Dobsonfly in my garage?
July 20, 2009
I found this 3″ insect in the middle of my garage floor one evening, in a heavily wooded area of southeastern Pennsylvania, near a pond/creek. How it got there will remain a mystery, however I believe someone here can at least clear up the identity of the deceased, may it R.I.P.
From perusing your great site, I decided it most looks like a female dobsonfly, however I would like confirmation on that. It has been “bugging” me not to know for sure.
So that I don’t get nominated for a nasty reader award, I will say that I found it in this exact condition; dead, with missing body parts. 
Many thanks from Barto, PA
Heavily wooded area of Southeastern PA, near a creek
Dobsonfly: Dead from unknown causes
Dear Barto,
You are correct. This is a female Dobsonfly. For the record, people who kill insects out of fear or ignorance do not become Nasty Readers, though they will wind up on the Unnecessary Carnage page in our attempt to educate the public as to what need not be killed. Only when readers “attack” us in words and insult us do they become nasty readers. Your photo will simply go in the Dobsonfly archives since you had nothing to do with her death.
¶ Posted 20 July 2009 § ‡ ° Looks like a Fish Fly
July 20, 2009
Hello bugman. I have briefly looked at your dobson fly and fish fly images and am leaning towards the fish fly for the specimen (of many around my home) that I have photographed. Although this one is missing one of his antennae, the remaining antennae somewhat reveals the absence of the feather like protrusions on one side which is said to be one of the defining characteristics of the Fish Fly. As well, the absence of any distinctive mandibles seems to discredit the possibility of a Dobson Fly. Sooo, did one of these critters from each family get together one night and have a party, and this is the result?
thanks for any info.
Shrew
Nova Scotia, Canada
Dark Fish Fly
Hi Shrew,
This is a Fish Fly, more specifically, a Dark Fish Fly, in the genus Nigronia which we located on BugGuide. Dobsonflies, Fishflies and Dark Fishflies are in the same family, Corydalidae, but in different genera. This is how BugGuide identifies the differences between the two species: “Wings with large white areas more or less continuous, especially across the middle; anal area of hindwing white; male antennae modified pectinate; female antennae serrate—Nigronia fasciatus Wings with white spots isolated often associated with crossveins; anal area of hindwing brown; male and female antennae serrate— Nigronia serricornis“. We would lean more towards Nigronia serricornis. This is the first Dark Fish Fly we have received and we are thrilled to add it to our archives.
¶ Posted 20 July 2009 § ‡ ° Flying Ant Demon! With a Stinger.
July 12, 2009
About 2-2 1/2 inches long, 1/2 inch long pinchers. Antennas on head felt like needles. Obviously could fly. 6 legs, stinger on tail size of head. about all i know, my friends uncle put a screw in it because it scared him i think!
Ryan Darveaux
Arrington, KS
Dobsonfly Gets Screwed
Ryan,
This goes way way beyond Unnecessary Carnage. It actually borders on medieval torture. This poor male Dobsonfly was perfectly harmless, and now it is dead.
Male Dobsonfly
July 10, 2009
I live near the Susquehanna river in NE Pennsylvania and often visit with my camera. Today I went down after work, dropped my camera bag on the bank and went to work photographing wildflowers.
I turned back to my bag in time to see this guy crawling up to the top, where he latched onto the handle and proceeded to flap his wings furiously (thus the motion blur, sorry). Seriously, I think he was humping my bag. I’m wondering if he mistook my hairclip for a female 
I took a few shots, then found a stick and shooed him away. And of course, took a few shots of him on the ground. That one is blurry because I am a chicken and didn’t want to get too close.
Jeanne
Northeastern PA
Male Dobsonfly
Hi Jeanne,
We already posted two Dobsonfly images today, but your letter is so wonderful and you photo is so great, we really needed to add it to our site as well. Thanks for an excellent contribution.
¶ Posted 12 July 2009 § ‡ ° what is this thing?
July 11, 2009
I’ve seen a few of these the past few nights, only at night. The ones I’ve seen are near a light source, and rather inactive. Two sets of wings, a soft abdomen, 6 legs, 2 antennae, and claw like pinchers at it’s mouth. this one is about 2.5″ long and a wingspan of 3.5″. I have never seen anything close to this before.
Ryan
West suburbs of Chicago
- Female Dobsonfly
Hi Ryan,
This is a female Dobsonfly, a common insect throughout the eastern U.S. We also just posted a photo of a male Dobsonfly from Ecuador. You should compare the modest mandibles on your female to the impressive set on the male of the species, though we suspect the Ecuadorean individual is of a different species.
¶ Posted 12 July 2009 § ‡ ° Large winged moth like thing with big pincery bits
Jul 11, 2009
Large winged moth like thing with big pincery bits
This is Arnold, who is larger than the palm of my hand and turned up every night at about 8pm when it was dark and the light was on, and seemed to really like landing on me. The pincery bits don’t appear to be mandibles, and are quite hard to the touch. Arnold brought his wife along one night, and she lacked the pincers. I have never seen anything like this, and would love to know what you think!
Leigh McIvor
Cloud Forest, 2000m.a.s North Western Ecuador
Male Dobsonfly Fly from Ecuador
Hi Leigh,
Arnold is a male Dobsonfly. Though we are uncertain of the exact species in Ecuador, it seems that Dobsonflies from around the world are quite easily identified. Your photo showing the spread wings is quite impressive.
¶ Posted 12 July 2009 § ‡ ° 5 inch flying bug with huge tusks
Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 8:51 AM
The picture says it all
Jim
Jefferson, Iowa USA
Dobsonfly
Hi Jim,
Nice photo of a male Dobsonfly.
¶ Posted 04 July 2009 § ‡ ° Please identify this weird bug for me.
Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 10:44 AM
I was visiting my parents’ lake cottage in the Adirondack Mountains in mid-June and found this bug by the downstairs brick patio. It was raining heavily and he was just sitting in a dry spot. It was about 11 pm. I scooped him up in a dish and found 2 more of the same size in the same vicinity. It was very docile and didn’t freak out when I picked him up; didn’t try to strike or fight at all. He wasn’t affected by light or water. (I flushed his two friends down the toilet and they didn’t struggle at all when put into the water.) I put him in a baggie and took his picture with a measuring tape to show his size. I left him in the baggie hoping he would suffocate and I could keep his body to show people for identification, but he chewed through the baggie and disappeared. I went back to the area where I found him and his friends but haven’t seen any since. This is in a pine-y, wooded area next to a lake. Pine needles are more abundant than grass. The patio where he wa s sitting is made of brick pavers. My parents also have a jacuzzi tub on the same patio, but they were not next to it when I found them. I am at a loss, finding nothing online even close to this bug to compare. Help!
Thank you for your assistance.
Upstate New York, Adirondack Mountains, Lake Algonquin
Hellgrammite
You have found Hellgrammites, the larvae of Dobsonflies. We really don’t condone flushing living things down the toilet. Hellgrammites are semiaquatic and can survive total emersion for a period of time. We would like to believe that the two individuals that were flushed will emerge unscathed at the end of the line, but that is probably just a fantasy.
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