Brown long winged bug
Location: Los Angeles
November 5, 2011 6:31 pm
Hi. I have recently had an infestation of these small brown bugs with oversized wings. The body is very small, about an 8th of an inch and the wings are very long, about 1/2 an inch. Even with the large wings they seldom fly. They have appearing in only one room of our home. Coincidentally there is a leaky pipe in the wall of that room that has been keeping the floor boards moist if that helps.
Signature: Mike Deprez
Dampwood Termites
Dear Mike,
You have Dampwood Termites in the genus Zootermopsis, most likely the Pacific Coast Dampwood Termite based on your location. We saw a winged alate that was attracted to a light at our Mt Washington Los Angeles offices this past week, so that is strong evidence that they are currently swarming in the Los Angeles area. Your room with the leaky pipe has probably created conditions favorable to a colony of Pacific Coast Dampwood Termites in rotting wood. According to Charles Hogue in is marvelous book, Insects of the Los Angeles Basin: “By vibrating their heads on the walls of their chambers, soldiers and nymphs produce an audible ticking sound that is believed to function as an alarm to the colony.” You can get additional information on BugGuide.
¶ Posted 06 November 2011 § ‡ ° Black Squirmers Dropping from A/C Vent
Location: Dallas, Texas
April 9, 2011 2:56 pm
I am new to the site and wanted help identifying this odd insect. There are tons of squirmy black bugs with 6 legs coming out of my A/C vent… please help if you can so I can know what this is.
They have a tendency to stay coupled together like a love bug. No idea what it is though.
Thanks In Advance,
Signature: Amanda
Termite Alates Swarming
Hi Amanda,
You have swarming reproductive Termite Alates. They are winged, but they shed their wings shortly after landing. You can see discarded wings in some of the photographs. Once they mate, a king and queen will establish a new colony. It is our guess that you probably have termites living in the attic or crawlspace, which is why they entered the habitable portion of your home through the AC vent. You might want to seek professional assistance with this situation.
Termite Alate after shedding wings
Up from the rocks!
Location: Stone
April 8, 2011 12:13 pm
Hello Bugman,
It is the beginning of Spring here in Santa Fe, NM. We finally had some rain yesterday and I was sitting outside my place of work when all of a sudden tons of this little flying things seemed to hatch right out of a rock behind me. Any idea what they are?
Signature: Gallery Gal
Termite Alate
Dear Gallery Gal,
You witnessed swarming Termites.
¶ Posted 09 April 2011 § ‡ ° What is this bug?
Location: summerville, south carolina
April 3, 2011 9:22 pm
Found these guys in my son’s sand box after it got wet from rain. They are .6 to .7 mm in size. black and shiny. six legs.straight antenna. sent picture for help.
Signature: mike
Subterranean Termites
Dear Mike,
These sure look like Subterranean Termites to us. These dark individuals were most likely winged reproductive individuals that swarmed and have lost their wings after returning to the ground. Compare your photo to this image on BugGuide. Is your son’s sand box made of wood? Inspect it for Termite galleries. Subterranean Termites nest in soil and form chambers in rotting wood that comes into contact with the ground.
Subterranean Termites
What is this bug
Location: Queens, New York
November 28, 2010 5:36 pm
I found lots of these guys in the burlap covered soil of a dead arborvitae, I had 3 dead trees in a row. Are these the cause of the dead trees?
Signature: Tony Wilson
Termites
Hi Tony,
These appear to be Termites. They will not harm a living tree, but once the tree dies, they will begin feeding on the rotting wood.
¶ Posted 29 November 2010 § ‡ ° Red bugs at my front door
Location: Anaheim, California
November 6, 2010 6:36 pm
I recently saw these red bugs flying about my front door light. I have never seen these kind of bugs before. We recently moved to Anaheim Hills, California from Mission Viejo, California.
Signature: Fremen
Termite Alate
Dear Fremen,
This is a Termite Alate, the winged reproductive form that swarms to mate and form a new colony, often after a rain. Because of the unseasonal October rains in Southern California, we have received numerous reports of Termite Alate swarms.
¶ Posted 11 November 2010 § ‡ ° Hi Bugman,
Location: Laguna Beach, ca
October 27, 2010 6:58 pm
I live in Laguna Beach, Ca. There are a lot of these bugs in my house. They have a red head, black body, and clear wings. The wings are shedding all over the place. I am attaching a picture of what they look like. Let me know what you think they are…. Thank you so much! 
Signature: Jenese
Termite Alate
Hi Jenese,
Though your photo is quite blurry, we can determine that it is a Termite Alate. Alates are the reproductive virgin kings and queens that swarm after a rain. They then shed their wings and mate and begin a new colony. If they are inside your house in large numbers, we can assume that their is a colony already established in your home. We have gotten many identification requests from Southern California in the past week because of the unseasonal rains. We do not give extermination advice.
¶ Posted 28 October 2010 § ‡ ° Swarm of small black beetles
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
October 26, 2010 5:08 pm
Every year in Santa Cruz, CA we get a small flood of these small black beetles in our upstairs bedroom. They seem to congregate under skylights and near windows (lots of sun). They are looking for mates, as I can see a number of them paired end to end, while others wander searching. They never have wings and don’t look like termites we see elsewhere around the yard. We just had our first big rainfall and it’s sunny and warm today.
Signature: Thanks, David
Termite Alate
Hi David,
This is the third email we looked at this morning with similar Termite Alates from California which just had an unseasonal rain. None of the images contained winged specimens, and we do not know if there is a species of Termite that does not have a winged reproductive form, but we doubt it. See our previous posting for additional information.
¶ Posted 27 October 2010 § ‡ ° 
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