Subject: Small Insect with feather-like wings
Location: Ontario
March 14, 2013 5:08 pm
Hi Daniel,
I recently captured this strangely-flying small insect in my house. I photographed it with my macro lens in the evening, hence the yellow-ish photos. Its wing veins do not seem to be joined by membranes and are hairy. Having taken many entomology courses, I find it unfortunate that I cannot seem to identify this insect. I think it does have two sets of wings so it is not a fly. It is most likely a moth or caddis however I am not having much luck locating a similar insect in either groups.
Having some experience offering extension entomology at University of Manitoba, and not much in the way of income, I would like to offer my services to assist in insect identifications (although I don’t have references to Genera-level taxonomy so families are probably the best I can do). I could probably find time to help with one or two a week. Feel free to contact me if that would be helpful. I often post insect photos on my photoblog and I usually try to identify them: http://belvederebiaise.wordpress.com/tag/insect/
Happy Spring!
Dalila
Signature: Dalila

Many Plumed Moth

Dear Dalila,
This fascinating creature is a Many Plumed Moth in the family Alucitidae.  It seems it is in the genus Alucita according to BugGuide.  Thanks so much for your generous offer.  You can always look at unidentified postings on our site and provide comments if you identify anything.

0   I like This

Related posts:

Many Plumed Moth Many Plumed Moth Many Plumed Moth from Australia Cecropia Moth

Subject: Mosquito like bug?
Location: Pasadena California
February 21, 2013 1:47 am
Hello bugman! I found this strange looking insect today while on my patio. At first I thought Mosquito, but it has a strange shape, i.e. its wings. I figure I send this your way & see if you can help out.
Season: winter (February)
Found on patio wall
Thanks!
Signature: Jeeb

Plume Moth

Hi Jeeb,
This is a Plume Moth in the family Pterophoridae.  According to BugGuide, it is “A distinctive family of moths, but difficult to identify to genus or species.”

0   I like This

Related posts:

Artichoke Plume Moth Plume Moth Plume Moth from England Plume Moth

Subject: Cool Bug
Location: Tustin, CA
December 9, 2012 5:48 pm
This was on the door to my garage. Kind of looked like a moth, with sort of fuzzy wings.
Signature: Curious Bug Lady

Plume Moth

Dear Curious Bug Lady,
This is a Plume Moth in the family Pterophoridae.  We are uncertain of the species.  Many folks inquire about the “T-Bug” when they request the identification of a Plume Moth.

0   I like This

Related posts:

Plume Moth Plume Moth Plume Moth from the UK Plume Moth from England

Subject: Moth?
Location: Newhaven, UK
May 30, 2012 3:29 am
Hi Mr Bugman,
I found this in my kitchen being quite beautiful – no idea what it is. Any ideas?
Signature: Simon

Plume Moth

Hi Simon,
You should be congratulated.  Most folks who encounter a Plume Moth in the family Pterophoridae have no idea how to classify them.  Many people just call them T-Bugs.  Your photo is also quite beautiful.  We are postdating your identification request to go live to our site later in the week so that there will continue to be daily postings during our short holiday.

Hi Daniel,
Wow – I had no idea. Every year there’s at least a couple that take up residence in the kitchen and never seem to move – then just vanish. He [she?] had sat there for a few days before I took the picture.
Thank you very much for your ID.
Regards,
simon

1   I like This

Related posts:

T-Bug is Plume Moth Artichoke Plume Moth Plume Moth Morning Glory Plume Moth

Cross shaped Bug
Location: Groton CT 06340
November 7, 2011 12:21 am
I found a bug that interested me. I found it on my front door around 9pm early October. I took a picture of it because i had never seen one before. It is shaped like the letter ” T ”. Light brown in color. I almost touched it with my finger, i must have been a few centimeters from it and yet, it did not move. Not even when i opened my door, it just stayed there. I would like to know what it is just to satisfy my curiosity. Learning new things is fun for me. So i thank you ahead of time for your efforts in getting me the name of this bug and any other cool facts about it. Thank you.
Signature: Jager

Plume Moth

Dear Jager,
Many people who want a Plume Moth from the family Pterophoridae identified describe it as a T-Bug. 

0   I like This

Related posts:

Plume Moth Plume Moth from England Plume Moth from the UK Geranium Plume Moth, we believe

Mosquito on testosterone or Moth…maybe?
Location: Tsuchiura-City, Ibaraki-Prefecture, Japan
October 9, 2011 7:12 am
Dear Bugman,
I tried to submit this a few minutes ago, but I didn’t get a confirmation message. When I sent you a message through your comment form, there was a confirmation, so I’ve decided to try again. …The second time didn’t work either. I’m going to try to send one photo at a time. I’m very sorry if you receive this inquiry several times.
I took this photo on October 9, 2011 in Tsuchiura, Japan (Pacific coast, about 60 km north of Tokyo). It was early afternoon, and the insect was on my car and not moving much.
I think it must be some kind of moth, but the wings are so small I can’t imagine how it can fly! The legs and head look quite a lot like those of a (giant!) mosquito. Also, interestingly, the tail end of the abdomen curves up slightly.
It’s certainly an interesting insect, but I cannot find anything that even remotely resembles it. Can you help?
Signature: Canadian bugging out in Japan

Plume Moth

Dear Canadian bugging out in Japan,
You are correct that this is a moth.  Most people don’t know how to classify Plume Moths from the family Pterophoridae when they encounter them since they don’t look like most moths.   We get frequent requests to identify “T-Bugs”, an unofficial name used by many lay folks to describe the shape of the wings on Plume Moths.  Your individual looks very much like a North American species we located on BugGuide, Geina perischelidactylus, commonly called the Grape Plume Moth, and we suspect it might be the same species or a closely related species.  With the great increased ease of global human transportation, and the propensity for people to legally or illegally transport goods and produce, many invasive exotic species are being introduced to distant locations, and if conditions are suited, including climate and a readily available food source, they can become established and naturalized.

Did you receive my inquiry?
October 9, 2011 6:49 am
Dear Bugman,
I just submitted two photos of a moth-like insect, but I didn’t get any kind of confirmation and the screen didn’t change.  Also the swirly thing next to the send button didn’t stop.
I signed my letter ‘Canadian bugging out in Japan’
I’m sorry to bother you, I know you’re busy, but could you please confirm?
Thank you!
Melissa

Hi Melissa,
We did receive your inquiry, and your letter is posted to What’s That Bug?  It is physically impossible for our small staff to respond to every request we receive, and sometimes we get inquiries like this, and if there is no photo attached, we are sometimes unable to track the previous email request, so we generally request that if people do not get a response, and we always try to respond directly to the request as well as posting significant letters and photos, we hope that our readership will not take it personally and just resubmit the entire request after a week.  If they note “second request” in the subject line, that will catch our attention.  Catchy subject lines are critically important if you want your letter to stand out from the rest.

Dear Daniel,
Thank you so much for such a quick reply to my messages. I think you may very well be right that the plume moth was somehow imported from North America. I couldn’t find anything resembling it while searching for Japanese bugs.
I apologize again for the multiple messages. It seems that my pictures were too big to send together, but rather than getting an error message, it just kept on spinning away.
Thanks a lot for this wonderful site – fun and useful. I hope you can continue doing this work that you so obviously lobe for a long time.
Take care,
Melissa in Japan

0   I like This

Related posts:

Plume Moth Morning Glory Plume Moth Plume Moth Plume Moth

Mr. T
Location: Black Hawk, CO
July 28, 2011 9:22 pm
Hi!
I discovered this guy on my wall this evening. I’m thinking something in the Diptera order, but am curious as to what it might be! FYI, we live in the mountains of Colorado, at about 9000ft.
Signature: Jackie

Plume Moth

Hi Jackie,
You were probably confused by what appears to be only two wings.  This is actually Lepidoptera, and it is commonly called a Plume Moth, though our readers frequently submit queries that refer to it as a T-Bug.

0   I like This

Related posts:

Plume Moth from England Artichoke Plume Moth Plume Moth Plume Moth from Sweden

white dragonfly type
Location: bristol, england, uk
June 14, 2011 2:01 pm
i was clearing some weeds from around my dahlias, astors and honesty when this beautiful white flying insect flew out then landed on the grass. i thought it was so beautiful and am now desperate to find out what it is as i have never seen it before. i have searcjed google and cant seem to identify it. it was about (very appx) 1 inch in length with a somilar wingspan. it has bern quite hot here today following a very wet spell.can u help?
Signature: natalie

White Plume Moth

Hi Natalie,
This is most definitely a Plume Moth in the family Pterophoridae, and after searching the UK Moths website, we believe it is the White Plume Moth, Pterophorus pentadactyla.  Your photo does not clearly illustrate the very distinctive wings of the White Plume Moth because of the camera angle, but we still believe the identification is correct.  The UK Moths website indicates:  “Probably the most distinctive of the ‘Plume’ moths, and one of the largest. Its wings are deeply divided into several ‘fingers’, each of which is finely feathered, or plumed.  Quite common over much of Britain, inhabiting dry grassland, waste ground and gardens.   The adults fly from dusk onwards in June and July, and sometimes have a second generation in September.”

3   I like This

Related posts:

Plume Moth Plume Moth from England T-Bug is Plume Moth Plume Moth