Where Are The Insides Of This Bug?
April 29, 2010
Hello! I was at my parent’s home in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida about three weeks ago and while I was out on the dock, I noticed this beetle-looking bug. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the upper-middle section was split open and all of the bug’s insides were gone. First, what exactly am I looking at and second, is this some sort of shedded skin? I am truly intrigued by this and would truly appreciate your assistance in answering these questions. Thank you in advance for your time and efforts!
Victor
Lake Panasoffkee, Florida
Cicada Exuvia
Hi Victor,
This is the Exuvia or molted skin of a Cicada. Immature Cicadas live underground, and when they near maturity, they dig to the surface, shed their exoskeleton for the last time, and emerge as winged adults that buzz in the trees. The Exuvia is left behind.
Daniel,
Thank you so very much for your prompt and informative reply! I find your explanation fascinating and will pass your information along to my three children who, like me, were intrigued at what this bug would actually be.
Thanks again for your time and efforts,
Victor
¶ Posted 30 April 2010 § ‡ ° Tagged: Top 10 Brown bug with debris from Madagascar
April 27, 2010
Hi
I don’t even know where to start research with this bug. It was on a post about 3 feet off the ground in Madagascar in summer. It’s relatively slow moving and about .75″ long. Can you help?
Thanks,
Theresa
Andasibe, central Madagascar
Cicada Exuvia
Hi Theresa,
The bug in your photo is actually the Exuvia of a Cicada, and the insect had previously left the premises. Insects have an exoskeleton that must be shed before the insect can grow or metamorphose. Immature Cicadas live underground for many years, and as they mature, they crawl to the surface and climb a tree or other vertical structure several feet before beginning the final metamorphosis. The exoskeleton splits and the adult winged Cicada emerges, leaving behind the cast off exoskeleton known as the exuvia. Exuvia of Cicadas and Dragonflies are often noticed, and they are probably among the most commonly submitted insect remains to our website.
¶ Posted 28 April 2010 § ‡ ° Green Bee?
April 6, 2010
I accidently dug this fascinating creature out of the ground near my peonies while doing some spring gardening in Boise, Idaho. It’s a beautiful light jade color, and looks like some sort of wasp… a member of the Halictidae family, perhaps? Its wings are just stubs and its ability to walk leaves something to be desired. It stumbles around blindly. A juvenile or a queen?
Thank you! Johanna
Boise, Idaho
Cicada Nymph
Hi Johanna,
This is a Cicada Nymph. Immature Cicadas live underground where they feed on the sap in roots. They metamorphose into winged adults that resemble large flies. We have never seen a photo of a Cicada Nymph with such lovely coloration. Alas, we do not know the species.
Cicada Nymph
After posting, we found a match on BugGuide identified as being in the genus Platypedia.
Well, hot diggity! Thanks! So what should I do with it now? It was dug up from within the soil, so I can’t really put it back. (Can I?) Will it survive if I set it on the ground under the flowers where I found it? Wikipedia informs me that cicadas are damaging to plants, but to heck with my plants. I don’t want to kill this lil’ guy, nor have it die simply because I disturbed his home. Is it too late? He’s sitting in a jar of dirt right now, and seems to be happy enough.
Johanna
Hi again Johanna,
We would recommend putting it back where you found it. If the soil was freshly turned, the immature Cicada should be able to dig back underground.
¶ Posted 07 April 2010 § ‡ ° Black moth with yellow stripe on ‘neck’
March 22, 2010
Hi, my dad found this moth on a tree in our garden in Malaysia (tropics). Rainy season had just started, humid, temperature around 29C. Wing span was about 12 centimeters. Hope you can help identify this moth. Really curious! Thanks.
June, Malaysia.
Penang, Malaysia
Cicada: Tacua speciosa
Hi June,
This is not a moth, but rather a Cicada, and it is gorgeous. We did a web search for black cicada in Malaysia, and we found a match on the ExoInsects website of Malaysian insects for sale where it was identified as Tacua speciosa Rare. We then found a photo of a living specimen on Ch’ien C. Lee’s Nature Photography of Southeast Asia website.
¶ Posted 22 March 2010 § ‡ ° Found him on campsite near the beach in Summer
March 5, 2010
Hello, i have just came back from a year down under and have some amazing pics of some of the strangest bugs and animals and insects i have ever seen. But there’s one in particular that we have to find out what it is. He found us on our campsite in Broome, Western Australia last Christmas, that’s there summer.
He was attacked by a bird and was shocked and we saved him. He stayed very still for maybe 20mins and then very loudly flew away happy to be breathing I’d imagine.
We traveled all of Australia and only ever came across this guy once. Maybe he’s native to the West Coast. Other than that i can’t say much more about him, I hope you guys can end our confusion, thanks.
Ozbug
Broome, Western Australia
Possibly Golden Drummer Cicada
Hi Ozbug,
This is a Cicada, and there are over 200 different species in Australia. We could not locate an exact match for yours, and the angle of view is not ideal to see the markings, but your Cicada looks similar to the Golden Drummer Cicada, Thopha colorata. We found a nice photo on Flickr. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to verify or correct our identification.
Desert Cicada
February 26, 2010
Hi, WTB,
From early June, 2009, a very fresh looking Desert Cicada. It voided when picked up. Northern Sonoran Desert, southern Arizona, about 3,000′.
Best,
Denny
Cactus Dodger
Hi Denny,
We are nearly certain your interesting desert Cicada is Cacama valvata, which we quickly located on BugGuide. We like that it is called a Cactus Dodger.
Cactus Dodger
Thanks for the ID. I had not heard the name Cactus Dodger, but I like it, also.
Cactus Dodger
can you identify this bug
January 15, 2010
Please could you tell me what this fly / insect is
Emma
Ilha Grande, Brazil
Cicada
Hi Emma,
This is some species of Cicada, but we are unable to identify the species at this time. Perhaps one of our readers will know the species and provide a name.
Thank you very much for this information!
Possible Identification
hi,
the cicada in http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2010/01/15/unknown-cicada-from-brazil/ looks like it belongs to the Orellana genus based on the shape of the pronotum, and the dark spots on the wing.
Dan
http://www.cicadamania.com/
¶ Posted 15 January 2010 § ‡ ° Help needed to identify a very noisy insect!
January 6, 2010
Looks like a large green cicada and is approx. 7cm in length. However it has solid coloured wings unlike any cicada I have seen previously and has a swollen abdomen. Was making a very loud vibration noise that I initially thought was coming from an electricity transformer. Unfortunately where it was I couldn’t get a full photo.
Sarah
Sydney Australia
Bladder Cicada
Hi Sarah,
As you letter indicated, this is not an ideal photograph for identification purposes. At first we thought this must be a Katydid, and the Brisbane Insect website has a few photos of a False Leaf Katydid in the genus Mastigaphoides, family Pseudophyllinae, that didn’t look quite right. In attempting to locate additional online photographs, we stumbled upon a wonderful Conservation Report website on Leaf Mimic Animals. We suddenly remembered the Bladder Cicada, Cystosoma saundersii, and we found images that look correct on the Brisbane Insect website which states “The male Bladder Cicadas have the greatly enlarged abdomen, largely hollow. This is the resonating chamber to amplify the loudness of their songs.“ You may also listen to the call of the Bladder Cicada on the Brisbane Insect Website.
Hi Daniel,
Yes, that’s it, a Bladder Cicada! Thankyou so much for helping to identify it.
It has been driving my neighbour & I mad for the last week trying to workout
what was making the sound, as it started spot on 8.30pm every evening (right
when it gets dark) and would make a very loud, annoying vibrating noise for 30
mins -2hrs. Last night it had moved from being up near the roof, most likely in
a tree (hence I thought it was coming from something electrical), to her
carport, so we were able to locate it & determine the source!
Thanks,
Sarah
¶ Posted 06 January 2010 § ‡ ° 
rss
I like This
