Mantis-type Bug
May 6, 2010
This bug was on the screen of our front porch door, at 11am. It just stayed there, and was not worried about the door opening and closing, nor was it concerned with us taking pictures of it.
Melissa and Jody Glasscock
Opelousas, Louisiana, USA
Mantispid
Hi Melissa and Jody,
This Mantispid or Mantisfly, though it resembles a Preying Mantis, is not at all closely related to the Mantids. Mantispids are actually related to Lacewings and Antlions. We believe the species is Dicromantispa interrupta which is profiled on BugGuide.
¶ Posted 07 May 2010 § ‡ ° Is this a butterfly, cranefly or what?
April 29, 2010
These insects emerged recently (April – springtime) in the meadows here. They look and behave similar to butterflies except that the second pair of wings appear elongated to form tails. They are blue-green in colour with darker markings. They seem to favour the various grasses. They were quite difficult to photograph and the images are not very clear, but you should be able to see the basic shape. I also took some video.
Sue Lilley
Southern Peloponnese, Greece
Spoonwing Lacewing
Hi Sue,
Even with the blurriness of your photo, we are quite certain this is a Spoonwing Lacewing in the family Nemopteridae. We posted an example from nearby Turkey this past June. The Nemopteridae website devoted to the family identifies it as Nemoptera bipennis.
Hi Daniel, thanks very much for the info on spoonwing; its been driving me mad not knowing, yours gratefully sue
¶ Posted 29 April 2010 § ‡ ° Help!!
April 10, 2010
my friend got bit by this bug yesterday and it blistered? what is this bug?
??
Anaheim Ca
Lacewing Larva
This is a Lacewing Larva, and we have gotten reports in the past from people who have been bitten, but the bite is not a serious matter, an your account is the first we have received that indicated a skin reaction. Beneficial Lacewings are very important predators that help control Aphid populations. Lacewings are often sold by nurseries that cater to people who want to do pesticide free, organic gardening.
¶ Posted 11 April 2010 § ‡ ° Unidentified Dragonfly/moth?
March 26, 2010
Hi, I found this insect on my facecloth last night. Could you tell me what it is as I have never seen anything like it before. It was definitely real, I say this because it looks so fake.
Regards,
Cherie
Cape Point area of Cape Town, South Africa
Owlfly
Hi Cherie,
This is a Neuropteran known as an Owlfly, and it is closely related to Lacewings and Antlions. Owlflies are unusual insects that really do resemble a cross of several different insect orders.
¶ Posted 26 March 2010 § ‡ ° Walking Lichen? Brown Lacewing Larva?
March 21, 2010
March 21, 2010 at Winterthur Museum in Wilmington., DE. A approximate 3/8″ piece of lichen was walking on a 5/8″ wroungt iron railing. Brown Lacewing Larva? Please use image for the site if helpful.
Sober, really, Joe
Wilmington, DE
Brown Lacewing Larva
Dear Sober Joe,
You are not seeing pink elephants nor walking lichen, but a Camouflaged Brown Lacewing Larva as you speculated. We are posting your photo.
¶ Posted 22 March 2010 § ‡ ° Moving Moss…Can you identify this Bug?
February 15, 2010
My son and I found two of these bugs in our back yard in Central Florida. At first they appeared to be small patches of moss, but then they started moving. When touched they would ball up. They have multiple legs with two pincher looking arms at the head. I do have some video of the two if you would like. They really are greyish looking with some brown spots that look like very much like sand or bark.
Todd Bost
Winter Park, FL
Debris Carrying Green Lacewing Larva
Hi Todd,
We received two letters today, both from Florida, requesting that we identify this Debris Carrying Green Lacewing Larva. The larva carries debris as both camouflage and protection. You can see a photo on BugGuide with the larva showing.
¶ Posted 15 February 2010 § ‡ ° wierd bug
February 15, 2010
i was sitting on my steps and what looked like a piece of cat food i flicked with my finger and then it started to move on the carpet outside its red with geen spot
robert r
thonotosassa,florida
Debris Carrying Green Lacewing Larva
Hi Robert,
We received two letters today requesting that we identify this Debris Carrying Green Lacewing Larva. The larva carries debris as both camouflage and protection. You can see a photo on BugGuide with the larva showing.
¶ Posted 15 February 2010 § ‡ ° Is it a moth?
February 11, 2010
Large dragon fly and moth cross breed on my sisters farm in the semi desert Great Karoo region of South Africa. They came out at night to outside lights. The cat likes to eat them.
karoo
South Africa, Great Karoo
Antlion
Dear karoo,
Wow, that is a large Antlion. Antlions in the family Myrmeleontidae are not closely related to either Dragonflies or Moths, but rather, they are classified in the order Neuroptera, which included Lacewings and Owlflies. We tried a websearch of “Antlion South Africa” and we found ourselves on an interesting Discover Life page that allowed us to check various descriptions, and results popped up. We checked “abdomen color red uniformly” based on one of your photos, and we got a list of four species. We did not get any images, so we decided to web search the names individually. Palpares immensus is listed on a website, the Antlion Pit, as being: “Another ‘giant’ antlion; found in South Africa.“ While we are uncertain of the species identify of your Antlion, we would wager a guess that Palpares immensus might be your Antlion. At least we had success with finding a nice Kruger Part Times page on Antlions.
Antlion
¶ Posted 11 February 2010 § ‡ ° 
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