an aquatic lawn shrimp?
Wed, May 6, 2009 at 3:11 PM
hi, i have found these swimmers in a stray cat’s drinking bowl that someone has set up in the woods, not far from a busy road. ill take it as the bowl is never dumped out if these lived in them. fortunately i had a big ziploc bag and collected the specimen, and was kind enough to wash their bowl and poured bottled water in it, and was greeted by two grateful beautiful longhaired cats. i was able to collect 11 of them but some died in transit, i placed the little guys in my fishtank and its been a few hours and theyre still okay. i took pictures and a couple videos with my fujifilm camera aided with a 10x triplet magnifier with the intent to send in the photos here, i am actually surprised that on the frontpage was a photo of dead lawn shrimps and they looked very similar to what i have found, except i found my little guys a live and swimming in a kitty bowl.
dogafin
pensacola, fl
Freshwater Shrimp
Dear dogafin,
Your observation that your specimens resembled the Lawn Shrimp was quite astute. We are certain that your specimens are also Crustaceans, quite possibly Freshwater Shrimp in the genus Gammarus. Gammarus and Lawn Shrimp are both in the order Amphipoda. We located a fishing website that has information on Gammarus which are also known as Scuds. The The Backyard Arthropod Project A Field Guide to the North Side of Old Mill Hill, Atlantic Mine, MI also has some good information. We might be way off base here with the genus ID because the location was so odd. We can only guess that at one point the cat bowl was filled with water from a pond inhabited by the Crustaceans. We gladly welcome a professional identification on this somewhat odd sighting.
Freshwater Shrimp
Fri, May 8, 2009 at 6:34 AM
Dear WTB,
I’ve worked on benthos of the Great Lakes and inland lakes in Michigan for close to ten years now and have seen a few amphipods in that time. From these pictures its difficult to say much more than an amphipod. If there’s a pond or lake near by its possible that these could, at the very least, be in the family gammaridae but the could also be Hyallela. The way to determine this is to see if there are accessory flagella (small segmented appendage) on the 4th segment of the first (top pair) of antennae. If there’s no flagellum its Hyallela; if there is a flagellum its more likely to be Gammarus or at least in the family gammaridae.
carterg,
Ann Arbor, MI
Bug cult found dead on kitchen floor.
Thu, Apr 30, 2009 at 3:54 AM
I went into my kitchen earlier today and saw brown spots on my floor, I lean in to see what it was. Hundreds of dead bugs lay on my kitchen floor all dead like some kind of bug cult that just drank the cool aid.
I have no idea what kind of bugs these are, they kind of look like little roaches, maybe bed bugs, I dunno.
It was just after a pretty big storm, also I have a punching bag that I brought in before the storm and am hoping they didnt some how come from that…
Geoffrey
Houston, Texas
Lawn Shrimp
Hi Geoffrey,
We have decided that your highly entertaining and descriptive letter and photo of Lawn Shrimp will be our featured Bug of the Month for May. Lawn Shrimp are terrestrial amphipods, an order of Crustaceans. They live in ivy, shrubbery and fallen leaves and go virtually unnoticed until it rains, at which time they enter homes and die in great numbers. They are also called House Hoppers and are in the family Talitridae. According to Charles Hogue in his book Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, the species found in Los Angeles, and quite possibly Houston, is Talistroides sylvaticus. They are gray while alive and turn pink or orange after dying.
Found in some leaves
Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 7:09 PM
I found my dog attacking one of these last night and it sure does look like a scorpion to me, but living in Indiana I have been led to believe that they are not native to this area. We have recently had a lot of water activity and this was found nighttime on cement…i think they are living in some leaves that blew onto the cement. I would really like to get at least an idea of what type of bug this is.
Ashley H.
North Eastern Indiana
Crayfish Carnage
Hi Ashley,
This is a Crayfish or Crawfish, or Crawdad in the South, a freshwater Crustacean that can survive on land, in damp conditions, that is found throughout much of the U.S. We are uncertain if the mortal wounds were inflicted by your dog or by you, but we are posting this image to our Unnecessary Carnage page nonetheless. Crayfish are edible and taste much like lobster.
Weird looking yard bug found today-Shrimp?
Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 10:16 AM
My wife found this bug on our yard this morning. We live in Tampa, FL and I’ve never seen one of these on my lawn. Looks a lot like something between a freshwater shrimp and a crawfish.
Pat Ryan
Tampa, FL
Clawless Crayfish
Dear Pat,
This is indeed a Crayfish or Crawfish, but alas, some trauma has caused it to lose its claws. Fear not, the claws can grow back, but the poor crustacean is helpless until the regeneration.
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Posted 12 March 2009
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small brown crustacean in house
Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 10:39 PM
I live in Southern CA and we’ve had heavy rain the last few days. Since this morning we are finding small brown bugs that look like a crustacean and kind of like a maggot. They are in the front rooms of the house and on the front patio. Could they be from the rain and what are they? The picture attached is from the web, but the look almost identical. Thanks
Lauren
in house in Southern CA
Lawn Shrimp
Hi Lauren,
What a wonderful photo of Arcitalitrus sylvaticus, a Lawn Shrimp, according to BugGuide, or House Hopper, according to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin. According to BugGuide: “These are rarely seen except when flooding or lack of moisture forces them to abandon their home in the soil in search for suitable conditions. At such times they often end up dieing on pavement or in homes and become a nuisance. Once they start appearing, there’s not much that can be done except to sweep them up- pesticides are pointless, because by then they’re already dieing or dead. The best solution is to keep the numbers down the rest of the year by keeping the soil from staying too moist- in California, especially, they’re a sign of overwatering. Physical barriers like weather-stripping can also help to keep them out of homes, but their bodies are flat and narrow, allowing them to slip through surprisingly narrow cracks. ”
Turquoise Bug That Looks Like a Bee
Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 5:54 PM
I was taking pictures of bumblebees in my yard and saw this beautiful blue bug that hovered by the same yellow flowers. Do you know what it is? It looks like a mutant bumblebee in shape! The color is amazing. Thank you in advance for any information you can provide me. Hopefully it is not a pest that I have to worry about in the garden.
Sandi
Boca Raton, FL
Green Orchid Bee
Hi Sandi,
When we first posted a photo of a Green Orchid Bee, Euglossa viridissima, a few years ago, it created quite a stir. Now according to BugGuide, this tropical species is well established in Florida.
Slaters Nutrition
Sun, Nov 2, 2008 at 1:08 AM
Hi There
Do slaters have omega 3 fatty acids
I’m planning for peak oil
Edward
Tasmania
Slater
Hi Edward,
We believe David Gracer would be better qualified to answer your questions about the nutritional value of a Slater or Sea Louse, a Marine Isopod. We can’t help but wonder if you are contemplating an appearance on the television series Survivor or just planning for a global disaster with the accompanying food shortage.
Greetings,
Yes, I’ve eaten these guys, and theyíre not bad. I can’t speak to individual species [I never keyed mine out], but there ís a history of documentation on the consumption of woodlice, rolly-pollies, pillbugs, and sowbugs, all of which are terrestrial isopods like this one here. Holt discussed them briefly in his landmark 1885 ìWhy Not Eat Insects?î According the English folk medicine belief in the doctrine of signatures, these isopods were used as medicine because some species rolled into a pill shape. Despite its own disclaimer, this URL features a few recipes.
http://www.geocities.com/~gregmck/woodlice/recipes.htm
Next year I may well farm these ëbugsí in a fishtank environment, and try these preparations for myself.
Best,
Dave
desert wiggle-womper
in the desert of southern Utah i like to take the kidz out for a hike every now and then. there is a place on top of a messa where there is a lot of petrified wood and indian arrowhead and just really neat things to find and discover. Well any how. there is a place on top of some sandstone clifs where water will gather in various pockets that create a shallow pond of water. there are only 2 places that i have found that the water will stay in for more thain two or so weeks. this little pool right now is dry, so i gathered a jar of dirt and brought it home to put in a bucket of water. 2 dyas later boom!!! these cool little bugs hatched out and about doubled in size every day. the one on my hand is approx. 2 weeks old.
I can give you more ifo on just what i have observed, but cand put my finger on what to call them. i figure they can obviously live in dry sand for many years.
Phil Dunn
Southern Utah
Tadpole Shrimp: Dorsal View
Hi Phil,
We are very excited to get your letter and wonderful photos. Your creatures are Crustaceans known as Triops or Tadpole Shrimp. Triops are a very ancient life form that have developed a unique survival strategy. They often live in areas where there is limited or sporadic rainfall. Much like your home experiment, when water fills a dried up pond with the seasonal rains, the dormant eggs hatch and quickly develop to maturity. Adult Triops then mate and lay eggs that will eventually dry up awaiting the next rain. We have found a Triops Information Page on the internet that indicates the species Triops longicaudatus is found in the Western U.S., Central and South America. Encyclopedia Britannica Online mentions a species Triops cancriformis, but sadly, we have not paid for our Encyclopedia online access so we cannot read the information. We do have our ancient hard copy of Encyclopedia Britannica dating from 1956 that includes some information on the genus Triops under the subject heading of Branchiopoda, a subclass of the Crustaceans that includes other primitive forms like Fairy Shrimp, Clam Shrimp and Water Fleas. Tadpole Shrimp are in the order Notostraca and are characterized by the “broad, shield-shaped carapace covering the fore part of the body.” We feel compelled at this point to bring up the controversial “E” word. We personally believe that due to the nature of the life cycle of the Triops, isolated populations do not share gene pools, potentially giving rise to different species and subspecies that have Evolved independantly of one another from distant shared ancestors. In the interest of opposing view points, it is also possible that individual populations of Triops were Created about 7000 years ago.
Tadpole Shrimp: Ventral View
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Posted 27 September 2008
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Help ID this creature please
Hi Mr. Bug Man,
We were out baoting on the Halifax River in Central Fl (brachish water very near the shore) (its actually more salt than freshwater) and found this prehistoric looking bug that looks like a cross between a crawfish and a lobster with no pinchers. It had a long body with the legs of a centipede. Its head is arrowhead shaped with the eyes and short antennaes like a shrimp. Its body measures about 4 inches long anf the tail is more rounded. There are also five pointy stinger like appendages that are on the tip of his tail and there are also one on each back leg (2). It also curls up like a roly-poly. Below are some pictures for you to review. Please get back to us as soon as you can.
This looks to us like a Mantis Shrimp. It is neither mantis nor shrimp, but a Crustacean in the order Stomatopoda. You can read about them on Wikipedia.
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Posted 22 June 2008
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this one scared my little son, what is it?
Hello from Australia!
This one scared my 1 y.o. son this morning as he was playing next to the door, he saw it running around (not too fast). The thing is I have never seen something like it. The body itself was about 1 inch long at least, actually, the board itself is 95mm wide, so it looks more like 30mm for the body. The spray didn’t bother him, only the light of the flash when I took a picture. I didn’t think to take a picture of its belly once I picked it up. Its shell felt rather robust while holding it, lots of feet underneath… and notice the sort of tails with those spike bits pointing upwards. One thing that might help: I threw it over the balcony into the water (sea water) and to my surprise, it sank immediately. Because I don’t know if my son touched it by mistake I’m willing to know if it is any harmful… We are located in Port Stephens, NSW Australia. Please let us know your findings… thank you for your help!
Greg
Hi Greg,
This is a Marine Isopod, sometimes called a Sea Slater, or Beach Cockroach or Rock Louse. We just received a photo from Florida as well. We suspect your specimen is in the genus Ligia, perhaps Ligia oceanica. They are harmless scavengers and can get very numerous on rocky beaches. We are surprised that you have never noticed them since your house is on the beach. It is curious how this Sea Slater found its way into your home since they rarely stray away from the crashing waves. Perhaps a luckless seagull dropped it on your balcony.
Air attack by hornets on crab
In Oman recently, observed some hornets attacking a crab which was defending a piece of discarded food on the beach. Three hornets ended up attacking together from different directions. The crab just swiped at them with its big claw. The hornets gave up in the end. Hope the pictures are of interest.
John Jackson
Hi John,
Wow, what action photos you have sent us. These are Oriental Hornets, Vespa orientalis, and they are social wasps. We found a website that identifies them, lists the distribution as northern africa, western asia and madagascar, and gives other information about them. We are not sure what type of crab it is and we haven’t the time to research that right now.
Update (12/03/2007) crab vs. hornet
that has to be the funniest picture I have ever seen! It’s like David and Goliath. I guess the hornets thought it was worth the try. I’m sure the crab was laughing! happy holidays
Lee Weber
Nottingham PA
Hi Lee,
We agree that these photos are quite amazing. We were in a big rush to post them this morning before going to work.
Update: (12/05/2007) The crab and the oriental hornets
Hi Daniel,
The crab in those really great pictures is a species of Ghost Crab, genus Ocypode. They are called ghost crabs because at least some of the species are so well camouflaged that they are pretty much invisible on the sand until they move, which is often very rapidly indeed! In the Caribbean they come out of their burrows towards the end of the day. I don’t know which species this would be, as there are apparently 5 different species in the genus in Oman. All the very best,
Susan Hewitt
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Posted 02 December 2007
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Pill bugs
I was looking at your site and noticed the bit about Rolly Pollys. Growing up in New Orleans, we always called them Doodle Bugs. I have since moved to Birmingham, AL and they call them Rolly Pollys. Just thought you might like to have that for your knowledge base.
Kevin
Thanks Kevin,
We have always associated the common name Doodle Bug with the Ant Lion Larvae.
blue sow bug
I just wanted to know if a blue sow bug is rare? Or why it is blue. I thought it was very pretty looking.
Thank you,
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
Our guess on this, and we must emphasize the guess part, is that your Pill Bug might be freshly molted and has still not darkened to gray.
Update: (04/28/2007) blue wood lice dear folks
in regard to the blue woodlouse you posted: it is infected with an iridovirus. here is a link to a page with more woodlouse information– http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/7649/woodlice/wliceod.htm although these little blue guys are pretty–the first time i saw one, i thought it was a lapis bead and tried to pick it up; boy was i surprised when it uncurled!–they are, unfortunately, on their way to being compost. thanks for all your good bug work!
patty
Hi Patty,
Thank you so much for a most awesome update, correction and link to information.
do you know what type of bug this is?
Hello,
I found this bug in my yard today. It is roughly the lenght of my palm and about the half of the width of my palm. He has pinchers and looks like a miniture brown lobster. Thank you
Angela
Hi Angela,
This is a Crayfish, a freshwater crustacean. They are a delicacy in the south.
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Posted 01 March 2007
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Brazilian coast bug
This is the picture of a very common bug in the coast of brazil. It lives in the sand and it’s size ranges from 3 or 4 mm to 3 cm. It’s like some kind of betlee that buries it self in the sand. Thank you very much
Javier
Hi Javier,
We have very fond memories of capturing Sand Crabs in the interstitial zone of the beaches near Topanga Canyon, CA in the 70s. Thanks for sending in a truly awesome photo of a Sand Crab.
Hi guys,
Ah, one of my favorite kind of cute little critters, Mole Crabs! This is Emerita brasiliensis, the Brazilian Sand Crab or Mole Crab. It’s one of the species shown at: http://www.usp.br/cbm/artigos/praia.html Here on the East Coast of the US we have lots of really nice Atlantic Mole Crabs, Emerita talpoida. From what I read, there are in total four different species of sand crab on the Atlantic coast of the Americas, and two species on the Pacific coast, including your Emerita analoga (the other Pacific species is more tropical.)
Susan
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Posted 19 February 2007
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Japanese bugs
More pictures. hopefully these aren’t too big. This creepy crawly we saw on the beach. We liked calling them "seacockroaches" but I’m assuming that they’re some sort of louse. There were tons of them, the smaller ones being browner in color, and the older larger ones were darker in color. They collected on breakwaters and seemed to like to keep away from the water.
Nick
Hi Nick,
This looks like some species of Marine Isopod to us. Isopods are Crustaceans.
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Posted 30 January 2007
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bug
Thank you for your wonderful and informative site. I have to say upfront, I’m not a bug lover, but I find myself fascinated by your site because I can at least identify the small creatures that freak me out! Anyway, I digress… we live in Maryland, directly on the Chesapeake Bay. At the shore front we have a large stone rip-rap that protects the shoreline from erosion. Every morning and late afternoon, these large rocks and the adjacent pier, are covered in bugs. They are so fast and scatter when we approach! There are hundreds of them and they will swarm on the rocks and are not dislodged by the breaking waves. My children think they look like ‘Plankton’ from Spongebob, although they are different in color! Anyway, here are some pics! Thank you again for all the information you provide.
GKS – bugged in Maryland!
Dear Bugged,
These are Marine Isopods, a type of Crustacean. They are closely related to Sow Bugs or Rollie Pollies that are found in damp spots in terrestrial gardens.
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Posted 20 August 2006
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Crawdad/Crayfish
OK, so I am supposed to be doing Scout stuff (minutes, updating the website, etc) and I am stuck on your sight. Yes, I have been looking at it for almost 2 hours now! As I peruse various pages, I came across the crayfish. I couldn’t resist! As you may now know, we had a great time at Timothy Lake (Oregon). Not only did we get to see a fabulous sight (the butterflies), but my wonderful son and his buddy went snorkeling for crawdads. At first I was a little skeptical to eat them, but YUM! You don’t have to post, but I thought you might enjoy the pictures. BTW, thanks for the great site. I have already added to my favorites and cannot wait to share with others. It’s a lot of work and dedication. Thanks to you there is a wonderful resource for finding out What That Bug?
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for the kind letter, though we feel guilty you are shirking your duties by indulging in the guilty pleasure of What’s That Bug? We have eaten Crawdads, and think they are delicious as well. We like to distinguish between the term Crayfish, to mean the living creature, and Crawdad as the potential food source.
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Posted 15 August 2006
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Please help identify these home invaders
Hello!
I have browsed through the common millipedes/centipedes and pantry beetles as suggested and haven’t quite been able to identify the insect invading my home. I believe it may be a centipede. These bugs first appeared en mass (about 40 found in half an hour) in my Toronto home at the end of March. They are very slow and ball up in their hard shells when approached. I do not believe them to be pantry beetles as I do not find them in my kitchen. They seem to be coming in from under the spare room (where there is no basement)where it attaches to the main house. I have hopefully filled the cracks now but would really like to know what these are so I can better prepare to defend my home. I apologize in advance that the 3rd picture is a bit blurry. Thank you,
Karen
Hi Karen,
These are not insects but Crustaceans. They are Terrestrial Isopods commonly known as Pill Bugs or Sow Bugs. Children sometimes call them Rollie-Pollies. They are more of a nuisance than a problem.
please tell us what this is
the kids and i went for a walk and thought we saw minnows swimming around in swamp near home.when we looked closer found out it was some kind of larvae . can you tell us what this is? it swims on its back i think?
Steve
Hi Steve,
Fairy Shrimp are Crustaceans that are usually found in the spring in ponds that dry up in the summer. Eggs are laid and wait in the dry mud for spring rains or winter thaws before they hatch. They are relatede to Sea Monkeys.
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Posted 19 April 2006
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