just curious
Hi,
I live in central florida and i see these fly like insects every year, they have never stung or bitten me, i dont even know if they can. I would just like to know what they are called.
As for the green spider, i am terrified of them but i am also very curious as to what type it is. i am assuming it is female since it seems to have and egg sack. thanks for you help in advance,
devan s.
Hi Devan,
Your “weird fly” is actually a moth, but a moth that mimics the appearance of a wasp for protection. It is a Polkadot Wasp Moth, also known as the Oleander Moth since leaves from oleander are the primary food of the caterpillars. Your spider is a Green Lynx Spider, and the female has just laid eggs. It is time for us to choose a Bug of the Month for November, and we are going to post your Green Lynx Spider image as the Bug of the Month. This fascinating spider is found more commonly in warmer climates, and not that winter is approaching, our northern readers will not be writing in much. Readers from Florida, Texas, California and other warmer climates will start to notice Green Lynx Spiders now that they have matured and are larger.
two sp. of ichneumon ovipositing together
Hi Bugman,
Thanks for your helpful comments and photos of ichneumons. My brother took this picture next to his house in Bloomington MN that might be nice for your collection. We identified the two ichneumons using your page; if I read correctly, it’s a Megarhyssa macrurus and a Megarhyssa atrata laying eggs side by side.
Allan
Hi Allen,
Thank you for sending us your brother’s fabulous photograph. It is one of the best images we have received in a long time. Your identification is correct, with Megarhyssa atrata on the right. Out of curiosity: Does your brother have a name? or, Is he just your brother?
Hi Daniel,
My brother’s name is Jon, and he deserves all the credit! All the best,
Allan
what bug is this?
Hi Bugman,
My 3 kids (twins boys =6 and my daughter =8) found this bug in our backyard. Never have we seen this type of bug in southern California (Orange County) before, we looked on your web site for answers and ended up seeing all kinds of really cool bugs, but not this one. The kids also took the bug to school to share and to identify, but had no luck. Can you please tell us what kind of bug this is and anything about it? Thank you in advance for sharing your wonderful knowledge with us. Thank You
Troy Y
Hi Troy,
Now that you know that this is a Tarantula Hawk, you should be able to find plenty of information, both on our own site and elsewhere on the internet..
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Posted 08 October 2007
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Whats this (wasp)?
I’m in Jacksonville Florida and saw this little guy on on Cassia tree. Check out those hind legs! It also appears to have a (face?) on it’s rear end.. Can you tell me what it is please? I love your site, you guys and your contributors are amazing! Thanks,
George Fleischer
Hi George,
This is some species of Chalcid Wasp in the family Chalcididae. We found a match on BugGuide, but the species is not identified. We believe this might be in the genus Spilochalcis.
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Posted 06 October 2007
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what’s that bug
Hello!
I’m from south central PA. Recently I had my tree cut down in my front yard and gave the wood to my friend. He stored it in his garage and a couple weeks later started seeing these bugs all over his garage. He said they are about 2" long and aggressive. We’ve never seen anything like it. Can you tell us what this bug is? Thank you!
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
We responded to a letter a few days back with these identical images. Perhaps it was from your friend, or perhaps your spam blocker did not allow our message to get through. If a message bounces back to us, we do not pursue trying to respond to the question. This is a Pigeon Horntail, a non-stinging Wood Wasp.
Photos of Giant Ichnerumons, Megarhyssa Macrurus
I was able to identify Giant Ichnerumons, Megarhyssa Macrurus thanks to your site – we have a dead tree that is covered with them here in Bolton, Connecticut. I am sending you the photos in case they are shots of the bug that you don’t already have. It looks like her ovipositor might be depositing her eggs??? Enjoyed your site. I’ve bookmarked it for future reference. Keep up the great work.
Betty
Hi Betty,
It has been several months since we have posted a photo of a Giant Ichneumon on our homepage. Your photo of a female Megarhyssa macrurus ovipositing is stunning.
A Question About a Wasp
Hi,
I am enclosing a photo of a very LARGE Wasp. It seems to be depositing eggs in the splits in the bark of a maple. The material being deposited by the wasp seems to be white "fluffy" and soft looking. The wasp is the largest one I’ve ever seen, probably over an inch or more in length with a very heavy body. Can you help me and identify it? Thanks
Walt Jankowski
Hilton Head SC
Hi Walt,
This is a Cicada Killer and it is not laying eggs. We believe it is feeding on the oozing sap running from the tree. Female Cicada Killers hunt and paralyze Cicadas. They then bury them and lay a single egg. The larval wasp then feeds on the paralyzed, still living Cicada, which is a fresh food supply. A dead Cicada would be dry and inedible for the wasp.
Big Wasp-Like Insect
I saw this bug on our screen door (kept getting his legs stuck) so I ran to get the camera and snap a couple of pictures. Can you tell me what it is? I’ve never seen anything like it before. In either shape or size. It looked to be about an inch and a half or so long.
Mark
Hi Mark,
What a beautiful image of Pigeon Horntail, a type of Wood Wasp.
White Caterpillar
Hello bug people,
I’ve had a great time looking at your site and your link to Bug Guide, but I didn’t find a match for these guys that have devoured my red twig dogwood seemingly overnight! It is September 15 in Ionia, NY—-that’s way upstate, south of Rochester and northwest of Canandaigua Lake. Most of them are the white ones, but a few are the black with white stripes. In the 18 years we’ve lived here, nothing has ever eaten this bush. Do you know what they are? And are they two instars of the same caterpillar. Are they good or bad? Thanksverymuchly,
Millie Sigle
Hi Millie,
You will never find your fascinating creatures on a caterpillar page unless they have been misidentified. These are actually Dogwood Sawflies, Macremphytus tarsatus. When we saw your subject line, we thought you might be sending us an image of the Cimbex Sawfly, but we were nicely surprised as this is a new species for our site. According to BugGuide: “Young larvae are covered with a powdery white waxy coating. Mature larvae are yellow beneath with black spots or cross-stripes above.” The Natural Land Trust website has a nice page devoted to the Dogwood Sawfly. Sawflies are related to wasps.
Curious gathering of hymenopterans
These guys congregate on the roots of my vanda orchids in central Florida every year. Who are they and what do they want? I am very impressed by your website and the service that you provide. As an amateur botany and entomology student for the past few decades, I have a great appreciation for the effort required by your admirably positive contribution to the information highway. Excellent work! Thanks,
Jeff Smith
Hi Jeff,
This is a group of male Tiphiid Wasps in the genus Myzinum. We are including a comment Eric Eaton provide for a similar aggregation earlier in the year.
Update: (07/10/2007) Eric Explains
Daniel:
The wasps in the image are all males. Males of many kinds of wasps form “sleeping” aggregations like that depicted in the image. It may also be that these male wasps form “leks,” meaning they occupy a small area (lek) that the females will visit to select a mate. While the genus of these wasps certainly is Myzinum, species determination is difficult even with specimens, and certainly cannot be concluded from a photo alone.
Eric
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Posted 13 September 2007
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Some type of ichneumon wasp?
Hi,
I took these pictures of two what I think are ichneumon wasps laying eggs in a dead elm recently affected by Dutch Elm disease. Both wasps took about 5 minutes to drill about an inch into the wood. The larger wasp pulled out after 15 minutes and walked around with the antenna feeling along the bark. The smaller female unfortunately was stuck and died. Here are some photos of these wasps. Any additional info would be most interesting. Great site!
Claude Haridge, P.Eng.
Ottawa , ON
Hi Claude,
This is a female Pigeon Horntail ovipositing. She is a true Wood Wasp and the larvae bore in wood. Interestingly, this is the prey of the Ichneumon that you mistook it for.
hairy insect
Hi there Bug folks!
I searched all over your website for a hairy insect like this one and didn’t see it anywhere. I found it at the top of a small mountain just yesterday (Sept 10th) in the Bay Area in California. It looks like a huge ant that needs a haircut! Please help me identify this bug. Love your website, this is my 2nd submission! Thanks,
Lyndie
Hi Lyndie,
What a wonderful photo of a Velvet Ant, Dasymutilla sackenii, a flightless female wasp with a painful sting.
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