Subject: Beetle and his friends
Location: central texas
May 16, 2012 11:44 pm
Identifying the beetle is prolly pretty easy, the real question, for me, is what are the tiny bugs hanging out in the dent on its head. It’s hard to make them out in the picture. They are light brown/yellowish in color and about the size of a pencil point. I’ve got some good pictures finally.
Thanks
Signature: J.W.
Ox Beetle
Dear J.W.,
We believe the beetle is a female Ox Beetle in the genus Strategus and the small creatures on her head are Mites. We don’t believe they are parasitic, but more likely that they are Phoretic Mites, meaning they use the Ox Beetle for transportation from one food source to another. Here is a photo of a female Ox Beetle from BugGuide.
Mites on Ox Beetle
Big Mystery Beetle
Location: Algonquin Park, southeastern Ontario, Canada
April 1, 2012 8:12 pm
Hi – we spotted this beetle on our van while stopped on the roadside in Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada last summer (July 1st, 2011).
At first, we thought about the Asian Long-Horned beetle, but checked out pics of the ALHB and saw some significant differences (white spots, etc.)
The roof rack doesn’t help much to demonstrate scale but, as I remember, this guy was about 1.5 – 2 inches long (head to tail), and the antennae were at least 3-5 inches long.
No idea what the red dots are on the beetle, but they look as though they aren’t a part of him…
Can you help us identify this one?
Thanks
Signature: Allan
White Spotted Sawyer
Hi Allen,
Your large beetle is one of the Longhorned Borer Beetles or Longicorns in the family Cerambycidae, and it is in the same family as the Asian Longhorned Beetle, but your individual is a native. We posted a letter last year of another White Spotted Sawyer from Canada and at that time we identified the hitchhikers as Phoretic Mites. Here is a link to that posting.
Biting bug in SoCal
Location: San Diego, CA
February 6, 2012 3:31 pm
My husband and I were getting bites after a Xmas trip to South America and we figured we picked up bed bugs in a hotel or on our luggage. After an exterminator came by and found no sign of bed bugs, we bought mattress covers and climbups to search for these pests ourselves. My husband finally caught one biting him and then we found another running around on his stomach yesterday (gross). They’re both about 0.5mm and the latter was quite a fast runner. The pics were taken by a microscope in the lab of a friend. It’s now February here in Southern CA. Our bedroom has a big palm tree resting on it and I’ve long thought there might be rodents or birds in the tree (we can hear things running around on the roof sometimes). Last week I found a dead mouse next to our house so I’m thinking maybe it’s a bird/rodent mite? The tree is slated for trimming this weekend and our exterminator is coming back to check our place for mice and these bugs. A ny help on IDing this guy would be fantastic.
Signature: Bummed out in SoCal
Mite
Dear Bummed out in SoCal,
We agree that this is a Mite and it most likely is connected to birds or rodents. Perhaps you have a rodent nest in your attic or possibly an abandoned bird nest in the eaves that has caused the Mites to seek human blood. Good luck with your extermination.
Mite
Giant Water Bug
Location: Queensland, Australia
January 26, 2012 12:50 am
Hi guys,
Hope you like these shots of a giant water bug that was hanging around banging into a shiny piece of stainless steel in my carport. They will often mistake a reflective surface for water and attempt to drop into it.
The bug played dead when I got close to it and it allowed me to turn it over for a shot of its piercing mouthparts. It was determined not to give itself away until I picked it up and took it over to some long grass. When I dropped it on the grass it quickly righted itself and flew away.
Signature: aussietrev
Water Scorpion
Hi Trevor,
The very flattened body and extremely long, posterior breathing tube indicates that this is a Water Scorpion, and not a closely related Giant Water Bug. Interestingly, we found a photos of a Water Scorpion from Australia submitted by you in 2008 in our archive. We decided to do a bit more research and we found the AusEmade website that has a photo of an Australian Water Scorpion from Simpsons Gap that is identified as Laccotrephes tristis and contains this information: “One of the interesting looking insects found swimming in the pools is the Water Scorpion, whose other common name is Toe-biter. These strange looking creatures are carnivores, feeding on other aquatic organisms that they can capture including tadpoles, small frogs and small fish. They swim with the tip of their long needle like tail breaking the water surface, acting as a breathing siphon. With their large pincer-like forelegs used for seizing their prey, Water Scorpions can inflict a nasty nip, although they are also known to play dead when disturbed. Once they have grasped their prey, they inject a venom that liquefy the prey from the inside, which enables the Water Scorpion to suck out the prey’s body fluid.” The Identification and Ecology of Australian Freshwater Invertebrates website also has some good information. The Atlas of Living Australiahas a distribution map.
Water Scorpion
If you look closely at your close-up photos, you can see tiny red spots which we suspect are Mites. Several sources indicate a common name of Toe-Biter which is shared with the North American Giant Water Bugs.
Water Scorpion
metallic blue and black bug
Location: Rhide Island, USA
November 10, 2011 7:58 am
My kids found this in my backyard, in Rhode Island. It was taken with my android phone using it’s macro setting, if you look closely you can see a smaller orangish bug on its back, just behind his head. Could it be a baby or a little helper?
Signature: W Mcquade
Oil Beetle
Dear w Mcquade,
This is an Oil Beetle, a species of Blister Beetle. Blister Beetles can exude a compound known as cantharidin that is a blistering agent, so Blister Beetles should not be handled. We cannot make out the identity of the hitchhiker. It is not a baby blister Beetle. It may be a Phoretic Mite, but we have not heard of any Mites that use Blister Beetles for transportation.
Beetle with babies
Location: Hudson Valley NY
November 8, 2011 3:49 pm
Found this during the freak October snowstorm. This was during a power outage so I had to light it with a flashlight, otherwise I would have had better pictures.
What is it? Have never seen one before. It was a beautiful glossy black.
Signature: Bugged in NY
Clown Beetle with Mites
Dear Bugged in NY,
Your letter probably deserves much more research than we have the time for right now, so we will be brief. These are not baby beetles. They are Mites, and we suspect they are phoretic Mites that are using the beetle as a means of transportation to get from one food source to another. The beetle is a Clown Beetle in the genus Hololepta. You can view BugGuide for additional information on Clown Beetles. Earlier this year, we received another image of a Clown Beetle with Phoretic Mitesand the Mites were identified as “Neolobogynium americana (family Diplogyniidae). Adults are phoretic on Hololepta beetles.”
Clown Beetle with Phoretic Mites
unknown insects to identify
Location: Lemnos Island – Greece
October 26, 2011 4:55 am
hello, its been long time since i last took some micro photos in my free time.
now i started again and i took some nice pics i would be honored if you could help me find what these little things are. location is always Lemnos Island, Greece.
yesterday, i shot a weird furry bug or spider-like creature, and i wonder what it is to find some more info.
also, if we generally have to name this little insect, do we call it i.e. a spider ?
I rearely see such things. This is the second in 5 years time 
i attached a pic for you (zoomed from original file).
The other 2 photos are strange too.
No2 Looks like snakeshaped-eggs on wire ? Taken May 1st 2007. Same location.
No3 looks like a nest to me. Taken December 16th. Same location.
Signature: Vassilis Triantafyllidis
Velvet Mite
Dear Vassilis,
We are only going to address your red, furry, spiderlike creature at the moment. This is a Velvet Mite in the family Trombidiidae. Velvet Mites are relatively large. They are often found in arid environments immediately following rain, when they become quite conspicuous because of their bright coloration. Adult Velvet Mites feed on insect eggs and larvae are parasites on a variety of insects and and arachnids according to BugGuide. According to Charles Hogue in his book Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, Velvet Mites prey upon Grasshoppers.
¶ Posted 27 October 2011 § ‡ ° Flat Black Beetle and friends
Location: North East Illinois -Chicago area
July 25, 2011 6:13 pm
Hi Mr. Bugman,
I found this lovely little creature and some of his friends taking a nap with my 5 year old today. I was wondering if you could tell me what type of beetle he is and if I should have any concerns of infestation or disease. If you look at the picture closely you will see tiny little bugs (the size of a grain of sugar), one on the beetle’s back and one in the background. Are these babies or another type of bug? Upon initial examination of the beetle there were 6 or so of these little guys crawling on him. Any information or insight to what these are would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Signature: concerned mom
Clown Beetle and Mite
Dear Concerned Mom,
We identified you beetle as a Clown Beetle in the genus Hololepta on BugGuide which indicates they are found “under bark of decaying hardwoods,” and “Adults and larvae eat other insects.“ We don’t think you have to worry about your five year old, but the real mystery is how a beetle that is found in rotting wood found its way into the nursery along with some of his friends. This image from Bugguide shows mites in association with the Clown Beetle, and the commentary indicates that Mites are frequently found with Clown Beetles. BugGuide indicates that two species are found in the Northeast, and here is the description for differentiating between the two: “In the northeastern U.S., and in Ontario and Quebec, the two species are H. lucida and H. aequalis. H. lucida has a long striation along the edge of each elytra. In H. aequalis this striation is abortive, starting at the base but extending only 1/4 the length of the elytra or less.“
Clown Beetle
Thank you so much for the response and your time! I appreciate the information.
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