Loved this Longicorn
March 17, 2010
Hey there, I can’t find a picture of this longicorn anywhere to ID it. I fell in love with him.
Colour is drab, but cute factor is enormous (see pic 2)
Body 17mm, antennae 25mm. (one appears to be broken short)
Lived in my flat for a week. After looking up a similar bug to find what habitat he would like I realised how obvious it was – his markings and antennae shape are perfect camouflage for aussie leaf litter.
Photos are my attempt to coax him onto paper with moist woody bits . Instead he just dragged some onto himself. Ah, gotta love em.
Lisa
Sydney Australia
Feather Horned Longicorn
Hi Lisa,
Just over a year ago, we received two requests to identify this awesome Feather Horned Longicorn, Piesarthrius marginellus. The Csiro Science Image website has a photo for comparison, as does the Worldwide Cerambycidae Photo Gallery.
Feather Horned Longicorn
Dear Carlos
Thankyou so much for your reply, it was incredibly helpful. When I looked at the previous request you directed me to, here in this vast Australian continent, I was amazed to see the post was from my suburb.
Lane Cove, although close to the city, extremely built up and urban, is lucky to back onto Lane Cove National park – a diverse old ecosystem. Perhaps this odd variety evolved there, the coincidence is extraordinary.
Highest regards
Lisa
Ed. Note: We can’t help but to wonder who Carlos is.
Hey Daniel …Carlos.. whatever.
I rolled around laughing at your succinct reply.
I am sure who Carlos is.
Unfortunately, he is a rather nasty criminal who was being blabbed about on the news when I was writing that email!
The phonetic association with your surname must’ve sprung a coil in my very huge and tightly wound brain.
Humblest apologies. But gee I enjoyed the gaffaw.
Hope if sometime I write to you again, there’s a report on Einstein or Gandhi in the noise space.
Dear Albert…
Lisa
..must go fix that darn loose cranium spring…mutter mutter.
please identify this bug
March 15, 2010
I found this in my jacket! I don’t want to kill it if it is harmless or useful.
Celeste
Charlotte, North Carolina
False Bombardier Beetle
Hi Celeste,
This is a False Bombardier Beetle in the genus Galerita. According to BugGuide, the False Bombardier Beetles can be distinguished from the true Bombardier Beetles by the “Large size, blue/black striated elytra, brown pronotum, legs, palpi. Head black, unlike the bombardiers, Brachinus, which have a brown head, and are usually smaller (4-15 mm).“ False Bombardier Beetles are beneficial predators with a unique defense mechanism. According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of the United States of America website: “The carabid beetle Galerita lecontei has a pair of abdominal defensive glands that secrete a mixture of formic acid, acetic acid, and lipophilic components (long-chain hydrocarbons and esters). Formic acid, at the concentration of 80%, is the principal constituent. The beetle ejects the secretion as a spray, which it aims accurately toward parts of the body subjected to assault. At full capacity, the glands store 4.5 mg of formic acid (3% of body mass), enough for upward of six ejections.”
Big Costa Rican Beetle
March 15, 2010
A friend of mine is in Costa Rica and found this on his tool box yesterday (March 14, 2010. You can see that it is quite large! I am so curious–what is it, what does it eat, do they bite humans? How long do they live
Kat D.
Costa Rica
Elephant Beetle
Hi Kat,
This magnificent Elephant Beetle, Megasoma elephas does not bite. Encyclopedia Britannica is a source for the common name Elephant Beetle. The grubs feed on rotting wood, and the adults . The Natural Worlds website has some nice photos, and according to the Absolute Astronomy website: “For their diet, Elephant Beetles eat the sap of particular trees and ripened fallen fruits such as pineapples. They also eat longan, lychee fruit, and bark from certain trees like the poinciana.”
Thank you so much! I love Whatsthatbug.com. Very cool!
K
Midwest beetle??
March 14, 2010
Can you identify this? I live near Chicago. I’m noticing these in the winter season, near one of our windows, but inside. There must be 50 of them lying on the window paine or carpet. They seem to dead, some w/ their “wings” sprouted and others as you see in the pic. I’d like to know how I can prevent these from being in my house.
Thanks in advance
Vik
Midwest – Chicago suburbs
Multicolored Asian Ladybird Beetles
Hi Vik,
Now that you know that these are Multicolored Asian Ladybird Beetles, and introduced species that often seeks shelter indoors to hibernate, you should be able to locate copious information online.
Multicolored Asian Ladybird Beetle
Plant-eating beetle found on citrus
March 13, 2010
Hello,
I found this bug and 20 of his friends on some new stems from a citrus tree I have in my backyard.
It appears to be eating the new shoots and flowers.
All have the same speckled carapace, and measure about 1.5cm long.
They looks almost like an African Black Beetle in form, but a bit bulkier.
Hope you can help me!
Christian
Sydney, Australia
Mango Flower Beetle
Hi Christian,
Your beetle is a Scarab known as the Mango Flower Beetle or Mottled Flower Scarab, Protaetia fusca. We quickly located it on the Brisbane Insect Website. We located a pdf with much information on this species.
Beetle ID
March 12, 2010
Hi
Trying to get an ID on this beetle from Costa Rica.
I’m not very familiar with my bugs and wouldn’t know where to start looking.
So here I am.
Alex
Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
Longhorned Borer Beetle
Hi Alex,
WE are not certain which of the Longhorned Borer Beetles in the subfamily Prioninae you have submitted. It may be Callipogon barbatus, though a dorsal view photograph of the entire specimen might be necessary to be certain of the identification.
Thanx Daniel
For taking the time to try and help me ID this beetle. You’ve at least put me on the right track.
I found two more photos which may help you be more certain of your ID.
I see many similarities between the Callipogon barbatus that you suggested but also many differences.
Thank you again
-Alex
Root Borer from Costa Rica
Hi again Alex,
Thanks for sending additional photos. This will probably help immensely in identifying this Root Borer, though we need to go to the market to buy dinner before we do any additional research.
Root Borer from Costa Rica
Hi Daniel and Alex:
These are lovely shots of what I believe is a Mallodon spinibarbis (Prioninae: Mallodontini). It could also be M. molarius, but I think that is less likely. It ranges from Mexico to South America as far down as Argentina. You could also check out the Worldwide Cerambycoidea Photo Gallery, which has several images of this species, as well as several other Mallodon species that occur in Costa Rica. I will be visiting the Osa Peninsula next week so this helps to get me pumped (as if I needed it). Thanks.
Karl
Thanks Karl,
You appear to have nailed it again.
Thank you both.
Karl I just got back from Osa it was fantastic but SO HOT!!!!!
Heres a link to a few photos I took while there.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84131087@N00/sets/72157623321583931/
Have fun. I wish I was headed back!
-Alex
Very strange bug
March 11, 2010
This bug has an exo-type skeleton, is centipede like, but only has legs towards the front of its body – looks like six. It rolls up when scared. It’s black with beigeish- yellow in between segments. It’s segmented like a critter from the sea.
Gualala Ridge Farms
Gualala, Northern California Coast
Western Banded Glowworm
Dear Gualala Ridge Farms,
We believe this is the first letter we have ever received from a piece of real estate. This is a larviform female Western Banded Glowworm, or perhaps it is an immature larva. The species is sexually dimorphic, which means that the winged males look nothing like the females which resemble larvae. When we posted a photo of a female Western Banded Glowworm in 2004, Eric Eaton wrote in the following comment:
“Dear Daniel:
Whoah! Tell him to turn out the lights and he’ll get a real surprise:-) That sure looks like a larviform female of the glowworm, Zarhipis integripennis. In fact, I think we still need a shot of this for our field guide…. They feed exclusively on millipedes, so he could conceivably keep her in a terrarium with some soil and leaf litter and add a millipede or two….He could also take her outside some evening and see if she attracts any males (which ARE beetle-like, fly, and have these amazing feathery antennae). She will glow bright greenish-yellow from the pale membranes between her segments. Thanks for sharing! Makes my day:-)
Happy holidays to you.
Sincerely,
Eric”
Dear Daniel,
Thank you for the response. My son, Dylan, who is 7, is thrilled to know we have glow worms on our property. The next one we find, we will try the millipede experiment. It is pouring rain today so we let her go where we found her. I know Dylan will be gathering millipedes in soil until we find the next glow worm. As soon as he read your email he turned off all of the lights in the house, but we did not see a glow, so we decided to let her go.
Thanks again for your website and your response. Young bugologists such as my 2 kids love looking up bugs on your site when we find them.
Cindy
Thanks for the followup Cindy. The Featured Creatures website also has some great information.
Afghanistan, fast moving blue/gray beetle with large hind legs
March 10, 2010
Greetings!
First, I just want to say I’ve been a huge fan of your site for neigh on 4 years now. I suppose my wife and I are odd for laying in bed at 03:00 in the morning, drinking wine and reading the backlog of “What’s That Bug” for entertainment, but then I never claimed to be normal.
So, on to my request! I am in southern Zabul Province, Afghanistan… I found the little guy pictured below scurrying around VERY rapidly in broad daylight and quite unafraid. The terrain is mostly sparse, high desert scrubland. What struck me were his enlarged hind legs and the gorgeous blue/gray mottled exoskeleton. To be honest, he appeared to be hunting. These photos were taken today, March 10, 2010.
In any event, thanks again for everything you’re doing, you’ve at least helped me to appreciate the insect world far more than I would have without you. I look forward to your book.
Devon in Afghanistan
Southern Zabul Province, Afghanistan
Darkling Beetle
Hi Devon,
Thanks so much for your very kind letter. We believe your beetle is a Darkling Beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, though we will contact Eric Eaton to verify that. We suspect it might not be a quick or easy matter to identify the species. Meanwhile, you may read a bit about the North American members of the Darkling Beetle family on BugGuide. Though the coloration of your specimen is quite different, there are basic anatomical similarities to the members of the tribe Amphidorini which includes the Acrobat Beetles in the genus Eleodes. Perhaps one of our readers will have better success with finding some online information and a species identification.
Darkling Beetle
Hi Daniel and Devon:
I agree that it is a Darkling Beetle and I believe the genus is probably Adesmia. As far as I can tell there are three species in Afghanistan (A. karelini, A. jugalis and A. servillei). I was only able to find online photos of A. karelini, but it looks very close. On a personal note, I want to thank you Daniel and WTB? for getting me through yet another long winter. Next week I am off to Costa Rica (!!!) for a ‘bug’ vacation with my new macro lens, and with a bit of luck it may be spring when I get back! Regards.
Karl
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