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Huge Moth is northern California
July 23, 2009
I live in Northern California, and i found this insect at the place i work today, it’s huge and can fit in my palm and it the size of a small mouse. It somewhat looks like a giant moth – hornet hybrid.
random
Northern California – Tahoe
Female California Root Borer
Dear random,
Your female California Root Borer, Prionus californicus, is actually a beetle, and more about the genus can be read on BugGuide.
Smiley Face Beetle – Adirondacks
July 22, 2009
Hello Bugman,
This past week we discovered this interesting looking beetle. We were in the Western Adirondacks. Can you identify it for us? What a cool bug!! Do you see the smiley face?
Sincerely, The Kings Girl
Adirondack Park – Cranberry Lake, NY
Sugar Maple Borer
Dear Kings Girls,
This is the third image we received in the past few weeks of a Sugar Maple Borer, Glycobius speciosus.
Rhinocerous beetle? in France
July 22, 2009
We found this in our garden in south west France – which is in a wood next to a river – it flew hard into a window one evening and lay around for the next day looking a bit stunned. As you can see it wouldn’t let go of my husband’s shirt and he had to take it off with the bug still attached. He said it was making a ‘pht’ sound – is that likely? She’s still alive in these photos.
Anyway, after lots of looking on your site it seems to be a female rhinocerous beetle of some kind? Is that right? She was about 4cm (an inch and a half) long.
Sue
Ceret, south west France
Pine Chafer from France
Dear Sue,
Your beetle is not a Rhinoceros Beetle, but it is a Scarab Beetle, the same family as a Rhinoceros Beetle. We believe your beetle is a Fruit and Flower Chafer in the subfamily Cetoniinae, but we have not had any luck web searching with that information. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide an answer. Karl are you out there?
Pine Chafer from France
Comment
Hi everybody,
I live in Turkey and we call those ‘May Bug’. This is from genus of ‘Polyphylla’ and can be ‘Polyphylla fullo’. They horrifies some people because they sound ’ssssssss’ when you close’em.
Ed. Note:
A web search of Polyphylla fullo produced a photo that matches the one submitted. We are inclined to agree that we misidentified the Scarab and that is is in reality a June Beetle. The Forestry Images website calls this species a Pine Chafer. We also found additional photos of this beetle feeding on pine.
Karl also comes through
Hi Daniel:
The scarab from France is in the family Melolonthidae, which is sometimes listed as a subfamily of Scarabaeidae, depending on which taxonomic system you choose. The genus is Polyphylla and, although there are probably at least a few similar species, it looks very close to P. fullo. Common names given include June Beetle and Pine Chafer; one reference indicated that the larvae attack the roots of hazelnut. The base color varies between brown and black and the individual in Sue’s photo is a female, since it lacks the prominent pectinate antennae. Regards.
Karl
My alien superbug?
July 21, 2009
I am wondering if you can help me identify an insect?
A few years ago while I was living in Pacifica, CA (near San Francisco), I noticed this strange and aggressive insect. I cannot figure out what it is and have described it to many people, none of whom know what it is either. I have attached a drawing of what I remember it looked like.
I saw it on two occasions, both times on the sidewalk on sunny days, a few months apart. One was about 2 inches in length, the other about an inch and a half. They had black, unsegmented, hard looking body with a satiny sheen. It had no wings, but the back of the abdomen which came to a pointed tip could be curled and raised threateningly like a scorpion’s tail.
Both behaved in the same way. Upon seeing them I stood over them to get a closer look. The insect quickly noticed me and stopped walking. It turned towards me, curled it’s tail over its back so point faced me. As I walked around it, the insect whirled on its feet keeping its face and stinging tail aimed at me. It could move quite quickly. It stayed there for a few minutes until I left.
Thanks for your help! I hope you can help me figure out what it is.
Roni
Pacifica, CA
Hi Roni,
We are guessing you saw a Devil’s Coach Horse, a type of Rove Beetle based on both your drawing and your excellent account of the observations. They eat snails, so we love them in our garden. We haven’t any files on our current computer, but we will attempt to search our archives so we can post a photo from a March 16, 2006 letter with your letter.
Confirmation
That looks close enough to my bug- so I think you got it. Thanks very much!
Sincerely,
Roni
Who’s eating my marigolds?
July 21, 2009
Hello! These guys arrived 3 days ago. I thought they were lightning bugs at first. The are buried in each marigold bud and sucking the life out of them. Like a plague of locusts, they have destroyed all the blooms, and there were many! We’ve used several different repellent sprays, nothing keeps them away for long. Thank you for caring! It is appreciated. (Been searching the web for hours to no avail.)
Joanie B.
Eastern Shore of Maryland (Willards, MD)
Unidentified Blister Beetle
Hi Joanie,
This is a Blister Beetle in the family Meloidae, but we have not had any luck identifying the species on BugGuide. Adult Blister Beetles often feed on flowers and foliage, but in the larval form, they often have complex parasitic life cycles with hosts that include bees and grasshoppers. According to BugGuide: “Pressing, rubbing, or squashing adult blister beetles may cause them to exude their hemolymph (“blood”), which contains cantharidin. This compound causes blistering of the skin, thus the name blister beetle. Accidental or intentional ingestion of these insects can be fatal. There are documented incidents of horses dying after eating hay in which blister beetles were inadvertently baled with the forage. Watch that curious children do not attempt to put these beetles in their mouths. The external use of cantharidin, commercially known as ‘Spanish fly,’ the supposed aphrodisiac, is likewise discouraged.” We hope one of our readers will be able to supply a species identification, or at least a genus identification.
Unknown Blister Beetle
July 23, 2009
Hi Daniel:
It does look like a blister beetle and I can’t claim to be an expert, but this looks a lot like a species of Epicauta, particularly E. hirticornis. The problem is that this is an Asian species and I haven’t found any record of it becoming an invasive in North America. There are a few other red headed species in the genus but none appear to be endemic to the USA; in fact I haven’t been able to find any North American blister beetle that looks quite like Joanie’s photo. I may be on the wrong track here, or it may be possible that these guys do not belong. I think I will keep looking, but this looks like a job for a real expert. Regards.
Karl
Update from Karl
Hi Daniel:
Can I retract? Some further searching did yield one indigenous species that looks like Joanie’s blister beetle, Epicauta trichrus, although the overall shape and some of the coloration still don’t look quite right. I couldn’t find much information about this species but it has been recorded from Massachusetts, so why not Maryland. I found it on Bugguide.net (where else) – I don’t know how I missed it first time through. In fact, the Bugguide site has a second species. E. atrata, that also looks similar, although apparently the head is usually black and only sometimes reddish behind the eyes. Although to me Joanie’s photo still looks more similar to some of the Eurasian species it makes sense to take the more conservative approach and assume that it is not an introduced species. Regards.
Karl
Thanks Karl,
We looked at those two species and decided they were not Joanie’s beetle, but we may be wrong.
Kentucky beetle
July 21, 2009
Having just moved to central Kentucky, we were taking our son to register him at his new school, and right by the front door welcoming the newcomers was this beetle. We asked the locals, but nobody seemed to know what it was. Can you tell us? (My son, BTW, felt much better about the new school after discovering such a cool bug there.)
Curious mother
Richmond, Kentucky
Eastern Hercules Beetle
Dear Curious Mother,
Your beetle is an Eastern Hercules Beetle, Dynastes tityus. It is a male beetle, as evidenced by the horns. Females do not have horns.
Very small insect – identified
July 20, 2009
After looking at it more closely and determining that it is a beetle, and after browsing about 130 pages at BugGuide, I think I have identified these as Mioptachys flavicauda. Thanks for your great site!
Duff Means
Sterling, VA
Mioptachys flavicauda
Dear Duff,
We know how ponderous it can be sifting through countless pages on BugGuide (the most awesome North American insect and arthropod identification website) in an attempt to identify an unknown submission. There is a real sense of accomplishment when we finally arrive at the end of an identification quest. We don’t want your work to go unrewarded, and though we cannot offer you any tangible compensation, we do want to post the fruits of your labor on our site. Thanks for contributing a new species to What’s That Bug?, Miotachys flavicauda, a minute Yellow Tailed Ground Beetle.
Quarter inch diameter wierd bug
July 21, 2009
Hi,
The first time i saw one of these, i just thought it was a strange growth on the leaf. They always seem to be on tomato plants. I was looking closely at this one, and after touching it a few times, it moved. I touched it again and it flew to another plant. I went and got my camera and got this picture. The clear like ring around it is actually the wings, or wing covers, i’m not sure. The antennai are facing down in the picture.
packrat
central Pennsylvania
Clavate Tortoise Beetle
Dear packrat,
This is a Clavate Tortoise Beetle, Plagiometriona clavata. We also just posted a photo of the larva which is a spiny green creature that never completely sheds its exoskeleton. The dried remnants of the cast of skin stay attached to the spiny larva. The Tortoise Beetles are a tribe of the Leaf Beetle family Chrysomelidae. Beetles are characterized as having two different sets of wings. The outer wings are usually hardened and are termed the elytra. The soft flying wings are protected under the elytra and only exposed during flight. The elytra on the Clavate Tortoise Beetle which forms a carapace does contain clear areas and BugGuide describes the markings as: “most noticeable feature in adult, covering much of the carapace, is a dark brown irregular patch shaped like a teddy bear, with the front and back “legs” of the “bear” extending to the outer margins of the elytra, and the “head” of the “bear” extending onto the pronotum.”
Green bug on tomato plant
July 20, 2009
My friend showed me her quite perforated tomato plants and I saw at least two similar forms of this bug. Size is max 5mm, (I wish I had macro.)
This bug looks like a green pillbug that carries a shield over his body like a scorpio carries his tail. He waves with the shield, moves it up and down, and can even lie it flat behind his body.
The shield looks like a fly or insect from the top, somewhat triangular (or like the little bits that fly out of a birches blossom.) On a tomato leaf the green body nicely blends in and all you see is the dark crumbly shield.
It might be a Psyllid stage? But that shield is interesting.
HI?
Westchester, NY
Clavate Tortoise Beetle Larva
Hello HI?,
This is the larva of the Clavate Tortoise Beetle. There is a confirmation photo on BugGuide. According to BugGuide, it “plants in the tomato family (Solanaceae) such as ground-cherries (Physalis spp.), Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium), Horse-nettle (Solanum carolinense), and nightshades (Solanum spp.)” We also just received a photo of an adult and we will be posting that immediately after posting your letter. The dark crumbly shield is the remnants of the cast off exoskeleton from previous molts. The adult is described on BugGuide as “most noticeable feature in adult, covering much of the carapace, is a dark brown irregular patch shaped like a teddy bear, with the front and back “legs” of the “bear” extending to the outer margins of the elytra, and the “head” of the “bear” extending onto the pronotum,” but, BugGuide does not mention that the rest of the carapace covering is transparent.
Rainbow Bug
July 20, 2009
this is a bug we found wandering on the ground while playing with my son. Its colors were so brilliant in the sunlight that i captured it to get a better look. I think it is some kind of beetle because of its jaw…but its coloring is unlike anything ive ever seen. We live in east texas. Is this a common insect in this area? Thanks!
Intrigued in texas
East Texas
Carolina Tiger Beetle
Dear Intrigued,
We believe your gorgeous beetle is a Carolina Tiger Beetle, Tetracha carolina, based on photos posted to BugGuide. It is also called a Pan-American Big-headed Tiger Beetle. BugGuide also indicates: “Range Southern United States. In southeast: Virginia to Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana. Perhaps absent from Appalachians, though Brimley (1) reports it from Asheville, North Carolina. Also found in southwest, west to California. Habitat Sandbanks of rivers, pastures, open, disturbed areas. Often found near water. Nocturnal, found under boards, rocks, trash, etc. during day.”
Brown beetle, four white spots
July 20, 2009
I found this little fella flying clumsily around my room tonight and caught him in my handy dandy bug catcher (after he made a mad dash for my hair! yikes!) and I was wondering what he is. He’s 3/4″ in length, caramel brown, with four white spots on his back (technically 8, i think, but they’re in groups of 2).
Kina A.
Memphis, TN
Ivory Marked Beetle
Dear Kina,
Your beetle is an Ivory Marked Beetle, Eburia quadrigeminata, one of the Long Horned Borer Beetles in the family Cerambycidae. According to BugGuide: “Larvae bore into heartwood of deciduous trees, esp. ash, hickory. May emerge from finished lumber years after milling.”
Is this a Longhorne Beetle?
July 20, 2009
This little guy is hanging out on a milkweed plant by my pool. He’s too pretty to smush. Really bright reddish orange with some funky black spots. If he is a longhorne, and he certainly has the antenne for it, what plants will he go for? Right now, I’m happy to leave him be. He can bore into all the milkweed he’d like.
JMR
Pennsylvania
Red Milkweed Beetle
Dear JMR,
The Red Milkweed Beetle, Tetraopes tetrophthalmus, is in fact a Longhorned Borer Beetle and the food plant for both adults and larvae is the Milkweed. These Red Milkweed Beetles squeak when handled.
