Hi….I have for years seen a very strange looking large bug in my yard in California but have not seen it anywhere else in the US. It is roughly 1.5-22 long, yellow with black stripes, super shiny, 3 segments, and the tentacles or arms look so fat it almost looks like it has baby arms. It is by far the most disgusting bug I1ve ever seen.
What is it?
Best Regards,
Kayce

Dear Kayce,
If you hadn’t said you lived in California, I would have immediately thought of the Locust Borer, a large beetle that fits your description. I did a web search, and have noticed that the range is expanding. Here in Los Angeles, we do have Black Locust Trees, so it is conceivable that the range of the Locust Borer now includes California. Here is additional information as well as a photo. Please let us know if the range of the Locust Borer now includes California. The locust borer, Megacyllene r
obiniae (Forst.), is a native insect. Its original range probably coincided with that of its host tree, the black locust, which once grew only along the Allegheny Mountains from Pennsylvania to Georgia and in the Ozark Mountain region. Black locust grows readily on poor sites and is used extensively in land-reclamation plantings. Its widespread use to reclaim land damaged by farming and strip mining, its use as a shade tree, and its use in reforestation have dispersed the borer with its host tree over most of the United States. The borer is now found from eastern Canada south to the Gulf States and west to Washington, Colorado, and Arizona. The borer attacks only black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and its cultivars (horticulturally derived varieties in the genus Robinia); the honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.) is not affected.

Ok ,
I need help…. Bad. I just had both of my hips replaced the last one in Feb. I was out walking in my yard, I live out in the Country in Missouri, near Kansas City. I was swarmed by what I thought at the time was Bees, flying around me. I did my best to try and run, but not good at that as of yet.I just knew I was doomed… Ok, I didn’t get stung. A guy was at my home to work on something and I asked him to go out and see what there were,….BEETLES…. LOTS of Beetles. Close in size to June bugs, not as tall or thick, but length wise close. When flying, I thought they looked like bees, yellow jackets or something. Because they have yellow showing when in flight. When captured…They are a Green Metallic,all across the back,but tipped in yellow, and at the point if you can call it that, of the bottom, they are yellow too. Alsothe under side is yellow around the base of the legs, than metallic green down the leg. (I hate Bugs)Really bad…. Now I have thousands of t
hese beetles, Someone said Japanese Beetles, but in photos,they are shaped somewhat different and are a brownish on the back, these have no red, or brown… Please Help me…. Susan N. Photography Liberty, Missouri

Dear Susan,
I think you have been terrorized by GREEN JUNE BEETLES, Cotinus nitida. Here is some information as well as a drawing I discovered on two websites:

DESCRIPTION
Adult — The beetle is 15 to 22 mm long with dull, velvety green wings. Its head, legs, and underside are shiny green, and its sides are brownish-yellow. Joe Boggs reported that GREEN JUNE BEETLES, Cotinus nitida, are terrorizing backyard gardeners, sunbathers, small pets, etc., as they buzz lawns in southern Ohio. These big, metallic green beetles tend to emerge en masse. Their large size, coupled with an audible "buz
zing" sound and low level flight plan (cruising at about 2 to 3 feet) may induce mild panic in those individuals unfamiliar with this insect. Adults feed on tree leaves as a skeletonizer. Fortunately, they rarely cause significant plant injury. Their primary goal is to locate turf with high levels of organic matter (e.g. thatch) in which to lay eggs. Lawns covered with partially composted manures have also been found to be highly attractive to the adults and they may burrow into cool compost piles, under decomposing manure and into decayed mulch. It has been speculated that this attraction to decomposing organic matter explains why adults tend to show-up in large numbers on certain lawns while ignoring surrounding turf. Unlike other Scarab beetle larvae such as Japanese beetle grubs, green June beetle grubs burrow 10 to 12 inches into the soil and they remain closely associated with these burrows. The grubs do venture out at night, especially after heavy rains, to feed
on thatch and other organic matter and they occasionally find their way onto driveways, sidewalks and into swimming pools. Despite their large size, green June beetle larvae seldom cause injury to turf equal to that caused by Japanese beetles or masked chafers.

My wife found this beetle today.

It was quite large, with the body around 2” long (not counting the antennae).
Thanks!
Richard
Dear Richard,
It is a beautiful photo of a COTTONWOOD BORER, Plectrodera scalator.

Hi,
I live in a small town in Norfolk in the UK. I wonder if you would be able to give me any information on a bug that we only seem to get in our area. We believe the bug is called either a July Bug or a Billy Witch. It’s a beetle of about an inch in length with a hard outer shell but the also fly and try to get tangled in anything they can. Is there anything else you could tell me about this bug so I can prove
to my neighbour they exist.
Many thanks.
Neil

I’m guessing that our May Beetles, also called June Bugs, are what you are calling a July Bug, since it fits your description. It is a type of scarab beetle that is attracted to lights at night. I have never heard the name Billy Witch before, but it is a good one.

I was outside doing a little star gazing one night and when I went to look through my telescope I found this little guy just sitting on my eye piece. I’ve done a little investigation and I think maybe it’s an Asian Longhorned Beetle? Any idea what it could be? It was probably 1" long and it had huge antennae.
Thanks a bunch.
Chris

Dear Chris,
It looks more like a Banded Alder Borer (Rosalia funebris) to me. Borers are beetles characterized by extremely long antennae and the Banded Alder Borer has striped antennae like your photo. The larvae feed on wood, boring into the host plants. The Eucalyptus Long Horned Borer is an introduced pest in California which is reeking havoc on another Australian import, the eucalyptus tree.

Dear Bugman,
I have been gardening or helping to tend to the garden since I was just a wee fella.Most of my life was spent gardening in Ohio.Shorter growing season,not a whole lot of bugs.Cold winters killed alot of the buggers I guess.
we move to Georgia about four years ago.whole new ballgame you might say.Since moving here I have discovered at least forty new insects I never knew.Some of these things can eat entire plants in a night.Well maybe not that bad but close.
I have searched high and low to figure the latest one out.You may be my last hope.So far they have wiped out my potatoes and have since migrated to the tomatos.They are less than a quarter inch in length, soft fat bodies,red except for the head and underbelly,looks like about six or eight legs,black spots.The head is much smaller than the body.Oh and they’re really juicy when you pick them off.
I wish I knew how to send a picture on this stupid thing but I don’t.Any help or pic
tures for me to look at would be appreciated.
Thanks Doc.
Frank Kovach

Dear Frank,
You have Colorado Potato Beetles, Leptinotarsa decemlineata. The grubs are as you describe and the adults are striped black and yellow. Both adults and grubs feed on potatoes and related plants including tomatoes. This is an example about how a relatively unimportant insect can change its role as the environment changes. this beetle was once native to the Rockies, living on nightshade and other wild members of the potato family Solanacea. When settlers began togrow potatoes, the new food gave the beetles a fresh start. they prospered and spread, till they now exist in practically all of the 48 continental states. Here are some photos and more information can be found on this site:
http://creatures.ifas
.ufl.edu/veg/leaf/potato_beetles.htm