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Immature Spiny Flower Mantis eats Brush Footed Butterfly

Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii
Location: Kampala, Uganda
September 9, 2011 12:07 pm
Hey Bugman
Thought I’d send in this photo of Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii that I found here in Kampala, Uganda. The mantid had just snatched a butterfly and was eating its head. There are probably 20 living on a clump of purple spiny flowers in the back garden.
Cheers
Signature: Brian

spiny flower mantis eats butterfly uganda brian 300x289 Immature Spiny Flower Mantis eats Brush Footed Butterfly

Spiny Flower Mantis eats Butterfly

Hi Brian,
We are really excited to post your Food Chain image of an immature Spiny Flower Mantis, Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii, feeding on a Brush Footed Butterfly.  The coloration and shape of this Mantis blends beautifully with the flower upon which it has chosen to live.  The Keeping Insects website has a marvelous page on the Spiny Flower Mantis.  We are still trying to identify the butterfly. 

Posted 10 September 2011 § Brush Footed Butterflies § Preying Mantis ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Crescent Butterfly and Thread Waist Wasp share blossom

winged umbrella
Location: Jamestown, RI
September 8, 2011 9:50 am
Hello Again – Found these two on a rudbeckia recently. Wondering what kind of moth/butterfly this might be shading what I think is a thread waisted wasp.
Signature: PeeGee

crescent wasp peegee 300x206 Crescent Butterfly and Thread Waist Wasp share blossom

Crescent Butterfly and Thread Waist Wasp

Hi PeeGee,
We really like your photo of a Crescent Butterfly and a Thread Waist Wasp sharing the nectar from the Black Eyed Susan.   We believe the wasp is probably in the genus Ammophila, based on these photos from BugGuide.  If our identification is correct, the wasps prey upon cutworms to provision a nest for their progeny.

Posted 09 September 2011 § Brush Footed Butterflies § Thread Waisted Wasps ‡ Comments (0) °

Blue Mountain Swallowtail

Papilio Ulysses (Ulysses butterfly)
Location: Australia
September 6, 2011 7:13 pm
Dear bugman I wanted to know who discovered the ulysses butterfly and how they discovered it?? Thank u for ur time.
Signature: Vanessa

papilio ulysses vanessa 300x295 Blue Mountain Swallowtail

Blue Mountain Swallowtail

Hi Vanessa,
Papilio ulysses, a beautiful Australian butterfly that is also known as the Blue Mountain Swallowtail, the Mountain Blue or the Blue Emperor according to the Butterfly Corner, was first described by Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy, in 1758.  This is one of the most popular butterflies found in decorative collections, but we much prefer the photos of living Blue Mountain Swallowtails that can be viewed on the Tropical Rainforest of Queensland website.

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Posted 07 September 2011 § swallowtails ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Silver Spotted Skipper

The bugman is awesome (and I need an ID)
Location: Northeast Tennessee
September 4, 2011 11:09 pm
Hey there! Your site has already helped me identify the house centipede. I’d like to know what exactly this is… growing up on a farm I’ve encountered a lot of these. My grandma always called these ”chicken poo butterflies” because they seem to have a fondness for the stuff. I was taking pictures in her flower garden one day and I came across one.
PS along with the moth/butterfly I’ve attached a photo I took of a praying mantis egg sac (I don’t know what you call it, just that mantises lay their eggs in it, I think)last December. I thought it looked neat and wanted to know if that was actually what it was.
Signature: Easily Fascinated

silver spotted skipper tennessee 300x206 Silver Spotted Skipper

Silver Spotted Skipper

Dear Easily Fascinated,
When we read your letter, we immediately imagined an insect with the description you provided, and we thought for sure you would have a photo of a Pearly Wood Nymph, a moth that truly resembles chicken droppings.  This is actually a butterfly known as a Silver Spotted Skipper, Epargyreus clarus, and you may see additional photos on the Massachusetts Butterfly Club website.  You have correctly identified the Preying Mantis oothica or egg case.

mantis oothica tennessee 300x207 Silver Spotted Skipper

Preying Mantis Oothica

 


Posted 05 September 2011 § Eggs § Preying Mantis § Skippers ‡ Comments (0) °

Greater Fritillary

in response to ”What Frittilary?”
Location: Traverse City Michigan
September 4, 2011 5:17 pm
Hi Bugman! The picture if the unknown Frit reminded me of my own unknown frit,later id as an aphrodite. Being new to all this bugstuff I saw the white spots and mistook it for a regal!!LOL!! But because of that experience I probably have the largest collection of birds-foot violets in northern Michigan.
Signature: Brandy

fritillary brandy 300x225 Greater Fritillary

Greater Fritillary

Hi Brandy,
The Aphrodite Fritillary and the Great Spangled Fritillary were our two top choices for the image submitted earlier.  Thank you for mentioning that gardeners who want to encourage Fritillaries to reproduce in their yards need to plant violets.

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Posted 04 September 2011 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) °

What Fritillary is it???

Butterly ID – Fritillary?
Location: Northern Wisconsin
September 3, 2011 11:07 pm
Good day. I took this pic on 8/27, and have been trying to identify what type of butterfly it is. I bought a guidebook and it seems to be a fritillary, but I’m struggling with just which one it is. Thanks for your help.
Signature: Laurie

fritillary laurie 300x300 What Fritillary is it???

Fritillary

Hi Laurie,
We still have problems trying to identify many of the Greater Fritillaries in the genus Speyeria to the species level.  We will post your photo and continue to research, but we hope to enlist the assistance of our readership with a proper identification.  You can also try browsing the species on BugGuide.


Hi Daniel,
Thanks so much for your response.  The more I tried to identify “which” specific fritillary, the more confused I became.  I’ve been looking into guides and websites specific to the region, but can’t reach a conclusion icon smile What Fritillary is it??? .  And I know another photo with the wings open would have helped.  The ones that seem closest to my pic are Atlantis, Aphrodite, Great Spangled, or Silver-Bordered but I’m not sure.
Thanks, again.  This may just be one of “life’s mysteries” and that’s OK.
Laurie

Nice research Laurie,
Our top choices were the Aphrodite Fritillary and Great Spangled Fritillary, but we didn’t feel confident enough with the identification to relay that information.

Thanks, Daniel.  My first two choices were Atlantis or Great Spangled but for no specific reason.  One of my guides talks about the forewing on the Aphrodite having an additional black dot, so I had moved that choice down the list a bit.  And the size of the Great Spangled seemed a bit large but otherwise close.   I know it’s nature and nothing is ever concrete.
I’m gonna post this pic to my bird forum and see what they think and I’ll let you know if they have any thoughts.
Laurie

Posted 04 September 2011 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (2) °

Sap Loving Insects: Mouning Cloak, Figeater and Beetle Larva

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

mourning cloak fruit beetle sap hwecks 300x206 Sap Loving Insects: Mouning Cloak, Figeater and Beetle Larva

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.

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Posted 02 September 2011 § Beetle Larvae § Brush Footed Butterflies § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Milbert’s Tortoiseshell

Do you what type of butterfly this it was on the butterfly bush. The outside wings look like bark and the inside wings had different shades of orange and brown.
Daniel Parsons to bugman
show details 7:21 PM (5 hours ago)
Do you what type of butterfly this it was on the butterfly bush. The outside wings look like bark and the inside wings had different shades of orange and brown.

tortoiseshell daniel 1 300x223 Milberts Tortoiseshell

Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Hi Daniel,
Though we have nothing personal against cellular telephones, we do not care to own one.  We wish Daniel would find a way to make the cell phone submissions utilize our standard form that requires that fields be filled in.  One of our fields is location, and we hate not knowing the location.

tortoiseshell daniel 300x204 Milberts Tortoiseshell

Milbert's Tortoiseshell

We have determined it to be Milbert’s Tortoiseshell based on BugGuide images.  Many of the Anglewing Butterflies have the undersides of the wings patterned like wood camouflage.

Posted 02 September 2011 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) °

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