Rose caterpillar 2.jpg, Rose caterpillar 1.jpg
We live in Rush, NY (just south of Rochester, NY – western NY) and found these caterpillars devouring my yellow rose bush leaves. There are black little spots/pellets on the leaves as well. Can you help us identify them and also let us know the best way to get rid of them? We would greatly appreciate your help as we have not seen these before. Thank you!!!!
Jen Davin
Hi Jen,
Though they look like caterpillars, this is actually a Sawfly Larva. Sawflies are nonstinging relatives of wasps. There are several Sawfly families, and we believe your specimen is is the family Argidae. It resembles the Birch Sawfly posted to BugGuide. Many Sawflies are social feeders, and the group often exhibits unusual group behavior, with all group members striking unusual poses and changing position in tandem.
What’s this bug
I spotted this bug soon after I cut a limb of a large maple tree. I’ve never seen anything like it before. What is it? Thanks,
Bob
hi Bob,
This is a female Giant Ichneumon, Megarhyssa atrata. She is ovipositing or laying eggs. She locates the tunnel of a wood boring insect and lays the egg where her larva can find the wood boring grub and begin to feed on it. Your photos are excellent. The portrait is a nice angle.
Burrowing in my garden
HI,
I was hoping you could identify a bug for me.
I’ve attached a photo of a flying insect, about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches long. It’s burrowing holes in my garden. Should I be concerned about anything? At least it’s not in the house! Thanks!
Randy Scott
Hi Randy,
You have no cause for alarm. This is a nonaggressive Great Golden Digger Wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus. Your specimen is a female and she is digging a nest that she will provision with katydids, crickets and camel crickets, the food for the larvae. The adult wasp will visit flowers for pollen.
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Posted 20 June 2008
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Thought you might like this
I’ve attached a picture that we took of a "Cow-killer", aka "Velvet ant". Thought you might like it.
Stefan Bowers
hi Stefan,
We will happily post your photo, but we need to caution our readers not to mishandle this female Velvet Wasp as she can deliver a painful sting if provoked.
hornet-wasp bug
Was about to cut a part of a maple tree down when i was face to face with 10 of these guys, was wondering if you might know what the are. the have long tails that stretch out 4”
Mark
Hi Mar,
This is a female Megarhyssa atrata, a Giant Ichneumon. She is ovipositing, meaning using that stingerlike ovipositor to lay eggs on wood boring grubs that are feeding on the dead and dying wood of your tree. The larval Ichneumon will feed on the wood boring grubs.
HUGE swarm of…
Mr. Bugman,
I was out about an hour before dusk photographing a dragonfly when I stirred up what I thought was a huge swarm of mosquitoes especially considering the hour. However upon closer inspection ( What possessed me to want to get CLOSER to such a large swarm…I don’t know) anyways, they appear to be some form of wasp. They behave just like mosquitoes though, in that, I couldn’t locate any central "nest" they were simply perched on all the branches and leaves of the plants, when stirred up it just looks like a dense swarm of mosquitoes. I’m not sure if the photo is clear enough to ID from but that’s as close as I could get without stirring them up. They are approximately 1/2" to 3/4" long. By the way, by a HUGE swarm, I mean they were collected on the plants like in the photo covering an area about 75ft by 10ft. I found these in Southeast Alabama, almost to the Florida Border. Thanks in advance,
Clayton
Hi Clayton,
This is a aggregation of male Tiphiid Wasps, probably the Five Banded Tiphiid, Myzinum quinquecinctum. Over the years, we have received two other reports of this behavior with photos. The nonstinging male wasps form “bachelor parties” when bedding down for the night, though the reason is unclear.
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Posted 14 June 2008
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Bald-Faced Hornet – Early stages of nest development + larva
Hello,
First of all…love the site. I used it to figure out what I had after I captured it. Turns out, I probably should have been a bit more cautious. Anyway, a pair (it appears it was a new nest) of bald-faced hornets were building a nest in my Azalea bush. I spent the morning trying to capture a few good shots. Since I couldn’t allow them to build the nest, I had to destroy them. I did take the opportunity to dissect the nest after I knew the adult was dead (the other one is still out there). I found larva in various stages of development and still very alive. I snapped several photos and thought they might be useful on your site.
Best Regards,
The Jobe Family
Dear Jobe Family,
While we understand that if you have young children playing in your yard, you might not want to risk them accidentally disturbing a Hornet’s Nest and getting stung, the Bald Faced Hornet is not an aggressive species unless its nest is threatened. Please understand that we understand you probably have extenuating circumstances necessitating the nest removal, but we still need to file your letter under Unnecessary Carnage. Though the demise of the Queen Bald Faced Hornet and her brood saddens us, we are very happy to have the excellent documentation you have provided. “Madder than a Hornet’s Nest” has become a metaphorical term for a good reason, but having a nest of Hornets in a garden is an excellent way to organically control grasshoppers, caterpillars and other insects that are feeding on your plants.
Update: (06/29/2008)
Daniel,
That’s unfortunate that it’s going to be categorized that way. It was in a bad spot (by our front door in the Azalea bush) so I really didn’t want to risk it growing large with my 3 children around. I do go to extremes to try an organically control the bug population for our garden and home. I do this by introducing praying mantis egg cases around our home to provide natural remedies. Anyway, still love the site. Best Regards,
Scott Jobe
Hi Again Scott,
We fully understand the extenuating circumstances of your situation (front door, three children) and this nest removal was justifiable, but we would be remiss if we did not mention to our readership that they do not need to remove a Hornet’s Nest from the backyard. Knowing where a nest has been places and respecting the inhabitants results in peaceful coexistance. Disturbing the nest results in painful stings. If it is any consolation to you, your letter is also archived on Wasps 5.
Please help me identify this bug
Dear Bugman,
I live in south Texas and I have noticed these guys showing up at dusk and leaving in the morning all spring. At first they would land on one of my ferns in a hanging basket. They seemed to like one particular frond. I began to worry that the fern was being damaged, so I moved it away. That night they showed up and moved in on my ivy basket. This time they aren’t on the plant itself, but just the pot. There are so many on the bottom of the pot that it gives me the willies. I wish they would go away, but I’m not going to kill them. Any idea what they are? Thanks for your help.
Teresa Eaton
Hi Theresa,
The behavior you describe and have photographed is something we have encountered with the in the past, but those were striped wasps. BugGuide shows genus of black Tiphids, Tiphia, but we are not certain this is your insect. We will contact your namesake (and perhaps long lost cousin) Eric Eaton to see what he can add.
Update: (06/14/2008)
Daniel:
The image of the large aggregation of wasps depicts male (read STINGLESS) blue mud daubers, Chalybion californicum. The deep metallic color does not always show up well in photos, but this behavior is a real signature of the species. Males are anatomically incapable of stinging, so no worries there. They form these “bachelor parties” to spend the night, but for what reason is anybody’s guess.
Eric Eaton
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Posted 11 June 2008
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Ichneumon on log
Sir-
Would this be a male Megarhyussa atrata? I was in a woods in Erie Co., OH
Yes sir, this is a male Giant Ichneumon, Megarhyssa atrata, or possibly another species in the genus. We cannot imagine that they are that rare, though most all of the images we receive are of female Giant Ichenumons.
Please help me figure this one out
Hi there.
My name is Kenneth. I was taking a bus home from niagara falls to London (ontario), me and my friend got laid over at the bus stop in "Burlington" (ontarip, not sure if the locations are going to help or not so yea.) but this gaint bug just fewl up and landed on the tree not even 2 fet away from me.. and it scared the crap outta me lol. I just wanted to know what kinda of bug it was. i’ll attach a copy of my picture here. (took the picture using my macro lens, so hopefully you can see it clearly) in the picture here. i really should of put something else in the shot just for scaling.. but i didnt think of it.. too scared lol. but the stinger (or what looks like a stinger :S ) was at least 6 inchs long. the body was about an inch and a half please if you could help me understand what this bug is. maybe next time i wont be soo scared of it. lol thanks. feel free to contact me at this address
Hi Kenneth,
While we understand your fear of the unknown insect with the six inch long stinger, we can assure you that this Giant Ichneumon is perfectly harmless. We believe this is Megarhyssa macrurus, but it might be another member of the genus. Your specimen is a female, as evidenced by her long ovipositor, not stinger. She oviposits her eggs deep inside dead and dying wood since the larvae feed on wood boring grubs. Through some complex sensory perception, she manages to locate the host grub for her larva and deposits the egg where larva will find host. It is not entirely clear if she oviposits directly onto the grub, or into the tunnel the grub has bored into the wood. We are currently researching the brilliant and interesting 17th Century naturalist and artist Maria Sibylla Merian in preparation for a lecture we will give next month at the Getty. Merian pursued her fascination with caterpillar metamorphosis to the Amazon jungles of Surinam in the year 1699. Her quest to document the wonders of the exotic new world on originated in Germany, when, as a child of thirteen, she began to illustrate insect metamorphosis, including all stages and food plants of the caterpillars she located in her garden. She produced work at a time when the scientific community still believed in Spontaneous Generation, and she could not figure out why some pupa, or date pits as she called them, developed into butterflies and moths while others produced wasps and flies. Flies like Tachnid Flies and wasps like Ichneumons and Braconids parasitize the larvae and pupae of other insects, resulting in the confusion that Merian encountered while trying to unravel the wonders of life on this planet (and beyond) by direct observation. While that is way more information than you requested, the bottom line is that to this day, we still understand so little about the world around us, and one careless decision just might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, producing irreparable harm to our planet. While we believe that life will not be completely destroyed, that straw just might lead to mass species extinctions, including, perhaps, the human species. Thank you for taking the time to observe the world around you.
Please help us if you can!
I live in a condo association. Today we discovered these insects in several of our small pine cone bushes. There are hundreds and hundreds of them in all the bushes. If you could identify this caterpillar or worm I would VERY much appreciate it. Most of them are totally black and smoth and slimy like a snake and about 1 inch in length. Here is a picture: Looking forward to a reply at your earliest convenience! Thank you so much!
Gail Phillips
Bellingham, Washington
Hi Gail,
We believe you need to contact your local Department of Agriculture Insect Pest Control division. Call 360-902-2070 or email PestProgram@agr.wa.gov because we believe you have the Introduced European Saw Fly, Diprion similis. This introduced species is known in the eastern U.S., but we cannot find any indication that it has become established in Washington. BugGuide reports it as far west as Wisconsin. If you have an isolated outbreak, control might still be possible. The University of Georgia Forest Pests website indicates: “The introduced pine sawfly occurs from Canada to North Carolina, and in the central and lake states. Eastern white pine is its favored host, but it also attacks Scotch, red,jack, and Swiss mountain pines. Infestations of this insect can be very serious in young plantations of white pine grown for timber products or Christmas trees.” Several days ago we received a letter from Michigan regarding this species.
Probable Confirmation: (06/02/2008) Sawfly larvae on Whatcom pines
Hi Gail (and others )
The larvae are likely the European pine sawfly, and yes, the occurrence of the species is the first for Washington State (and Western U.S.). However, the species has been in neighboring British Columbia, Canada, for some time, including areas of the Frasier River delta which is not far from the Bellingham area. Here is a link to information on the B.C. occurrence: http://www.pfc.forestry.ca/entomology/defoliators/conifer_sawflies/european_pine_e.html I appreciate your interest and efforts to bring the situation to our attention. I am in the process of getting some of the larvae (with help from the County Extension office) to get confirmation of the species and would be glad to let you know if/when that happens. Thanks again for the contact.
Eric LaGasa
Chief Entomologist
Pest Program / Plant Protection Division
Washington State Department of Agriculture
lagasa@agr.wa.gov
Eric,
Thanks so much for your Email and information contained therein regarding our occurrence of this recent troubling ‘event’. Yes, we would very much be interested in continuing updates regarding this ‘infestation’. Also, many thanks to whatsthatbug.com for their immediate response to my inquiry in helping to identify this particular species! Sincerely,
Gail Phillips
Ed. Note: The spread of the European Pine Sawfly can be a threat to our Western logging industry as the species is proliferating without natural predators.
This worm is destroying my evergreen shrub
Hi Bugman!
My son found these tiny inchworm-like things on our evergreen shrub today (We live in Michigan). They were in a tight cluster of about 100 worms, each about an inch long. They have tiny, shiny black ball-like heads. In the photo they look hairy, but they aren’t. They are smooth and green all over, with no other markings at all. Upon further inspection, we found several branches of the shrub covered with these things. Several areas of the shrub have been stripped clean of needles, and there are several dying branches as well. At regular intervals (about every 10 seconds) EVERY SINGLE worm on the branch bends straight up, very quickly and in UNISON. It’s quite bizarre to watch. I did check out all of the caterpillar photos on your site, and as a result I ended up looking at Giant Gypsy Moths, Army Worms and Eastern Tent Worms, but none of those look quite like these. I’d say they look most like the Eastern Tent Worm, but there is absolutely no evidence of any tenting or any other type of shelter being formed. Perhaps I just caught them at a very early stage, prior to tent construction? Sorry, these were the best photos I could get. What do I do? They are making short work of my large shrub, and I fear that they will move onto the flowers and vegetables next… Many thanks,
Terri
I think I found it! I believe them to be European Pine Sawflies.
http://woodypestguide.cas.psu.edu/132.htm Now how to get them away from my pine…?
hi Terri,
Once we darkened and sharpened your image, we believe you are correct in your identification of the European Pine Sawfly, Neodiprion sertifer. Your excellent verbal description of their behavior supports the identification. There is an excellent image on BugGuide. There is no danger of them moving to your other plants as most insects are somewhat host specific. You can try hand picking the culprits.
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