rss cocoons on pecan tree
Location: Cottonwood, Arizona
November 15, 2010 12:48 pm
Found several of these on our peecan tree and wondered if they will harm the tree.
Signature: Cathey in Cottonwood AZ
Mantis Oothica
Hi Cathey,
this is the Oothica or egg case of a Preying Mantis. We cannot tell you what species this is without doing some research, but perhaps one of our readers knows which Arizona species has an Oothica that looks like this.
How AWESOME!!!! Thank you!!!
Cathey
Green Lynx Protects Egg Sac
Location: Orlando
October 24, 2010 9:30 am
Hi Bugman. Everytime I hike Split Oak Preserve in Orlando I see quite a few green lynx spiders. You posted one of my photos of a lynx eating a bumblebee. This is the first ”mother” I’ve seen, though. My husband’s arm got too close and she assumed the defensive position over the egg sac quickly. Thought you might enjoy another pic of your favorite spider.
Signature: Elizabeth
Green Lynx guards Eggs
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for providing us with this wonderful image of maternal instincts, the Green Lynx Spider guarding her Egg Sac.
This Caterpillar turned moth
Vapourer Caterpillar
This Caterpillar turned moth
Location: Heanor, Derbyshire, UK
August 21, 2010 7:39 am
Hi there I found this caterpillar on some plants outside my front door on the 23rd of July. A few days later it had turned into a chrysalis on the door to the to the bin store, which is above the plants. Then on the 20th of August I had noticed it had hatched and started to lay eggs, it is still laying eggs as I type this, but hasn’t seemed to grown wings, I’ve looked around for images of the caterpillar and moth but can’t seem to find a match, so I’ve given up and decided to ask the profesionals, also should I move the nesting site to somewhere there is vegetation for them?
Thank you for your time.
Mr Darryll Elston
Vapourer Moth laying Eggs
Dear Mr Elston,
Your caterpillar looks very much like a North American species called the White Marked Tussock Moth which BugGuide classifies in the subfamily Lymantriinae, the Tussock Moths. Armed with that information, we headed for the UK Moths website and scanned the thumbnails for that group. The UK Moths website considers Lymantriidae to be a distinct family unlike the subfamily status on BugGuide. Scanning the thumbnails in the UK Moth family Lymantriidae quickly revealed the Vapourer. The UK Moths page for the Vapourer, Orgyia antiqua, provides this information: “An unusual species in many ways, the males fly during the day (although the example depicted was attracted to light at night). The females are virtually wingless, an attribute normally associated with winter-emerging species, but the adults are out from July to September, sometimes October in the south. The female lays her eggs on what remains of the pupal cocoon, which then overwinter. When hatched, the very hairy caterpillars feed on a range of deciduous trees and shrubs. The species is fairly common, especially in suburban habitats, over much of Britain, but more so in the south.“ That information is well documented in your photographs. Thanks for contributing this new species to our website.
Vapourer Moth laying Eggs
Large egg cluster found on log floating in small pond, NW Ontario
June 2, 2010
Hi!. A friend and I were photographing orchids when we noticed this egg cluster sitting on a log. Actually it seems more like two clusters side by side. We assumed it was insect related and hoped you could give us some insight into what we were looking at?
Mike Lawrence
Sioux Lookout Ontario
Giant Water Bug Eggs
Hi Mike,
These really look like the eggs of a Giant Water Bug in the family Belostomatidae. The eggs of Giant Water Bugs in the genus Belostoma look like this, but the female cements them onto the back of the male and we have not heard of them being placed elsewhere. Here is a BugGuide image of a male carrying the eggs. We have not seen documentation of the eggs of a Lethocerus species so we did some research. According to the University of Florida Extension Entomology page: “Eggs of Lethocerus are deposited above water on vegetation and other objects“ and the accompanying photo matches your image.
Excelent, thank you.
We do have giant water bugs locally. As a matter of fact, a local public school struggles with the spring/summer appearance of these as the kids like to pick them up and wind up being bitten!
thanks again
Mike Lawrence
Feel Free To Visit My New Photography Site-
http://northwoods.zenfolio.com/
Followup
June 3, 2010
Hi Daniel, just a short follow up- I was at the same pond today and snapped this pic….same egg cluster…. don’t know what’s happening here- more egg laying, predation, or protection?
I went to grab a zoom lens but the water bug was gone when I got back.
Mike Lawrence
What's the Water Bug Doing with the Eggs?
Hi Mike,
This is a most curious image. Our best guess is protection, but we were unaware of that type of care. Alas, you picture lacks the quality necessary to determine the species of Giant Water Bug in the photo.
Daniel…wikipedia mentions the males of Lethocerus moistening it’s eggs by climbing over them when wet. Seems as good an explanation as any.
The link is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethocerus
Mike
What To Do With Rosy Maple Eggs?
May 30, 2010
Hello!
My 4 1/2 year old daughter and I visit your website regulary to identify new moths and bugs we find each morning around our house!
One of our favorites is the pink/yellow Rosy Maple Moth.
We found a rather large one yesterday and withing a few minutes of putting her into one of our bug houses, she began to lay eggs! Now 24 hours later she’s still working and is up to about 30 tiny yellow eggs on the walls of the habitat.
So our question is about what to do witht the eggs? Should we release Rosy after she’s done laying all of them?
If we leave the eggs alone in the bug house, will they hatch?
I’m assuming it might be too much to try and feed the larvae/catpillars for so long, so what kind of tree should we release them on after they hatch (if we’re so lucky)?
Thanks fo your help!
Mo & Skyler
Albany, New York (mid-state)
Rosy Maple Moth lays eggs
Dear Mo & Slyler,
Your letter contains so many wonderful questions. You should not try to move the eggs because you may damage them. Releasing the female moth after laying eggs will probably not matter since she will soon die. Rosy Maple Moths, Dryocamps rubicunda, are members of the family Saturniidae, the Giant Silkmoths and Royal Moths, and they do not feed as adults since they have atrophied mouth parts. Releasing her soon will allow her to continue to lay eggs near a proper food source for the caterpillars. The eggs should hatch, provided the female mated. If she was captured before mating, the eggs will not be viable. The caterpillars should grow quickly. To provide a learning experience, you can release most of the caterpillars, and try raising just a few. The caterpillars will feed on the leaves of maple and oak trees. If the name of a plant is incorporated into the common or scientific name for an insect, it is inevitable that the plant is part of the insect’s diet.
Hi Daniel:
Thanks for such a quick response! I figured maple leaves might be as obvious as it is, but I wanted to be sure. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed the eggs are fertilized!
maureen
Whose eggs are these?
May 29, 2010
I found these on a dishcloth I brought in from the line today. They’re 0.75mm across, hard, and they stick to the cloth. I’m curious to know what they are. Thanks!
Derek
Fredericton, NB, Canada
Spined Soldier Bug Eggs
Five Minutes Later
Hi, I just wrote you about some tiny black eggs. They’re spined soldier bugs; a quick google search turned this up. I thought IDing the eggs would have been more difficult, but the internet’s a big place. Thanks for the website; I’ve visited before but never had a question until today.
Derek
Spined Soldier Bug Eggs
Hi Derek,
We are pleased to hear that you identified your eggs as those of a Spined Soldier Bug in the genus Podisus. Here is an image from BugGuide for comparison. Spined Soldier Bugs are actually Predatory Stink Bugs.
My Spring Moth Collection (digital, of course)
May 11, 2010
Hello Daniel and Lisa,
There has been a huge variety of moths visiting under the safety light this Spring, but I hesitate to send the photos on to you. I know that this is a very busy time.
Some that I’d like to send:
1. Tiger Moth, Spilomosa congrua
2. Tiger Moth, Spilomosa dubia
for your Tiger Moth page.
3. White-dotted Prominent, Nadata gibbosa
for your Prominent page.
4. Tulip Tree Silkmoth, Callosamia angulifera, laying eggs (I’m assuming they’re hers)
5. Eggs all over the wall.
There are so many including Laudable Arches, Polyphemus, Common Emerald that I hope I’ve identified correctly, and so many more that I haven’t yet been able to identify.
Let me know if you have time and if you’re interested in my silly stuff.
Thanx!
R.G. Marion
The Great Smoky Mountains, TN
May 22, 2010
Dear RG,
Your letter arrived in our absence (Mother’s Day visit) and we are just catching up on old mail. Please resend this letter with the Tulip Tree Silkmoth.
Thanks
Daniel
Tulip Tree Silk Moth lays eggs
Hoping your Mother’s Day visit was wonderful…
At one time, there were as many as five of these beauties on the wall.
RG
Red insect building amber cells
May 9, 2010
Can you please identify these red insects that are building these amber cells? They’re on my window. They are slow moving; it was very hard to tell if they were alive or not. The body is 3 mm in length x 1mm wide. The amber cells are about 1 mm x 1mm.
Helen
Raleigh, NC
Leaf Footed Bugs Hatching
Dear Helen,
These are hatchling Leaf Footed Bugs in the family Coreidae. We are uncertain of the species, but we matched them to a photograph posted to BugGuide.
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