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Gold and Brown Rove Beetle

Golden stripes and patch, looks like a nymph
August 8, 2009
I was working at the local paintball field when I saw this little guy flying around. Being a bug nut I had to catch it to take pictures. I put him in the freezer to cool down as he was capable of flight and was quite energetic. Unfortunately for the little fellow, I left him in to long and he passed away. I’ve seen other insects like him at the field but with much longer abdomens and overall larger bodies that pulsated very noticeably as they breathed.
Christopher Kukowski
Rushford, MN

gold and brown rove beetle 2 christopher 300x174 Gold and Brown Rove Beetle

Gold and Brown Rove Beetle

Hi Christoper,
You only need to keep an insect in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to slow its metabolism enough to get a good photograph.  This is a Gold and Brown Rove Beetle, Ontholestes cingulatus.  According to BugGuide, it is:  “Large for a rove beetle. Dark brown and hairy. Clumps of hair forms dark spots on much of body. Yellow hair forms “belt” under thorax, covers parts of last abdominal segments. Head wider than pronotum. Eyes large, prominently placed on sides of head. Found on carrion and fungi. Often turns yellow tip of abdomen upward when walking.“

gold and brown rove beetle christoper 300x209 Gold and Brown Rove Beetle

Gold and Brown Rove Beetle

Wow, thank you very much!  I looked up rove beetles online and that is what I now believe the other larger insect are that I’ve seen flying around there.  I think it was hard for me to find what insect this was because I would have never guessed they were beetles, then again they did have hard shells covering their wings.  I was curious to see if these guys could sting me so I dissected the little guy and found no stinger icon smile Gold and Brown Rove Beetle   Also not only was it very pretty with the very reflective gold striped and patch on its bum but under its shell was a very brilliant green/blue iridescent color.
Thank you again Dan!

Posted 09 August 2009 § Rove Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Harmless Carolina Tiger Beetle: Dead after entering home

what is this called?
August 9, 2009
I don’t see these very often, but this one got inside or I wouldn’t have had to kill it. It is a gorgeous bug, with irridescent colours and moves really fast. and i’m just curious what it’s called.
thanks, Kelli
Griffin, Georgia

tiger beetle kelli Harmless Carolina Tiger Beetle: Dead after entering home

Carolina Tiger Beetle

Dear Kelli,
This is a harmless predatory Carolina Tiger Beetle, Tetracha carolina, also known as the Pan American Big Headed Tiger Beetle.  Tiger Beetles are no threat to you, your family or your home.  It probably was attracted to lights which is why it left its typical habitat of, according to BugGuide:  “Sandbanks of rivers, pastures, open, disturbed areas. Often found near water. Nocturnal, found under boards, rocks, trash, etc. during day” and entered your home.

Unnecessary Carnage Comment
August 9, 2009
RE: unnecessary carnage
I love your site, and visit it several times a day. Many thanks for posting such lovely images and so much information (you helped me ID a one-eyed Sphinx moth here in Seattle)! I also love the fact that you tell folks when they have committed an act of unnecessary carnage, but sadly, you have been very hesitant to do so lately… Please don’t let one or two unhinged people keep you from providing a vital service- letting humans know that insects are innocent until proven guilty!
Leah S.

Posted 09 August 2009 § Tiger Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Lady Beetle: Myzia subvittata

what is this
August 8, 2009
western canada- looks like a type of ladybug
from
British Columbia Canada

ladybird myzia subvittata 229x300 Lady Beetle: Myzia subvittata

Lady Beetle: Myzia subvittata

Dear from,
This is a Lady Beetle, and we believe we have identified it as Myzia subvittata based on images posted to BugGuide, and the location of those sightings as Oregon and Washington.

Posted 08 August 2009 § Lady Bug ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle

Giant Lady Beetle?
August 5, 2009
Is there such a thing as a Giant Lady Beetle? I found this beetle this morning on a milkweed plant (a typical lady beetle would be the size of the flower buds around this creature). The coloring didn’t seem right for a hercules or harlequin beetle.
Tim Doyle
Memphis, TN

swamp milkweed beetle tim 282x300 Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle

Hi Tim,
Though it looks like a Ladybird Beetle, this is actually a Swamp Milkweed Beetle, Labidomera clivicollis.  They feed on the flowers and leaves of milkweed, and BugGuide has this interesting bit of information posted:  “Both larvae and adults of this species cut several side-veins of a milkweed leaf prior to feeding, to reduce the sticky latex that would otherwise be produced at their feeding sites.“

Posted 06 August 2009 § Leaf Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Palo Verde Root Borer

Thanks Daniel!
I hope I can catch a midge in action. By the way, the root borer you posted is a Palo Verde beetle (Derobrachus geminatus). We have lot’s of them in Tucson- they’re HUGE, and they’re really active right now, during the monsoon. I like their fancy spiked collars! Here’s another!
Emily

palo verde root borer emily 292x300 Palo Verde Root Borer

Palo Verde Root Borer

Hi Emily,
Thanks for the suggestion on the Mexican Beetle.  An expert in the genus might be able to say for sure if it is a different species, but we are taking to the opportunity to post your Palo Verde Root Borer, Derobracus hoverei as its own posting.

Posted 04 August 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Root Borer from Mexico

Large cranky beetle
August 3, 2009
I found this guy in a new house I’m building in the fron yard, I grabbed him to get a better picture, with a better sun exposition, but it got really mad at me, so that when I let it free, it was chasing me really fast and it was very difficult to get the camera to focus and I guess it most be still looking for me somewhere.
Do you know what type of beetle it is?, it was around 4 in long.
Jorge Farias
Jalisco Mexico

prionid mexico jorge 300x239 Root Borer from Mexico

Root Borer from Mexico

Hola Jorge,
This is a Root Borer in the subfamily Prioninae, but we are not certain of the species.  Hopefully, one of our readers will be able to supply an exact species for us.

prionid mexico jorge 2 257x300 Root Borer from Mexico

Unknown Mexican Prionid

Thanks Daniel!
I hope I can catch a midge in action. By the way, the root borer you posted is a Palo Verde beetle (Derobrachus geminatus). We have lot’s of them in Tucson- they’re HUGE, and they’re really active right now, during the monsoon. I like their fancy spiked collars! Here’s another!
Emily

Hi Emily,
Thanks for the suggestion on the Mexican Prionid.  We agree that it is a Derobrachus, but there are other species of Derobrachus in Mexico and we are just not certain that this is a Palo Verde Root Borer or perhaps one of the  others, like possibly Derobrachus sulcicornis.  Jalisco is in central Mexico which supports our theory that this may be a different species.  Since insects do not respect international borders, if this submission had been from Sonora or Chihuahua, we would say the Palo Verde Root Borer would be a more certain possibility.

Update from Eric Eaton
August 4, 2009
Hi, Daniel:
I agree with the identifications for both of the beetles:  A species of Derobrachus, and an example of the “lion beetle” as offered by others.  See what a great community you have created?:-)  I tell you, I learn as much from WTB as I contribute….
… Keep up the great job, Daniel:-)
Eric

Posted 03 August 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Flower Longhorn: properly identified as Lion Beetle

winged nonflying long antennaed, solitary
August 3, 2009
This creature appeared by itself just beyond the edge of a wooden porch deck. It wasn’t looking very chipper–moving slowly, stumbling, crawling on leaves–so I offered it water and then honeywater in a saucer (which I feed troubled bees). It drank a little and then lost balance in the water and fell to the ground.
Not to worry, though, it went under the deck and emerged on the other side–twice–walking, not flying. This would be a total of around 16 feet of wandering.
I found it again about an hour after first spotting it, and it was on the steps kinda floundering, not totally upright and seemingly waving a few legs to get my attention, so I offered my finger and it rode on my hand while I got the camera.

cosmosalia chrysocoma deformed 1 285x300 Flower Longhorn: properly identified as Lion Beetle

Lion Beetle

This all happened yesterday, I haven’t spotted it today.
I hope the photos show it well. What really got our attention were the exceptionally long articulated antennae, long body and tail that the insect curved up from time to time, and short wings.
In one picture, you can see the second set of legs up in the air like a surrender or a show of ferocity.
Juliette Sterner
Olympic Peninsula Washington

cosmosalia chrysocoma deformed 2 300x271 Flower Longhorn: properly identified as Lion Beetle

Lion Beetle

Hi Juliette,
We have a guess for you, and we are going to request assistance from Eric Eaton to confirm or deny.  This is a Long Horned Borer Beetle or Longicorn in the family Cerambycidae.  Additionally, we believe it is one of the Flower Longhorns in the subfamily Lepturinae.  We believe we have identified it as Cosmosalia chrysocoma, a species with no common name.  According to BugGuide it can be identified by:  “The very dense, appressed, metallic golden pubescence is quite distinctive.“ The puzzling component of your photo is what appears to be a deformation of the elytra or wing covers.  We aren’t sure if it is a natural deformation, or caused by trauma, or if perhaps they haven’t fully expanded due to recent metamorphosis.  We hope Eric Eaton can shed some light on this.

cosmosalia chrysocoma deformed 3 300x174 Flower Longhorn: properly identified as Lion Beetle

Lion Beetle

Comment with Correction
I don’t know North America longhorns but I’m sure that you identified it wrong because if the second par of wings is unharmed so I tried to identify it myself and I found that it might be a Lion Beetle – Ulochaetes leoninus at least according to bugguide http://bugguide.net/node/view/65020/bgimage.
mardikavana

Thanks mardikavana,
We appreciate the correction.  Seems it must not be such a common beetle if there is only one image on Bugguide.  We decided to do a bit more web snooping and Answers.com indicates:  “DISTRIBUTION  Pacific coast, from British Columbia to southern California.
HABITAT  Pine forests.
BEHAVIOR  Look, sound, and behave like bumble bees.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET  Larvae bore into sapwood of conifers.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY  Eggs are laid at the base of standing dead trees and stumps.
CONSERVATION STATUS  Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS  Interesting example of physical and behavioral mimicry.“

Update from Eric Eaton
August 4, 2009
Hi, Daniel:
I agree with the identifications for both of the beetles:  A species of Derobrachus, and an example of the “lion beetle” as offered by others.  See what a great community you have created?:-)  I tell you, I learn as much from WTB as I contribute….
… Keep up the great job, Daniel:-)
Eric

Posted 03 August 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (2) °

Longicorn from U.K.

Beetle identification
August 3, 2009
Dear Bugman
I found this beetle out side of my workplace, in Winsford (UK).
I have looked around and think it is a fur less Ornate Checkered Beetle .
It was very lethargic, it’s hard shell contained wings, that were jet Black
Can you confirm this please?
Richard Lock
Winsford, UK

longicorn unknown uk richard 300x197 Longicorn from U.K.

Longicorn from U.K.

Dear Richard,
While we cannot confirm the species at this point in time, we can tell you that this is not a Checkered Beetle, but is a Longhorned Borer Beetle or Longicorn in the family Cerambycidae.  We found one Longhorn Beetle page on the Garden Safari website devoted to U.K. Beetles, but your individual is not represented.  We also found a comprehensive Cerambycidae site without thumbnails and our cursory search did not turn up a match.  We believe your beetle must be represented on that site.  If you feel so inspired, and you find your beetle, please let us know.  Meanwhile, perhaps one of our readers will supply an answer.

Comment with identification
This is a Leptura quadrifasciata L. 1758. Formerly known as Strangalia quadrifasciata. By the looks of it it is a male because the tip of female antennae is yellow (last three segments). Males have black antennae. It is a widespreaded and common longhorn, at least in the Northern Europe. You can find them on flowers. In that site what you mentioned that guy is on page
http://www.cerambyx.uochb.cz//lquadri.htm .
By the way sorry for my bad grammar.

Posted 03 August 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (1) °

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