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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Fishing Spider with Egg Sac

Huge female spider with egg sac
Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 6:40 PM
Hello – We were pulling up rocks from around my garden pond to replace the liner and came across this big spider, with a baby sac. Do you know what kind it is? If you like the picture, feel free to post it. Just let me know if you do. I named her Mary Beth, the Jurassic Pregnant Pond Spider. We relocated here to a different part of the yard.
Cathy
Miamisburg, Ohio

Female Fishing Spider with Egg Sac

Female Fishing Spider with Egg Sac

Hi Cathy,
This is a female Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes, probably the Northern Dolomedes, Dolomedes tenebrosus.  They are generally associated with bodies of water, which makes her habitat around your pond significant.

Posted 03 July 2009 § Nursery Web Spiders ‡ Comments (0) °

Fishing Spider with Egg Sac

Large 4-inch spider under deck in MD
Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Found her under the deck last night in central MD; body about 1-inch; almost 4-inch leg span. Lovely leg striations. Seemed shy. No web. Not hairy like a wolf spider and legs too long and skinny. What is she? Habitat? Have never seen one before. Would prefer she lives outside!!! Released her in our back woods with creek. Fisherman spider?
goodbug
ellicott city, MD

Fishing Spider carrying Egg Sac

Fishing Spider carrying Egg Sac

Dear goodbug,
What a spectacular photo you have provided for us of a female Dolomedes Fishing Spider, probably Dolomedes tenebrosus, carrying her Egg Sac.

Posted 19 June 2009 § Nursery Web Spiders ‡ Comments (0) °

Wheel Bug Hatchlings

Exotic looking insect
Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 11:45 AM
I saw these in my backyard and have no idea what they are. I am sending this pic because describing them would not give a clear picture as to what they are.
Eric
Pennsylvania

Wheel Bug Hatchlings

Wheel Bug Hatchlings

Hello Eric,
We just posted a letter and photo of a Wheel Bug nymph, and we mentioned that we often get sightings of Wheel Bug hatchlings in the spring.  Hours later, your photo of Wheel Bug hatchlings arrived.  Wheel Bugs are a species of Assassin Bugs and they are beneficial predators in the yard, but they can bite if provoked.  Hatchling Wheel Bugs are often described as antlike or spiderlike, and they look very different from the winged adult with the coglike structure of the thorax which resembles a wheel.

Posted 02 June 2009 § Assassin Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Wheel Bug Hatchlings, we believe

6 legged orange butt black leggs
Fri, Apr 10, 2009 at 9:05 AM
Hi, My name is Sonya and I noticed these bugs on my October Maple tree about 2-3 weeks ago. I live in the Charleston South Carolina area. There is a grouping of these small 6 black legged bugs with orange butts. They tend to stay grouped together but you can find smaller groups of 2-3 in other areas of the tree. I also noted today that there was 2 larger ones that were different colors, mostly orange and some yellow with little to no black on them, they appeared to be mating with some smaller bugs with no orange on them, just black and smaller butts. When I went out with the camera a couple of hours later, after finding this site, I couldn’t find the different ones. Also since I’ve first noted the bugs their butts have changed slightly and now appear to have small black dots in the center of the rear. They also have a small nest of sorts that is dripping stuff down the tree.

Wheel Bug Eggs and Hatchlings

Wheel Bug Eggs and Hatchlings

I hope this is descriptive enough. Thank you very much for your help. I’ve lived in SC my whole life and don’t recall ever seeing these bugs before.
Sonya in SC
South East

Wheel Bug Hatchlings

Wheel Bug Hatchlings

Hi Sonya,
These are newly hatched Hemipterans, or True Bugs.  It is often very difficult to properly identify hatchlings, but we believe these are Wheel Bugs a type of Assassin Bug.  Wheel Bugs, Arilus cristatus, are predators.  The nest you noticed are the eggs laid in a distinctive cluster by the female Wheel Bug.  The hatchlings stay together for a very short time and then they go rogue to hunt alone.  You can compare your specimens to this photo on BugGuide.  The one thing that would make us suspect these may be some other Hemipteran is that in one of your photos, the hatchlings appear to be feeding off of tree sap.  We are uncertain if perhaps immature Wheel Bugs may be attracted to certain plant juices.

Wheel Bug Hatchlings

Wheel Bug Hatchlings

Posted 11 April 2009 § Assassin Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °

Preying Mantis Oothica

what is that bug
Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 5:56 AM
we just moved into a new home country home which is something i had promised the girls as my 5 year plan and the children love it. as the snow melted they have been discovering nature and ran accross some of these. this cocoon is about as big around as a quarter. and there is one on every bush and tree. the highest i have seen them is about five foot off the ground. teach this city girl and her children something about nature. what is this bug. i hope my picture is good enough.
maria ross
ohio

Preying Mantis Oothica

Preying Mantis Oothica

Congratulations on your move Maria,
Though we love our Los Angeles home, having a country home in Ohio, the state of our roots, would be a dream.  This is a Preying Mantis Oothica.  Come warm weather, about 200 baby Preying Mantids will emerge.  Judging by the number of Oothica you describe, you should have a healthy adult population in the Fall.  Young Mantids are often difficult to spot in the yard and garden, but flying adults with their large size are usually quite visible.

Posted 11 April 2009 § Praying Mantis ‡ Comments (0) °

Katydid Eggs

Pest on Rose Stem
Sun, Feb 8, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Hello! My sister-in-law gave me this segment of a stem from her rose bush growing in California’s central valley in hopes I could identify it. Can you please hekp me? I realize the photo isn’t very good but I am reluctant to take the stem out of the baggy for fear of further spreading whatever the pest is. Thanks so much!
HHoneybee
San Joaquin Valley, California

Katydid Eggs

Katydid Eggs

Hi HHoneybee,
These are Katydid Eggs, and though Katydids eat the leaves from plants including roses, we have a difficult time considering them to be plant pests. They do not do any lasting damage to the plant and they do not spread diseases. Katydids are attractive grasshopper-like insects that are generally green, which camouflages them against the leaves they feed upon. Occasionally we find Katydids eating the blossoms of our roses, but we never kill the insects. At most, we relocate them to another plant. Adult Katydids are sometimes attracted to lights, and many species are among our most “vocal” insects, producing mating calls by a method known as stridulation. We are uncertain which species of Katydid produced the eggs in your photograph.

Thank you so much!
I have given them back to Daisy and she plans to put them back in her garden and watch them hatch.
I have a fear of bugs and I LOVE your website because you not only educate us (and fear is usually a reaction to what is not known) but also encourage a non-lethal way of dealing with them. You are doing a wonderful service with your ‘art project’!
Thanks again,
Heather
“HHoneybee”

Posted 09 February 2009 § Katydids ‡ Comments (0) °

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Hatchlings from Australia

Bug ID needed
Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Hi, My hubby found these little guys hatching out of little silver cachou like eggs and I took macros of them, thinking they were spiders. After downloading and looking at them on the PC, we discovered they were actually little bugs. We have never seen anything like them before and would dearly love to know what they are. When I checked them again today, there were more eggs present. Hope you can help.
Lynne from Bauple, Oz
Bauple,Maryborough,Qld, Australia

Australian Stink Bug Hatchlings

Australian Stink Bug Hatchlings

Hi Lynne,
These are definitely True Bugs, and most probably Stink Bugs in the family Pentatomidae. Sadly, hatchlings can often be extremely difficult to properly identify to the species level.

Correction
Sun, Dec 28, 2008 at 5:09 PM
Hi Daniel, I am pretty sure the bugs are eucalyptus shield bugs. Here is a photo of some eucalyptus shield bug hatchlings taken in our backyard a year ago, and also a later development.
Grev
Australia, east coast

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Hatchlings

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Hatchlings

Thanks Grev,
According to both the Brisbane Insect web site and the Save Our Waterways web site, the Eucalyptus Shield Bugs in the genus Poecilometis are in the Stink Bug family Pentatomidae. The Stink Bugs of Australia web site has specific host trees mentioned for many of the species in the genus Poecilometis. Interestingly, the insects commonly called Shield Bugs in the U.S. are in the family Acanthosomatidae, not Pentatomidae.

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Nymph

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Nymph

Hullo Daniel,
Thanks for the info.
Your website is a godsend – there is so much anti-bug sentiment around (”If it moves, kill it.”) and it is good to read the messages from people whose attitudes have been changed after seeing all the beautiful creatures on your site. And, of course, to see all the amazing bugs there are in the world.
I wish you and Lisa a very happy New Year.
Kind regards,
Grev

Posted 24 December 2008 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:

Male Giant Water Bug with eggs

WEIRD F%(#!N BUG THING!!! HELP!!!
Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 12:22 AM
So like dude i was in the kitchen and all of a sudden this thing just comes crawling out from under the stove, i was scared man. It’s not exactly the kindest looking bugs. I don’t know anything more than that really, i swooped it up with a dustpan and let it wander outside.
tittysprinkles
My house in Tacoma Washington

Male Giant Water Bug with Eggs

Male Giant Water Bug with Eggs

Dear tittysprinkles,
Generally we refrain from editing the letters we receive, but as so many youngsters access our website, we felt compelled to “bleep out” your subject title.  This is a male Giant Water Bug in either the genus Abedus or the genus Belostoma.  When they mate, the female cements the eggs to the back of the male and he is the primary care giver for the unhatched brood.  We are amazed that he was able to fly to your kitchen with that payload on board.  Giant Water Bugs are aquatic, but they can fly quite well and they are attracted to electric lights.  We suspect there is a body of water nearby that served as a mating habitat for your specimen.

Posted 19 November 2008 § Toe Biters ‡ Comments (0) °

Wolf Spider with Egg Sac from Spain

What is this bug?
Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 3:03 AM
Found this bug drying out on a brick in the Mazzaron region of Spain after a rain shower. Was wondering if you could identify.
William
Mazzaron, Spain

Female Wolf Spider with Egg Sac from Spain

Female Wolf Spider with Egg Sac from Spain

Hi William,
This is a female Wolf Spider, but we are not certain of the species.  Female Wolf Spiders drag their egg sacs around with them and once the spiderlings hatch, the mother spider will carry the young on her back for several days until they disperse.  This care method probably has the advantage of distributing the spiderlings in a larger area because of the mobility of the adult.

Posted 06 November 2008 § Wolf Spiders ‡ Comments (0) °

Painted Arachnis laying Eggs

Moth
Sun, Oct 19, 2008 at 9:07 PM
This moth was laying eggs on the wall of my house in Oakland, CA. She was about 1″ long.
Laurie K.
Oakland, CA

Painted Arachnis Laying Eggs

Painted Arachnis Laying Eggs

Hi Laurie,
Your moth is a common Southern California Tiger Moth known as a Painted Arachnis.  We had eight individuals on our screen door and near our porch light on Mt Washington in Los Angeles this past week.  One female also laid eggs.  Over the years, we have observed these moths laying eggs on our walls numerous times.  The caterpillars are general feeders of the Woolly Bear type.

Posted 21 October 2008 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (0) °

Imperial Moth Eggs Hatching

praying mantis eating a wheel bug, unknown eggs
Sat, Oct 11, 2008 at 9:12 PM
HELLO BUGMAN!
… We are also including a hatching photo we took this August. The eggs were stuck to the brick wall outside our classroom and we watched daily to see what was going to happen. We’d loved to know what was coming out! Thank you so much for your help!
Always looking for bugs,
Fours and fives in PA
Southeastern PA

Imperial Moth Eggs Hatching

Imperial Moth Eggs Hatching

Dear Teacher of Fours and Fives,
We are most certain the eggs are those of an Imperial Moth.  BugGuide shows good life cycle images and your first instar caterpillar, except for being a bit lighter, looks quite close to those images.

Posted 12 October 2008 § Caterpillars and Pupa ‡ Comments (0) °

Green Lynx Spider defends her Eggs

Upset Green Lynx – Super Picture! Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 10:46 PM
Hi Daniel,
This time I am proud to say I identified this spider with the help of your site and bug guide! This Green Lynx (Peucetia viridans) was protecting her egg sack and extremely wary of my photographing her. I have been captivated by her appearance and the fact that this is the first time I have seen this species! I hope you find this photoghraph as spectacular as I did and add it to your already fine collection of Green Lynx pics.
Tom
Southeast Georgia

Green Lynx Spider protects her Egg Sac

Green Lynx Spider protects her Egg Sac

Hi Tom,
Wow, what a wonderful image of a Green Lynx Spider being maternal.  We are thrilled to post your image.  The Green Lynx Spider is, after all, our favorite spider.

Posted 11 October 2008 § Spiders ‡ Comments (0) °

Female Fishing Spider with Egg Sac

Male and Female Spider Near St Louis, Missouri
I found these two in a concrete cistern that I converted to a storage area. It has an abundance of crickits in it. I took these pictures in June. The female has an egg sack and allowed me to get quite close to take her photo. The male was more cautious and would move away when I got too close. They are about 5 to 6 inches across. I have never seen anything this size or color in the area. What are they?
JFCisme
Aspenhof, Missouri

Fishing Spider with Egg Sac

Fishing Spider with Egg Sac

Hi JF,
Your photo depicts a female Fishing Spider in the genus Dolomedes.  Because of the maternal care they provide, this family of spiders is known as Nursery Web Spiders.  At some point, after carrying the egg sac around, the Fishing Spider will select a good location and spin a large nursery web.  We actually believe both of your photos are of female Fishing Spiders.

Posted 21 September 2008 § Spiders ‡ Comments (2) °

Male Toe Biter carrying Eggs

baby mantids, toe biter, and painted lady butterfly
Hello! First, I’d like to let you know that my kids and I are huge fans of your site! My four year old son, in particular, is quite the insect enthusiast and loves to look at the photos on your site. We don’t need help identifying the insects in the attached photos, but thought you might like them. We had a praying mantis egg case that hatched just this morning. It was so exciting to wake up and find hundreds of adorable baby mantids waiting for us! I took a couple of photos before we released them into our garden. I’d also ordered some painted lady caterpillars, which the kids and I raised and had a lot of fun observing. I took a photo of one before we released it, also this morning. Finally, yesterday I took the kids to a local park where we caught this incredible toe biter. We’d only ever seen them in books, so we were thrilled to observe a live specimen. Thanks to your site, we know it’s a male with the eggs cemented to his back. We gave him a couple of tadpoles in case he gets hungry, but so far he’s left them alone. The toe biter got to spend the day at preschool with my son, and after dinner we’re going to take him back to the park. Our question is, can a toe biter fly when he has eggs stuck to his back? Thanks so much for the amazing site! We’ve all got our fingers crossed that at least one of our photos makes it onto the site. You don’t want to disappoint a four year old, do you? We know you’re really busy this time of year–keep up the great work!
The Ganino Family
Ps We live in Connecticut, near the shoreline!

Dear Ganino Family,
The problem with using strictly common names for identification purposes is that they tend to overlap. Your Toe Biter is in the genus Belostoma, smaller individuals than the more commonly submitted larger Lethocerus species. The Lethocerus do not cement the eggs to the back of the male like the Belostoma do. Males cannot fly while the eggs are being carried about.

Posted 19 May 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Angular Winged Katydid Laying Eggs

its laying eggs
It laying eggs on my parents fence. I was told it is called a leafcutter, but I cannot find it anywhere online.

Since you did not tell us where in the world your parent’s fence is located, we are reluctant to go any further than to say this is a Katydid in the family Tettigoniidae. It is a great photo, and we will see if Eric Eaton and identify the species.

Hi, Daniel:
The katydid laying eggs is an angular-winged katydid in the genus Microcentrum (if it was photographed in North America), or a closely-related genus. Nice image of oviposition behavior!
Eric

I took those pictures in El Cajon, California. Sorry about forgetting that info. Thank you for writing back to me.
Joe

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi,
I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Angle winged katydid – Microcentrum rhombifolium

Posted 13 January 2008 § Katydids ‡ Comments (0) °

Mermaid’s Purse

Ocean City MD
I found several of these washed up on the beach in Ocean City, Maryland at the end of December, 2007. Can you tell me what it is?
Mo Riddle

Hi Mo,
Though it isn’t a bug, we couldn’t resist posting your image of a Mermaid’s Purse, a very lyrical name for a Shark Egg Case. We are not sure of the species, but suspect it is a Dogfish. The Monterey Bay Aquarium website states: “Some sharks package their young in leathery egg cases, then abandon them at sea. Nourished by their yolk-filled egg sacs, the young sharks, called pups, develop on their own. After several months, one edge of the case comes apart and the tiny sharks emerge, alive and swimming. Occasionally egg cases wash up on beaches before the sharks inside can hatch. Beachcombers may know the pillow

Posted 31 December 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Gulf Fritillary Egg

gulf fritillary egg
If you’d like to complete your documentation of the gulf fritillary life cycle, here’s a photo of its egg.
Tim
www.wildlifetheater.com

Hi Tim,
Thanks so much for completing our Gulf Fritillary Metamorphosis entry.

Posted 09 December 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Black and Yellow Orb Weaver with Eggsack

Please help!
I have a big female spider living outside my house. It has attached itself to the back of the house. She has three sacs now. This morning I found her and the third baby sac on the back screen door. I don’t want to harm the spider but rather relocate it, BUT I really want to know what kind of spider it is. Please find the attached pic. I hope that you can help. Thank you.
Charlotte
Suffolk, VA

Hi Charlotte,
Your letter doesn’t really indicate why you feel it is necessary to relocate this magnificent Argiope aurantia who found an ideal location for her nursery. Argiope aurantia has numerous common names, that are sometimes confusing, like Garden Spider, Black and Yellow Orbweaver, and Golden Orbweaver. She can and will bite if provoked, but she is not a threat to you or your family.

Posted 02 October 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Cockroach Oothica

eww-theca
greetings bugman! here for you i have a picture of an ootheca which you i thought you might like to put on your ‘eggs’ page. when i first found it i had no idea what it was, and was touching it way more than i would’ve had i known what creature it came from! gross. after searching ‘brown egg case’ a picture came up that sent shivers down my spine, for it was of the ootheca still attached to its mother roach. i understand roaches are important for the environment, but that didnt stop me from throwing it over my neighbors fence. they’ll probably find their way back to me anyway, they always seem to. thanks!
ps- sorry about the cat hair!

Thank you so much for adding to our archive with your awesome Cockroach Oothica.

Posted 27 September 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Lacewing Eggs

lacewings, I think
Hi, I just found these eggs on my trampoline net, and thought that was a funny place for someone to lay eggs! I think they are lacewing eggs, from your informative site. I lose track of time on your website; I love it!
Enjoy
Emily

Hi Emily,
You are correct. These are Lacewing Eggs. Lacewings lay their eggs on the silken stalks because the predatory larval Lacewings, called Aphid Lions, are such ravenous eaters they will devour their siblings that hatch later. If you think you loose track of time on the site, just image the time we loose browsing through all the wonderful letters and images (and some considerably less that wonderful) while trying to decide which letters will be posted each day.

Posted 22 September 2007 § ‡ Comments (0) °