Subject: Help w/ ID-ing Tiny bugs found in moldy bathroom
Location: NY
February 12, 2013 9:21 pm
I have a whole bunch of these bugs in my moldy bathroom. There are no windows, no exhaust, no fans in my bathroom so I’m pretty sure thats why the mold is forming. OK, so back to the bugs, they are brownish, very tiny and some are even teeny tiny, which I think might be the babies. They look like they have wings but I see them crawling most of the time, only rarely do I see them fly or if I sprayed bathroom odor spray on them they’d fly. They look like they have 6 legs and 2 long antennas and the back 1/2 of the body has stripes. I see them on the walls only and there’s one corner where they’re packed and lined up. It just looks so disgusting to be using the bathroom with all these bugs on the walls.
I would really like to ID these bugs and then find the best way to clear them away.
Signature: Sheri

Barklouse

Hi Sheri,
This is a member of the insect order Psocodea, and it is either a Booklouse or a Barklouse.  They do not bite humans.  Booklice which are often found indoors are generally not winged and Barklice are generally found outdoors, so this is a bit of a mystery to us.  Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide additional information.  You can also get information on BugGuide.

Eric Eaton provides some clarity
Daniel:
It is a barklouse, but I have no idea what family, let alone genus or species.  I suppose they could hibernate….I really know very little about them other than how to recognize them.
Eric

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Subject: Insect infesting a crepe myrtle
Location: St. Augustine, FL
December 23, 2012 2:34 pm
I live in St. Augustine, Florida. Today (December 23) I noticed clusters of small, black insects on one of the two crepe myrtles in our back yard. I took a picture to try to look it up online and I noticed another type (or possibly babies of the first?) of insect in the group. My parents and I want to know if this insect is harmless or if it’s something we should worry about.
Signature: Nicole

Tree Cattel

Hi Nicole,
You have Tree Cattle or Bark Lice.  They are benign creatures that will not harm your trees.  They feed on lichens that grow on tree,

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Subject: It was on the shower curtain – is it lice?
Location: Victoria, Canada
November 1, 2012 12:12 am
I’ve had an itchy head but can’t figure out if it’s lice (the nit comb comes up with nothing) or my shampoo. But recently I had a bath instead of a shower and had time to notice this bug on the shower curtain. Sorry for the grainy photos – it’s the best I could do without a microscope! Can you tell me what it is? Is it lice?
Signature: Victoria, Canada

Booklouse

Dear Victoria,
This appears to be a Booklouse, and though it is related to the Parasitic Lice that infest people and animals, it is a harmless organism that is frequently found in homes.  They sometimes infest stored food products.

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Subject: Psocid?
Location: Presque Isle, Maine
August 30, 2012 9:08 am
Hi there!
All of a sudden (about a month ago), they showed up! Went to use my Food processor and the bowl was crawling with a bunch of them. Yuck!! I checked around in the closet and found a bunch more on platters and in canning jars I keep in there as well. I am a clean person and this has me freaked out!
Being a knowledge hound and wanting to know what they are, I took a photo and proceeded to look at image after image online to find one like it.
And I think I did! So I am asking you to confirm that the TEENY-TINY critter I photographed is what I think, a psocid, and that it will not harm the people, dog and cats that all live here. I intend to freeze the dog food that is also stored in that closet to kill off any that may be in there. NOTE: No other food is stored in there typically. I had some potatoes in there but threw them away a couple weeks ago and the closet isn’t near any water sources like sink or drains.
Signature: Gratefully, Creepy-crawled

Booklouse

Dear Creepy-crawled,
Though your photo is quite blurry, it does appear to be a Booklouse or Psocid.  Your excellent description confirms what the photo does not reveal.  You are correct that Booklice or Psocids are harmless, though they can be a nuisance if they are plentiful, as you learned firsthand.  More information on Psocids is available on BugGuide.

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Subject: boxelder bugs?
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
June 25, 2012 9:40 pm
Hi,
I was wondering if you could identify this. There were about 35 of them in a cluster on a barkless tree, eating lichen growth. Very small, about a quarter inch long each. I thought they might be young boxelder bugs, but the color and markings are wrong. Now I’m thinking some variety of plant bug. They resemble fireflies as well, and seem to have a whitish abdomen (or are those white wing markings? hmmm), but the ant-shaped head is throwing me off. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Signature: Scott Matheson

Bark Lice

Hi Scott,
These are Bark Lice in the genus Cerastipsocus, commonly called Tree Cattle.  They are benign creatures that feed on lichens and they do not harm the trees even though their mass aggregation would tend to imply otherwise.  See BugGuide for a matching photo of Bark Lice.

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Bug?
Location: Singapore
April 19, 2012 7:13 am
Hi recently i notice tiny moving black dots on my wall, they usually stay very still and they move when i shine my torchlight on them. Is this a pest?
Signature: Doesnt matter

Booklouse

Dear Doesnt matter,
This is a nicely detailed photo of a Booklouse.  Booklice in the family Liposcelididae are pictured on BugGuide.  According to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin:  “Although it is a contributor to the allergens found in house dust and its feeding may do minor damage to book bindings and paper, the presence of the Book Louse is usually no more than an annoyance.” 

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Wondering what these insects are.
Location: Southeast Georgia
April 9, 2012 11:17 am
Curious what these insects are that group up on the sweet gum trees in my yard and if I should have them exterminated or leave them be?
Signature: James Pape

Tree Cattle

Hi James,
You have a colony of immature (striped) and adult (winged) Bark Lice, commonly called Tree Cattle.  They are benign creatures that feed on lichens, and they will not harm your tree.

Thanks for the info, I’ll be keeping those guys around and let other know.

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