Giant winged earwig, maybe?
Since I’ve moved into my house about 5 years ago, every year there has been one or two of there vicious looking bugs on a half dead tree in the middle of my driveway from late spring to late fall. Same looking bug, near the bottom of the tree. The tree is 80% dead, with all the leaves being at the very top.
I never see it eat or fly around. I just sits on the tree and…pulsates. That’s about the best way to describe it. It doesn’t mind the lawnmower. Only ever seen it on the tree. It’s about 4 or 5cm long. I don’t see any holes that it’s living in.
At first I thought it was some sort of wasp because of the way it’s colored, but the more I looked at it, it reminded me of an earwig. One of my friends said, “That’s what wasps looked like when I was young.” Of course, I have the bug identification skills of a cinder block, so that’s why I thought I’d send it to you.
Thanks for any help, it’d be nice to finally put a name to whatever that is.
Thanks
Northwest Ohio
Pigeon Horntail
Your insect is a Pigeon Horntail, a type of Wood Wasp. This non-stinging species lays eggs in dying and dead trees and the larvae bore into the wood.
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Posted 29 September 2008
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Caterpillar ID please!
Hello Bugman.
Would love it if you could help me id this beauty. I found her in the garden in Chelsea, QC. Isn’t she stunning?
Thanks for your help!
Celine
Québec, Canada
Much appreciated
Introduced Pine Sawfly
Hi Celine,
This isn’t a caterpillar. It is a Sawfly Larva, a relative of wasps. We believe it is the Introduced Pine Sawfly, Diprion similis. According to BugGuide, the species was “First recorded in Canada in 1931 near Oakville, Ontario, and has not spread naturally much beyond there. There were light infestations in other parts of Ontario in the 1970s and one in southern Quebec in 1940. “
is this an ichneumon perhap
My grandson and I found this on a Tamarack tree in the backyard of our home here in southwestern Quebec. He appears to be depositing something in the tree. We would really appreciate your opinion. Thanks
Rory and Billy
Hi Rory and Billy,
This is a Horntail or Wood Wasp. We believe it is Urocerus albicornis according to images posted to BugGuide. The larvae of Horntails are wood boring and they are the primary hosts for the parasitic Giant Ichneumons in the genus Megarhyssa. Your photo is truly stunning.
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Posted 29 August 2008
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Caterpillar @ Presque Isle River
Seen: Presque Isle River in MI’s U.P. I did not see this on your site.
You couldn’t locate this “caterpillar” because it is not a caterpillar. It is an Elm Sawfly Larva, Cimbex americana, which can be found on Bugguide.
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Posted 28 August 2008
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Need to know what this is
Photo taken in woods in northern Indiana. August 27, 2008 One inch or a little smaller in length. About ten on one plant. Don’t know what the plant is. Thanks Much,
John Hicks
Hi John,
Though it resembles a caterpillar, this is actually a Sawfly Larva known as a Butternut Woolly Worm, Eriocampa juglandis. According to BugGuide, they: “feed on leaves of Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) and Butternut (Juglans cinerea). Also reported on Carya spp. (Hickory).”
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Posted 27 August 2008
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Caterpillar(?) on elm
I love your site. It’s helped me ID a number of crawly friends around my yard. But now I’ve got one I can’t ID. I live in Northborough, MA and I found these chewing away on a sprouted stump in my yard which I think is some sort of elm; it’s got a lot of greenery, but none over about 6ft up. Most of them are feeding all together on one or two hand-sized leaves at a time, and they’re eating the entire leaf except the central supporting vein, and even some of that too, before moving on to the next. The prolegs appear to almost be vestigial; I saw one of them relocating and it curled its abdomen around the twig more like a monkey’s tail to creep forward on it’s front legs. Can you help me ID them? Thanks!
Karen
Hi Karen,
We are nearly certain these are Elm Argid Sawflies, Arge scapularis, as pictured on BugGuide. At the very least, they are probably in the genus Arge. The larvae of many species look very similar.
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Posted 15 August 2008
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Massive damage in Connecticut!!
Hello from Connecticut,
I was out in the garden today and noticed that our dogwood shrub was totally without leaves. A few left over ones were mostly chewed. This poor bush suffered from a drought last year and has now been stripped naked! The culprits were piled all over the last remaining leaves. So now the question is, do I dump them into a bucket of soapy water or are they good for the environment? They were here last year too. I hate to kill anything, but have a number of shrubs they could continue to eat. Thanks so much for your advise!
Tricia
Hi Tricia,
We do not give extermination advice. These are Dogwood Sawfly Larvae in the genus Macremphytus.
Update: 908/16/2008)
Thanks for the information Daniel,
They’ve hit the next dogwood bush as well. Our property is a certified wildlife habitat, so extermination is not my choice by any means. Unfortunately, when one species gets out of control, sometimes I need to step in to back it off some. We only use organic methods for everything so we do as little harm as possible. It’s absolutely amazing how many bees, butterflies and hummingbirds we have around the yard! Again, thanks for the help. We know most birds and plants, but now are working on getting to know the insect population.
Tricia
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Posted 15 August 2008
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Is this an Ichneumon?
I was taking some pics of some Giant Ichneumons ovipositing in a tree and this one was there too. Actually there were 2 of these on the same tree with about 3 Giant Ichneumons. It was just sitting there, but it’s the same size as a Giant Ichneumon but the "butt" is fatter than the others and the ovipositor a whole lot shorter, about a 1/4" long. Thanks!
Francine
Hi Francine,
This is a Pigeon Horntail, Tremex columba, a type of Wood Wasp. This female is depositing eggs that will hatch into wood boring larvae. It is relevant that you found the Pigeon Horntail depositing eggs on the same tree as a Giant Ichneumon because the Megarhyssa species are parasitic on wood boring larva. We found a Colorado State University web page with good information on both species that indicates the Giant Ichneumon is the most common natural enemy of the Pigeon Horntail. The page author, W. Cranshaw, writes of Megarhyssa macrurus: “The adult female can be seen searching the same areas used by the pigeon tremex, although they tend to be present a bit later in the summer. Developing horntail larvae can be detected under the bark by the female and she subsequently drills into the wood to the tunnel of the horntail larva. During egg laying (oviposition) the host larva is paralyzed with a sting after which the egg is laid. The parasitic wasp larva feeds on the paralyzed horntail larva, consuming it completely within a couple of weeks. It then pupates and remains dormant under the bark until the following summer, when the adults emerge. “
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Posted 14 August 2008
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New London, NH USA
Can you tell me what these caterpillars are? I think one is a swallowtail but don’t know the other one. Thank You
Your non-caterpillar is a Cimbex Sawfly Larva.
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Posted 09 August 2008
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White powdery caterpillars devouring my dogwood!
The culprits look like bird droppings when curled up in a circle under the leaves. When eating (aggressively) they are 11/2 inch long caterpillars with black and white heads and a powdery coating that stuck to me when I pruned and removed leaves with pests and eggs! I sprayed the shrub and the next day there were more! One caterpillar was gold coloured-before or after the powdery coating?? Please help!
Kathy Ferguson
Goderich, (Southern) Ontario, Canada
Hi Kathy,
These are Dogwood Sawflies, Macremphytus tarsatus (or one of two other closely related species in the genus that are difficult to distinguish from one another), and they are related to wasps, so they are not Caterpillars. Dogwood Sawflies, according to BugGuide, have larvae that: “start out covered with a powdery waxy white coating, which they shed later in the year to become yellow with black cross-stripes or spots on top. “
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Posted 09 August 2008
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Caterpillers??
Hello,
We’ve have found a couple of caterpillers and can’t seem to come up with ‘what they are’. Hoping you can help us out. The yellow and black ones were found on a really young birch (two feet… the birch not the caterpillers!) Now That would be amazing!! They seemed to be chomping happily away at the leaves, and would strike a tail up and curve it along their backside when alarmed, and would also exhibit this behaviour toward each other, but with more of a whipping action. This guys were about one inch in length and only a few milliimetres around. They seem to be hairless. … Both species were found Aug. 7th, 2008, in Spruce Grove, Alberta (just outside of Edmonton), and in sunny locations. We are wondering if we can relocate them on another more mature tree, if it is a native species, as they have set up house on newly planted trees and we don’t think the wee trees can support their eating habits! I’ve attached photos, and hopefully have included all important details, if not, just contact us! Happily birding,
Michelle & Curtis
Hi Michelle and Curtis,
The “caterpillars” you found on the birch are the Larvae of the Dusky Birch Sawfly, Croesus latitarsus. It is a common error to mistake Sawflies for Caterpillars. Sawflies are related to wasps.
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Posted 08 August 2008
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What is this bee like insect with club antennae
Found today Doncaster UK. Is this a bee or a mimic ( has mandibles and unusual club ended antennae) ? Many thanks
Gerry Collins
Hi Gerry,
This is a Club-Horned Sawfly in the family Cimbicidae. Cimbicid Sawflies are related to both bees and wasps, and they do not sting. The larvae look like caterpillars and they are frequently mistaken for them.
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Posted 28 July 2008
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