whats this bug??
hello,
I am 14 years old and i live in Ohio. I was in my yard yesterday, and i found about 20 of these purple caterpillars on a plant (i think it might be poison ivy). i searched all over the internet but i could not find out what it is. But, i did find your website. Could you tell me what kind of caterpillar it is?? thank you =]
Brittany
Hi Brittany,
We love the striking and clashing magenta and orange coloration on your Argid Sawfly Larva. It seems we have seen this hip color combination on products sold at Target. Sawflies are not caterpillars. They are non-stinging relatives of wasps. This larva most closely matches a specimen on BugGuide called Arge coccinea that feeds on Sumac. It is possible that the color has changed just prior to pupation, or it might be a different but closely related species.
Update: December 24, 2008
We just received a new photo and letter, and our web searching led us to the identification of the Poison Ivy Sawfly, Arge humeralis. Photos of adults can be seen on BugGuide.
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Posted 30 June 2007
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British Columbia South Coast
Found thousands and thousands of these caterpillars infesting a few Alder trees… they are everywhere! Haven’t seen any tents and the trees are now completely leafless. They are quite small, less than an inch in length. Have looked online to identify them, but no luck aside from the fact that I believe they are feeders! Any idea what kind they are?
Amelia
Hi Amelia,
We must begin with a compliment. Your request is so thorough and has allowed us to positively identify your insect in just a few minutes of web searching. You provided a location, a food plant and a photo. This is not a caterpillar. It is a Striped Alder Sawfly larva, Hemichroa crocea. The larvae are social feeders and BugGuide has an excellent image of a group feeding together.
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Posted 18 June 2007
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Hi there, we live in central/western Canada, and a friend of a friend found this fly on her peonys, I thought it might be a sawfly, but it looks as though it drinks nectar (by its long nose lol!) Any ideas? Thanks alot
Laurie Summers
Saskatchewan,Canada
Hi Laurie,
Definitely a Cimbex Sawfly.
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Posted 11 June 2007
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do you recognize this insect?
Can you identify this insect? Does it bite? thanks
This appears to be a Cimbicid Sawfly, but the photo is so blurry we cannot be certain. You did not provide us with a location, but the file is labled “iron mountain fly”. We found an Iron Mountain, Michigan, but we are not certain that is where this photo was taken. Not providing us with helpful information combined with the blurry image makes this identification speculative guesswork. There is a genus of Sawflies, Trichiosoma, that has similar coloration. BugGuide has gotten specimens from Pennsylvania, and that is close to Michigan. Sawflies are nonstinging relatives of wasps. Some have powerful mandibles and can bite, but they are not poisonous.
Thanks much for solving the mystery. Yes, it was seen in Iron Mountain, Michigan. Sorry about the bluriness, it’s menacing appearance must have made my hands shaky.
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Posted 13 May 2007
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Scarab Hunter Wasp?
This guy was on one of our fenceposts earlier today. It looks like a Scarab Hunter Wasp although it has lobes on the end of it’s antennae which don’t seem to appear in any of the Scarab Hunter photos I’ve seen. If it is a Scarab Hunter I don’t believe it is supposed to be in our area (northwest Washington), is that correct? Do you agree that it is a Scarab Hunter Wasp? At the time of the photograph it was very lethargic and could only fly a few feet and then it would sit still until prodded. Thanks,
Bill Scollard
Granite Falls, Washington
Hi Bill,
This is actually a Cimbicid Sawfly. It is probably in the genus Cimbex. Sawflies are related to wasps, but they do not sting.
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Posted 30 April 2007
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sawfly larvae
Dear Bugman,
I thought you might like to see this interesting photo of sawfly larvae (Long Tailed Sawfly?) eating a Spotted Gum leaf from both sides! They were in our backyard on the East Coast of NSW Australia. (Spotted Gum used to be a Eucalypt, but it has been reclassified as Corymbia maculata, which doesn’t sound nearly as interesting).
Grev
Hi again Grev,
Thanks for sending us your humorous Sawfly Larvae image. This social feeding pattern is seen in other Sawflies as well.
Wasp???
Can you help me identify this wasp?? I came across this 2 years ago in July at Lake Edison, which is located in the Sierra’s in California. It was about 2 1/5 inches big…. maybe a little larger then that even. (Embedded image moved to file: pic18023.jpg)
Denna Myers
Hi Denna,
This is a female Horntail Woodwasp, Urocerus gigas. She uses the ovipositor, that appears to be a stinger, to deposit eggs deep in dead and dying wood.
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Posted 17 November 2006
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Caterpillar
I found this little guy on a tree in my yard late August. I’ve never been fond of the creepy crawlies, but I can appreciate a beauty like him. I’ve just found your website, and become rather infatuated with it. It’s quite impressive! He was found in southern West Virginia, about two inches long, completely hairless (I thought this notable, as all other caterpillars I had ever seen had much hair). I took a quick picture and played around with it. I hope it’s not too difficult to identify. I was too bugged out to get much closer. I’ve lived in West Virginia my whole life, but have never seen this species (although I don’t go outside much when the bugs are out). Could you help me out, please? Thanks Much!
Brandi
Hi Brandi,
This isn’t a caterpillar, but a Cimbex Sawfly Larva. The larva of this wasp relative is often mistaken for a caterpillar.
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Posted 02 October 2006
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Big red/orange wasp type insect in Pennsylvania USA and Ontario Canada
Hello!
These photos were taken this past July just outside of Philadelphia. This guy was hanging out on the staircase outside of my building. It was sitting still with it’s wings tucked-in alongside itself, but when I got my camera in for the closeup, he got into this wings-spread stance. Maybe he’s camera-shy? Didn’t fly away though, and went back to his relaxed pose after I took the camera away. It appears to have a long, narrow appendage with a rounded tip sticking out of his backside, and a much shorter one just above it that is shaped like the tip of a fountain-pen. I assume this to be a stinger of some sort. That, and the coloration, lead me to believe he’s a wasp of some sort. I saw a second one about 3 weeks ago on the patio beside my parents swimming pool in Ontario Canada, about 550km northwest of the one I found in Philadelphia. What is this bug???
Jody Chambers
Hi Jody,
This is Tremex columba, the Pigeon Horntail. It is in the same insect order as wasps, bees and ants. It does not sting. The female uses the stingerlike ovipositor to place eggs beneath tree bark. The young are wood borers and the primary host insect of another fascinating creature, the Giant Ichneumon.
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Posted 01 October 2006
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wasp and borer beetle and water scorpion?
Hi,
I am sending a few photos to you for identification. The first is a wasp that seemed to be trying to lay eggs in a crevice in my shoe when I stopped to rest while hiking. Is that what it is doing? The beetle I assume to be some kind of tree eating critter but don’t know what kind. It was in mixed conifer forest in some mountains in AZ. The photo was taken when he landed on the window of my Jeep. And I am also sending a photo of what I believe you identified for someone else as a water scorpion. You mention that they bite, but we were handling them and they didn’t hurt us, perhaps we were very lucky! Thanks for your excellent website!
Amanda
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| Water Scorpion |
Wood Wasp |
Hi Amanda,
We are currently experiencing difficulties receiving images, so we are looking through the archives for interesting photos. When your letter originally arrived, we were very busy with the start of fall semester and we did not get to answer many letters. Your Water Scorpion images from the genus Ranatra are quite spectacular. The wasp appears to be a Wood Wasp in the genus Urocerus, probably Urocerus californicus. Also, please forgive us for our delayed response.
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Posted 17 September 2006
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a wood wasp?
maybe i’m not doing a very good search, but all the photos i’ve found of wood wasps don’t look like this one. which kind of wood wasp is it exactly? it was found in our starter log pile while we were camping outside of newport, oregon this past weekend (9/10). it looked like it was searching for someplace to lay eggs. very exciting to see!
annie
Hi Annie,
Horntails in the family Siricidae are often called Wood Wasps. We believe this is Urocerus californicus, and we will check with a real expert Eric Eaton. We are relatively certain Eric will be excited to see your photo. Eric Eaton responded: “You are correct on both counts. I don’t recognize the scoliids to species, and actually don’t know of any specialists on that family, either. We’d love to have both the images in Bugguide, too, as we are low on Urocerus images, and I don’t think that particular scoliid is as yet represented there. Eric”
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Posted 12 September 2006
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Tremex columba laying eggs
My daughter Laurie Rose found this Tremex columba laying eggs in one of our aspen trees. The insect has just inserted her ovipositor into the tree. She took about 5 minutes to insert her ovipositor all the way up to her abdomen. She laid egg after egg for many hours.
Doug Parr
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Hi Doug,
Thanks so much for sending in your photo of a Pigeon Horntail Ovipositing.
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Posted 11 September 2006
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