rss AZ Beetle
Location: South west U.S.
September 2, 2011 1:27 pm
Could you, would you please identify this beetle for us?
Thanks,
Jim.
Signature: Thanks
Female Western Hercules Beetle
Hi Jim,
This is a female Hercules Beetle, and considering your location, it is most likely a Western Hercules Beetle, Dynastes grantii. All of the sightings on BugGuide that are listed on the data page are from Arizona. Males of the species have exaggerated horns.
late summer bug party
Location: Silver City NM
September 1, 2011 6:08 pm
These pics are from last year, but the same thing is happening again. On my Navajo globe willow, the green beetles seem to be doing something that attracts the brown butterflies. Also, there’s a funny fuzzy little guy in there too. What is going on? What are these bugs?
Signature: hwecks
Sap Party with Mourning Cloak and Figeater
In England, the butterfly known as the Mourning Cloak in America, is called the Camberwell Beauty. The metallic green beetle is a Figeater. The other creature is the larva of some soft winged beetle. The tree is oozing sap and that doesn’t seem like a good thing. The tree may have Borers. We hope you allow this exciting coeval feast to continue and closely observe the insects that come to the sap. Setting up night lights will attract moths, and many gorgeous Owlet Moths will be attracted to the luscious liquid diet. The Mourning Cloak will most likely begin hibernation as winter approaches. Your winters are likely quite mild, and the Mourning Cloak will not have to survive months of frozen conditions. This good meal of sugary sap would likely contribute to the survival of Mourning Cloaks in more hostile climates than that in Silver City, New Mexico.
Thanks for the prompt reply. I’ll set up lights this weekend.
Food chain or strange threesome?
Location: Rockford, northern Illinois
August 18, 2011 6:49 pm
Dear Bugman,
I would like to identify the large orange and black beetle sitting atop the mating pair of asian beetles. I found them on the underside of a grape leaf in my backyard in Rockford, IL. At first I thought that the large beetle was eating the smaller ones, then I thought maybe it was trying to mate with them. Either way, he certainly was hanging on to them..I would appreciate anything to let me know if it’s beneficial or not, not as if the asian beetles haven’t already done a number on the grapevine…..
Sincerely,
Signature: Amy Berogan, Rockford, IL
Mating Japanese Beetles and Grapevine Beetle
Dear Amy,
It isn’t often that we are taken totally unawares by a photograph, but your images of mating Japanese Beetles with a Grapevine Beetle gave us a drop jaw moment. We recently featured another photo sent to us by the Phoenix Zoo staff that appears like an attempt at interspecies mating. Many other introduced species are known as Asian Beetles, including the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle and the Asian Longhorn. To avoid confusion, your pair are known as Japanese Beetles, one of the most well known and reviled Invasive Exotic species to plague North American gardeners since the beginning of the 20th Century. They are known to feed on the flowers and leaves of more than 100 cultivated plants, and they are especially fond of roses, rose of sharon, and fruit trees. The larger Grapevine Beetleis native and adults are often found eating the leaves of grapes. Both are in the subfamily Rutelinae, the Shining Leaf Chafers, and we can only hope that they are so distantly related that there will be no progeny produced by this unnatural sexcapade. Gardeners will likely throw in the trowels should a hybrid suddenly appear that is the size of a Grapevine Beetle with the ravenous feeding habits of the Japanese Beetle. Perish the thought.
Mating Japanese Beetles and Grapevine Beetle
Thanks Bugman! You know, my boyfriend said the same thing when I showed him my photo..let’s hope we don’t get huge Japanese beetles, then my grapes just won’t have a chance! I’m including another photo that I didn’t send at first because I didn’t think it was of the same quality as the other photos, but it does show some sort of ovipositor or penis thingy coming from the rear end of the Grapevine beetle toward the Japanese beetles. I couldn’t believe my eyes either. Let’s just pray, as you said, that no progeny are produced!!!
Thanks again and love love love your site,
Amy Berogan
Mating Japanese Beetles and Grapevine Beetle
Found on a Milkweed flower
Location: chicago il area
August 15, 2011 10:55 am
Hi,
Thanks for your site. I am unable to identify this one. It was found on a milkweed bloom. HELP 
Thanks – Steve
Virginia Ctenucha and Japanese Beetle on Milkweed
Hi Steve,
WE doubt if you need an identification of the Japanese Beetle buried in the blossoms in the upper left of the inflorescence, but perhaps you do. We suspect you want the identification of the Virginia Ctenucha, a diurnal Tiger Moth. You can see BugGuide for additional information on the Virginia Ctenucha.
Thanks Daniel,
I adjusted the post on my wordpress site to indicate your help identifying this moth.
Thanks – Steve
http://photoindex.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/bug-on-a-milkweed-bloom-need-to-identify-this-one/
Large Green Irridescent Beetle-looking bug
Location: San Fernando Valley CA
August 14, 2011 8:37 am
Hi ~ I recently moved to southern California (Winnetka CA), and these bugs are flying all over the place for the last few months (summer). I was terrified at first but someone told me they aren’t harmful. They are actually quite beautiful and they fly really slowly at times and you can catch them! I found this one dead on my driveway. What is it?
Signature: Best regards, Annette
Figeater
Hi Annette,
Though it looks and sounds like a large bee while flying, you are correct that the Green Fruit Beetle, Cotinis mutabilis, is perfectly harmless, though they will eat your backyard fruit. If you have large numbers of them, you must have a nearby food source for either the adults of the larvae. Adults feed on peaches, figs and other summer fruits, and we love the common name Figeater. Larvae are found in compost piles and they are called Crawlybacks.
Figeater
Daniel ~ Thank you so much!!
My neighbor has a LOT of fruit trees in his back yard. And he just brought over a pile of FIGS the other day J That explains it.
So glad I finally know what they are called.
Thanks again and have a wonderful week!
Annette
Identification Request: Amusing photo
Location: Phoenix Arizona
August 11, 2011 4:07 pm
This isn’t a question, just something you might find amusing. Our group of beetles at the zoo – the male doesn’t seem to be content with his regular girls. He was very determined to create a new hybrid. The female was just annoyed. If the photo doesn’t go through let me know and I’ll send it via regular email as attachment.
Cheers,
Paula Swanson, Phoenix Zoo
Signature: For your amusement
Interspecies Mating: Male Glorious Scarab and Female Ox Beetle
Dear Paula,
We are more than amused. You don’t have a question, but we can probably think of about a hundred we would like to ask about this Inter-Species Mating documentation from the Phoenix Zoo. We hope you will be able to answer them. You mentioned you have a group of beetles at the zoo. Do you have a full insect zoo? Is the insect zoo popular? Do you have an entomologist on staff? How many different beetles are kept in the same habitat? What is the habitat like? Are other insects in the beetle habitat? Are all the beetles in your beetle habitat strictly local beetles? How did the beetles come to be acquired by the zoo? Can you confirm that the male beetle is a Glorious Scarab, Chrysina gloriosa? Are you attempting an actual Glorious Scarab mating program that will re-release beetles into the wild? Can you confirm that the female beetle is an Ox Beetle in the genus Strategus? There are at least two species found in Arizona, the wider ranging Strategus aloeus (see BugGuide), and the more local Strategus cessus (see BugGuide). Might the “female” be a Rhinoceros Beetle, Xyloryctes jamaicensis (see BugGuide)? We sometimes have difficulty distinguishing between Strategus and Xyloryctes. Are you certain the Ox Beetle is a female? The profile makes us wonder if she might actually be a minor male which have smaller horns. Here is a BugGuide photo of a female Strategus aloeus, and a BugGuide photo of a minor male. Thank you for indulging our curiousity. We want to repeat that we are more than amused by this inter-species mating attempt. It actually might be successful if both members were in the same genus, but a successful mating between genera, despite them being in the same family, is highly unlikely (most folks would say impossible) to produce viable offspring. We are also going to contact Eric Eaton to see if he can confirm the identities of the beetles in your photo.
Ed. NOte: We wrote to Eric Eaton to see if he could determine the identities of this inter-species coupling.
Eric Eaton Responds inconclusively
I honestly can’t answer those questions. Ok, it probably is a male Chrysina gloriosa…. [Regarding the "female" being either Strategus or Xyloryctes] Oh, yes, definitely, and *probably* Strategus, given that I don’t think anyone collected any Xyloryctes down here at the conference (I attended with a couple folks from the Phoenix Zoo – shout out to Sarah and Melanie).
Eric
Hello. Paula asked me to reply to your email as I am the primary keeper of our invertebrate collection, and the one who collected them!
Funny thing, Eric Eaton was actually there when I collected these beetles during the IECC conference in Rio Rico, AZ. The beetles in the photo have been confirmed as a male Chrysina gloriosa and a female Strategus aloeus. I was very surprised to find the male gloriosa trying to hard to mate with the female ox beetle! I don’t think he was succesful in his attempts, but it was certainly amusing to watch him try. The beetles are still in “quarantine” and are housed together in a simple mesh cage, without any substrate. They will likely remain together in a multi species exhibit once they leave quarantine. The species in that enclosure currently include Cotinis mutabilis, Chrysina beyeri, Chrysina gloriosa, Megasoma punctulatus (a single male), and the lone female Strategus aloeus.
Currently we are not even trying to breed any of the large scarab beetles – but have been working with some true bugs, lubbers, and smaller beetle species. This is only our second year collecting and exhibiting such a wide variety of native invertebrates. We have a small building dedicated to exhibiting and breeding invertebrates. Currently we have 12 small (10 gallon or less) exhibits in the building, one larger enclosure, and window space for more – in time. It is a fairly popular exhibit, as far as visitor time spent looking at it anyway. I don’t hear people talking about the exhibit much during their visit elsewhere at the zoo, but they definitely enjoy looking at all the bugs when they are there – especially children, they just love bugs! Currently we are working with native AZ species only (aside from a couple of “exotic” roach species anyway…). We do not have an entomologist on staff, but rely heavily on the friends we’ve made at the IECC conferences for proper ID’s and tips on husbandry. And I have learned A LOT over the past year.
If you have any other questions I would be happy to answer them, it’s always good to make new “buggy” friends
Sarah Simko
Senior Reptile Keeper
Phoenix Zoo
Wow Sarah,
Thanks for such a concise and thorough response. Our readers will be very happy with the information you provided.
Name of a bug or beetle?
Location: NE Ohio
August 8, 2011 9:26 pm
Dear Bugman, I recently had a beetle or bug climbing on the inside of our screen and was able to capture and release it but was curious as to what type of beetle or bug it was. Can you help me identify it, please? Thanks for any help you can give!
Signature: Sherilyn Gisinger
Hermit Flower Beetle
Hi Sherilyn,
This is a Hermit Flower Beetle, Osmoderma eremicola, though we much prefer its other common name, Odor of Leather Beetle, because, according to BugGuide, it gives off a “strong odor of ‘Russian Leather’.”
Thanks! I had never heard of or seen a beetle this large before and I appreciate the information! Now I’m off to research it a bit more now that I know what it is! Sherilyn
Large Beetle
Location: Garner, NC
August 8, 2011 10:56 am
Found this beetle in our pool skimmer in the AM. (July 8th, Day Temps 90-100, Night Temps 70’s) Looks like a Stag beetle? Doesn’t match any photos I found.
Signature: D. Northrup
Rhinoceros Beetle
Hi D.,
The Rhinoceros Beetle, Xyloryctes jamaicensis, takes its common name from another large horned mammal. You can see BugGuide for additional information.
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