Big Beetle
Location: Clinton, Beaver County, Western PA
July 25, 2011 8:45 pm
I was driving home from my Mum’s place on the 4th of July and saw what I thought was a mouse or mole or even bat crossing the road ahead of me. I drove over/above them slowly and carefully, then stopped, parked and put on my flashers to go get a better look. What I found was a GIANT BUG! I’d never seen a beetle so big before!
Now, I love bugs, so I was too excited for words! I ran back to my car and got my phone and got the two photos below.
I posted these on Tumblr earlier this month and my bug friends there say I found a broad-necked root borer.
I’m mainly sharing these pictures here because I’ve read so many sad stories on your Unnecessary Carnage page that I wanted to give you a happy story to post.
Sorry for the not-too-great quality of my pictures.
Signature: Toby Oaden
Broad Necked Root Borer
Hi Toby,
Thanks so much for thinking to send in your photo of a Broad Necked Root Borer, our Bug of the Month, and also you kind gesture to give us a happy story to post.
Flat Black Beetle and friends
Location: North East Illinois -Chicago area
July 25, 2011 6:13 pm
Hi Mr. Bugman,
I found this lovely little creature and some of his friends taking a nap with my 5 year old today. I was wondering if you could tell me what type of beetle he is and if I should have any concerns of infestation or disease. If you look at the picture closely you will see tiny little bugs (the size of a grain of sugar), one on the beetle’s back and one in the background. Are these babies or another type of bug? Upon initial examination of the beetle there were 6 or so of these little guys crawling on him. Any information or insight to what these are would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Signature: concerned mom
Clown Beetle and Mite
Dear Concerned Mom,
We identified you beetle as a Clown Beetle in the genus Hololepta on BugGuide which indicates they are found “under bark of decaying hardwoods,” and “Adults and larvae eat other insects.“ We don’t think you have to worry about your five year old, but the real mystery is how a beetle that is found in rotting wood found its way into the nursery along with some of his friends. This image from Bugguide shows mites in association with the Clown Beetle, and the commentary indicates that Mites are frequently found with Clown Beetles. BugGuide indicates that two species are found in the Northeast, and here is the description for differentiating between the two: “In the northeastern U.S., and in Ontario and Quebec, the two species are H. lucida and H. aequalis. H. lucida has a long striation along the edge of each elytra. In H. aequalis this striation is abortive, starting at the base but extending only 1/4 the length of the elytra or less.“
Clown Beetle
Thank you so much for the response and your time! I appreciate the information.
WTB
Location: Israel
July 25, 2011 2:48 am
Hi,
Can you please tell what is this bug?
Signature: Ziv Peled
Mango Stem Borer
Hi Ziv,
This is not the first report we have received of a Mango Stem Borer, Batocera rufomaculata, that we have received from Israel. Here is a posting from 2009. The Mango Stem Borer is also known as the Fig Borer in Israel, and here is some information from the cabdirect website: “The fig borer, Batocera rufomaculata, was introduced into Israel, probably from Sri-Lanka, in the early 1950s. Within ten years much of the fig (Ficus carica) plantations had been destroyed by the borer. However, between the early 1960s and the 1980s the borer vanished completely from the scene. It reappeared in the early 1990s. Most reports on its occurrence date from 1997-98. At present, the borer is causing serious damage to fig plantations in the low areas of the north and central areas of Israel.“
In The Sierra Foothills, A Bug.
Location: North Mariposa County, California
July 24, 2011 10:06 pm
I found two of these bugs in the past two days. One was floating in my teapot (which was full of water). The larger one’s body was about 4 inches long. They were both FULL of eggs. The eggs were the size of sesame seeds but looked like grains of rice. You can see them to the side of the squished bug. I have never seen anything like this before.
Signature: Squicked,
Ponderous Borer: Why was it squished???
Dear Squicked (does that rhyme with wicked?),
We run a free website and we reserve the right to exert our First Amendment right to free speech and voice our opinions when we feel justified. Anyone who has spent more than five minutes on our website knows that we do not give extermination advice and that we promote tolerance with regards to the lower beasts. We have a portion of our website that is devoted to Unnecessary Carnage, and we frequently come under attack because we believe that people do not need to kill things that they perceive might harm their children. We have been called bleeding-heart hippies because we feel that sparing the lives of insects, including wasps that might sting if provoked, does not necessarily endanger the lives of children. Everything that might sting, or might bite, or might scratch, or might annoy cannot be eliminated from our planet without drastically altering the world as we know it because there really wouldn’t be much left, including humans. Threats abound, and children should be taught while they are young that certain things might hurt them, and those things should be treated with respect. Now that we have made our position perfectly clear, we can address your question.
This is some species of Root Borer in the subfamily Prioninae, and we believe it is a Ponderous Borer, Trichocnemis spiculatus, which you may read about on BugGuide. We cannot fathom what provoked this senseless slaughter. All we have to base this feeling upon is the information you provided, and we suppose this Ponderous Borer might have been accidentally stepped on, but we somehow believe that there was intent behind the squishing. There was no mention of children being endangered, and we are left with the opinion that this is probably one of the most egregious cases of Unnecessary Carnage we have ever encountered. What we find especially troubling is the location you provided, the Sierra Foothills in Mendocino County. We wonder if this was a state park. State parks have rules and regulations about the preservation of natural resources, and that includes the lowly bugs. Generally people who spend time camping have an appreciation of the natural world. We sincerely hope we are wrong in our assumptions and that there is a justified reason behind this sad occurrence, but since your email indicates that two individuals “were both FULL of eggs” we can only surmise that the unfortunate creature that fell into your teapot met a similar end.
Readers, please provide comments. Are we being too sensitive and too judgmental?
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Unidentified Red Beetle
Location: Chicago IL, July 24 2011, 4pm
July 24, 2011 2:12 pm
I found this one crawling on my leg in the garden and I’ve never seen it before…so I grabbed my cam and snapped as many shots as I could…I couldnt find any other bugs online to match this one, a rather small beetle too, no longer than a fingernail
Signature: Meg C
Lily Leaf Beetle
Hi Meg,
This is a Lily Leaf Beetle, Lilioceris lilii, a Eurasian species that has become established in Canada and the Northern states. Adults and larvae feed on the leaves of many cultivated plants in the lily family.
Correction: July 28, 2011
We just received a comment bringing to our attention that what we misidentified as a Lily Leaf Beetle (see BugGuide) is actually the same Blister Beetle that confused us earlier in the month. It is actually Rhyphonemognatha rufa which may also be found on Bugguide.
Unidentified beetle
Location: Mariepskop, Mpumalanga, South Africa
July 24, 2011 2:44 pm
An interesting beetle that i cannot identify
Signature: Peter Sharland
Unknown South African Scarab Beetle
Dear Peter,
Some parts of the world, like Australia, Great Britain and North America have numerous internet resources for insect identification, while places like South Africa have a dearth of internet resources for insects, which is ironic as there are so many magnificent African species that are sold as mounted specimens. Though our research on this Scarab Beetle has drawn a blank, we did find an Field Guide to Insects of South Africa that you might consider purchasing if you have other questions about the natural world in South Africa. Sadly, our limited office space does not allow us the luxury of a comprehensive library for guide books for insects from around the world, and we must limit our research to the internet. All we can offer at the moment is that this is a Scarab Beetle. We are not sure of the identity of the other romantic couple in your photograph, though they appear to be Carrion Beetles.
Shortly after posting, we did one last ditch effort and we believe this may be a Flower Scarab in the genus Leucocelis, based on photos posted to the Beetles of Africa website. A photo of Leucocelis haemorrhoidalis from the Flower Beetles website looks very close.
A garden feast
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
July 23, 2011 6:11 pm
We moved into our current home late last summer, and were disappointed to see all of the apples on our apple tree eaten, or on the ground full of holes.
The same thing is happening this year, and on top of that, many of the flowers we planted are being eaten! Oh the humanity!
Please help identify this culprit…Definitely not a helpful bug.
Signature: Vince S.
Japanese Beetle
Hi Vince,
You are being plagued by one of the most well known invasive exotic species to have been introduced to North America, the Japanese Beetle. The beetle is so well known because it was originally introduced to North America on nursery stock that entered the U.S. in New Jersey. Since that time, it has spread across the country and despite all attempts to eradicate it, the Japanese Beetle populations show no sign of being under control. Numerous products are on the market, including Japanese Beetle traps. Because Japanese Beetles are relatively indiscriminate eaters, they will consume hundreds of different cultivated plants. When the hoards have defoliated one plant, they will just move to another species. They are especially fond of roses, much to the chagrin of many home gardeners. Regarding your apples, we are not fully convinced that the Japanese Beetles are feeding upon them, and if they are, we suspect they are only doing peripheral damage. While they will feed on the leaves of the apple tree, the damage you describe does not sound like Japanese Beetle damage. We suspect birds might be picking at your apples while the beetles feed on the foliage. It is also worth noting, that according to BugGuide: “Adult females lay eggs in soil June through early fall. Grubs feed on roots until hibernating underground (4-8″ deep) as third instar larvae when cool weather comes.“ It looks like there is mating activity going on in your photo of the apple tree.
Japanese Beetles
1
amphibious insect
Location: PEI
July 23, 2011 2:08 pm
We found this bug in a puddle, in the country, on Prince Edward Island,Canada.
Signature: Josh
weird bug came out of a puddle.
Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada
July 24, 2011 9:53 am
We were walking in the back fields the other day and this thing came scurrying out of a puddle. We slowed him down long enough to snap a pic. No one around here has ever seen one.
Signature: Josh
Water Tiger
Hi Josh,
Thanks for resending your identification request. We had actually opened your email yesterday and we had plans to post your request, but somehow time got away from us and we forgot about it. This is a Water Tiger, the larva of a Predaceous Diving Beetle in the genus Dytiscus. You can see numerous examples on bugGuide. Water Tigers are fierce hunters and they are capable of catching and feeding upon tadpoles and small fish.
Hi, thanks for the reply, and information. I apologize for sending it twice, i sent it from a new mobile phone and thought the first one did not go through. It’s amazing how many interesting creatures there are.
Thank you very much for your time,
Josh
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