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Japanese Beetles

Japanese Beetles
June 24, 2010
Hi Daniel, You asked for images of Japanese Beetles. I had a few but none were very good, so I took some more today. Not really pleased with these either, don’t know why but my camera doesn’t seem to focus on them very well. Perhaps they are clear enough for an ID. I never cropped one very close to show the “lace leaf” you were talking about, this is a grape leaf. I hope you are able to use these. Thank you and have a great day.
Richard
North Middle Tennessee

Japanese Beetles eating and mating

Hi again Richard,
With all due respect, if you were our photography student, we would tell you that you are nuts. This photo has everything. We especially love that it shows the leaf damage caused by the beetle, which our mom in Ohio compares to lace doilies. The two pairs of beetles on the right appear to be mating. While the focus on the right of the image is not critically sharp, it is more than acceptable especially considering the detail in the Japanese Beetle in the upper left. We also appreciate that you managed to send us photos of all the insects we saw in Ohio earlier in the week that we lamented not having had a camera so we could take our own: The Question Mark, Great Spangled Fritillary, and Firefly as well as the Japanese Beetles.

Japanese Beetle

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¶ Posted 25 June 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: bug love, Invasive Exotics

Male Eastern Hercules Beetle

Mutant Bug!
June 12, 2010
So we have seen this huge, mutant looking bug on the driveway 2 times now, and once at the gas station. We have no clue what it is but he is HUGE! If I had to ball park it, I would say it is atleast the size of my thumb from base to tip of fingernail! The bug is very slow moving and has these huge pincher looking things on his head. We have no idea where he lives, if there are more, or if he is harmful to humans and pets. Thank you for any insight you can offer!
Kim
Hoschton, GA

Male Eastern Hercules Beetle

Hi Kim,
This is a male Eastern Hercules Beetle, Dynastes tityus, the heaviest North American Beetle. He is harmless to humans and pets. Just yesterday we posted an image of a female Eastern Hercules Beetle from Tennessee. Females lack the horns.

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¶ Posted 12 June 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Female Eastern Hercules Beetle

Large hard shell beetle?
June 10, 2010
What is the beetle? Approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length, grey shell with dark green spots.
Ann in Tennessee
middle Tennessee

Female Eastern Hercules Beetle

Dear Ann,
This is a female Eastern Hercules Beetle, Dynastes tityus, one of the Rhinoceros Beetles. The male has spectacular horns, giving rise to the common name.

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¶ Posted 11 June 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Scarab Beetle, but is it a Rose Chafer???

photo fan
June 10, 2010
Hello fellow bugnuts!
Many of the photos you post are positively breathtaking. Have you ever considering posting a section on hints for those of us with a bug-photo addiction?
Just for fun, I’m including a shot of a male sedge sprite damselfy and a rose chafer doing a “handstand”.
Thanks so much for your wonderful site!
Don D, St. Augusta, MN
Central MN

Scarab Beetle

Hi again Don,
We have already addressed some photo tips in the posting of your Sedge Sprite, and now we can address this image of a Scarab Beetle. The camera perspective, while it has created a whimsical image of the beetle, is not fully conducive to providing the best angle for identification purposes. With beetles, this is generally a dorsal view. We are not fully convinced that this Scarab is a Rose Chafer because we haven’t the advanced skills necessary to make that type of identification based on this unusual camera angle. The legs on this Scarab do not appear as long as the legs of a Rose Chafer. Do you perhaps have a less creative image that you can submit for identification purposes?

Hi Daniel.
Wow, what a generous response! I am grateful for your time and advice.
Here’s another shot of the Scarab beetle. As so often happens, I didn’t think it was anything remarkable when I was shooting, as I was looking for something else (damselflies).
Sorry I don’t have a better one.
The same thing happened the other day when I took a “throwaway” shot of a really ugly caterpillar I thought was just another icky sawfly. It turned out to be a skipper caterpillar.
Thanks again for taking the time to help me with my habit!
Don D.

Scarab Beetle

Hi again Don,
Thanks for sending us another view of this Scarab. We still question it being a Rose Chafer, but this angle should allow for a better chance of identification. Alas, we think it is time to request assistance.

Daniel,
Thanks for your help, but don’t knock yourself out. You’ve given me too much time already.
It’s going to be raining here for a couple of days, but maybe I can get you a better shot between downpours.
Don

Input from Eric Eaton
June 9, 2010
Daniel:
The scarab is either a Macrodactylus or a Hoplia. I’m leaning toward the latter because of the relatively short legs. Don’t know what species occur up there, though. You might want to refer the submitter to Bugguide. We have at least two folks who are scarab experts there.
Take care!
Eric

Thanks Eric,
The images of Scarabs in the genus Hoplia posted to BugGuide do look like a closer match than the Rose Chafer genus Macrodactylus posted to BugGuide.

add Scarab Beetle, but is it a Rose Chafer???

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¶ Posted 10 June 2010 § ‡ Comments (1) °

Rose Chafer

What type of beetle is this?
June 8, 2010
Can you please help me to identify this beetle? There are thousands all over our yard right now, clinigng to plants in dozens and mating. We are worried that they may be harmful to our trees (white pine, red pine & jack pine)
Sincerely, Ken Hall
Shelburne, Ontario

Rose Chafer

Dear Ken,
This is a Rose Chafer, Macrodactylus subspinosus which is profiled on BugGuide, or Macrodactylus angustatus which according to BugGuide, is very similar and difficult to differentiate from its near relative. According to BugGuide: “Adults emerge in early summer and feed on flowers, some leaves. They live for up to 6 weeks. Mating occurs on food sources. Eggs are laid deep (13-15 cm!) in soil and hatch in one to three weeks. Larve feed on roots and overwinter deep in soil. Pupation occurs in early spring in the soil, just under the surface. Adults contain cantharadin, can poison chickens, other birds.“

Thank you very much for your identification. Knowing that they don’t harm trees, we can just let them get on without worrying about them J
Take care,
Ken Hall

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¶ Posted 09 June 2010 § ‡ Comments (4) °

Eastern Hercules Beetle

Eastern Hurcules beetle
June 2, 2010
Eastern Hurcules beetle
I found this huge beetle in the parking lot. Location, Buford, GA. Released it to the woods.
Nobody
Buford, GA

Male Eastern Hercules Beetle

Dear Nobody,
Anyone who would rescue a Hercules Beetle from a parking lot where it was sure to be run over or stepped on is surely a somebody in our book.

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¶ Posted 02 June 2010 § ‡ Comments (1) °

Goldsmith Beetle

Yellow beetle
May 30, 2010
Hoping you can help me identify this bug.
Nathan
half hour north of the Twin Cities

Goldsmith Beetle

Dear Nathan,
We believe the Goldsmith Beetle, Cotalpa lanigera, may the loveliest North American beetle. As a family, we love the Blister Beetles, and the Stag Beetle is quite noble, but for shear beauty, we believe the Goldsmith Beetle takes the cake. There is much speculation that the Goldsmith Beetle is the Gold Bug of Edgar Allen Poe fame. You may read more about the Goldsmith Beetle on BugGuide.

Goldsmith Beetle

¶ Posted 30 May 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Cockchafer

What is this moth?
May 23, 2010
My friend had a pair of two HUGE moths flying against his window when he was in Lincolnshire, England. They seem unusually large for England. We have no idea what kind they were, We assume they would probably be some kind of hawk moth. We have some photos and we thought it might be best to ask you instead of searching google images. x Thankyou
Moth-lover Viola VonGore
Lincolnshire, England

Cockchafer

Dear Viola,
The Cockchafer, Melolontha melolontha, a species of Scarab Beetle, was once much more common in the UK than it is now, probably due to the use of pesticides between the fifties and the seventies. The AgroAtlas website, the Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighboring Countries, has some good information on the Cockchafer. The Cockchafer is sometimes called a Billy Witch.