego State Park, California
Desert Spider Beetle
Dear Madena and Charlie,
Just last week, we posted another photo of the Desert Spider Beetle or Inflated Beetle, Cysteodemus armatus, and that specimen was also from Anza-Borrego. Your photo has much crisper detail than the photo we posted earlier. You can read more about this fascinating beetle on BugGuide.
ID Please
April 4, 2010
Hi, we discovered this creature during a walk with our dog. It isn´t a fast creature but does move reasonably well. We saw two, one was injured and looked to be bleeding, a red liquid was oozing from it. The second was unharmed and moving well.
Many thanks
La Manga, Southern Spain
Blister Beetle
This is a Blister Beetle in the family Meloidae and the red liquid you observed was the hemolymph that contains a substance cantharidin that will cause irritation to skin and possibly blistering. This may be Berberomeloe insignis which we located on the Wildside Holidays website.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you so much for Identifying the creature for me and taking the trouble to e-mail and let me know. It´s very much appreciated.
Andy Baxter
Please help my 9 yr old Bug Lover ID this bug.
April 3, 2010
My son found this very blueish bug today April 3, 2010 while helping to clean the porch. He is sure it is a beetle but I could not verify it for him on any site or book we own. Thank you for your assistance. It was difficult getting a good picture as the thing was very quick. My young entomologist appreciates your help too.
Maria Firkaly
NorthWest Pennsylvania
Oil Beetle
Hi Maria,
We think your photograph is quite good. This is an Oil Beetle, a Blister Beetle in the genus Meloe. They should be handled with caution, or better yet, not handled at all. The Oil Beetle is capable of secreting a fluid known as hemolymph that contains cantharidin, a substance that will irritate the skin. You may read more about Oil Beetles on BugGuide.
Thank you! We were very careful not to handle it as we did not know what it was. My son will be very pleased with this. Maria
Very large early spring beetle
April 2, 2010
Very large early spring beetle
I found this large 3.5-4 inch beetle in my yard on 3/31/10 in Traverse City Michigan (Northern lower penninsula). I have never seen such a large beetle! It was in the yeard in the dry (no rain this spring) dirt near the yard. Very rural area. We do own horses but it was atleast 500ft from the horses’ yard. It was a medium brown/tan in color. The wings were open and the beetle’s wings appeared injured. It had no horns and a small mouth. Is it some sort of very large dung beetle?
Angela
Traverse City, MI
Predaceous Diving Beetle
Dear Angela,
Your photo is quite blurry, but this appears to be a Predaceous Diving Beetle in the family Dytiscidae. See BugGuide for possible genera.
What is this insect?
March 31, 2010
A friend sent me this photograph of what looks like a beetle. It is in their greenhouse. I have little more info at this time but the distinct orange head should help. I will try to send more info as I get it.
DoctorReno
Youungstown OH USA
Firefly
Dear DoctorReno,
How nice to get a letter from our home town. This is a Firefly, a Beetle in the family Lampyridae that children commonly call a Lightning Bug. It is probably in the genus Photinus based on images posted to BugGuide. The larvae and adults feed on snails, and they will not harm the plants in the greenhouse.
Anza Borrego Spider??
March 31, 2010
We were at Anza Boreggo this past Saturday (03-27-10), Spring Season. We were walking up one of the canyons, rocks. And I went to an area where there were some flowering cactus, and other wild flowers. As I was approaching a flower, I noticed what originally looked like a beetle! UNTIL, it started to move and put its two front legs on a flower!!! Then it looked like a spider! What kind of spider is this? It camouflages as a piece of an orchid flower leaf as well! The body was huge and bulbous!
Crystal
Anza Borrego
Desert Spider Beetle
Hi Crystal,
Your photo is lacking the kind of detail that would make our identification easier, but we believe this is a Desert Spider Beetle, Cysteodemus armatus, which may be viewed on BugGuide.
Hi Daniel!
Thank you very much for your quick and very accurate response! It most definitely looks like a Desert Spider Beetle!!! So I was right to think it was a beetle; I got a little freaked out the moment it looked like a spider. Sorry I didn’t get closer to it, as I’m afraid of those things jumping at me! It actually prevented me from going to the flowering cactus that I wanted to take a picture of! 
But now I know exactly what it is! What a specimen!
Sincerely,
-Crystal
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