Nawlins Beetle
Location: French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana
November 12, 2010 2:49 am
This beetle was slowly making its way up a pipe on the side of a house in the French Quarter of New Orleans, LA, around 1:30pm on November 11th 2010 (temp was approx 70°F). Please help me identify this amazing looking critter!
As you can see, it appears that one hind leg is longer/thicker than the other one. Might you know a reason for this? And are there any clues as to approximately how old he/she is?
Any info would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
Signature: KT

Big Legged Plant Bug

Dear KT,
This is a Big Legged Plant Bug in the genus Acanthocephala.  There are several species that may be found in Louisiana and we are reluctant to commit to an exact species identification, however, you may check BugGuide for the possibilities.  We believe the angle of view and the difference in perspective has created the illusion that the two hind legs are of a different size.  We would guess that this adult hatched this past spring.

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Is this related to your October 2010 Bug of the Month?
Location: Wilmington, MA
October 30, 2010 8:56 pm
Hi!
I have seen about dozen of these bugs around my home in the past couple months. I live in Wilmington, MA. I’ve never seen anything like this before. There was a good lull between the last one I saw and the one today. I was losing hope because I would love to have this identified. This bug doesn’t stink, that I’m aware of, though we do have a dog and two cats, so I may just be blaming a stink in the house on them! This bug is slow crawling, almost like it thinks I won’t see it if it doesn’t move/moves slowly. But once I caught it, it moved much quicker. Also, one of the bugs about a month ago did fly, which scared the bejesus out of me because I wasn’t expecting it! I hope I’m not rambling too much and provided enough information! Thanks for your help!!
Signature: Christine L

Western Conifer Seed Bug

Dear Christine,
You have provided a photo of a Western Conifer Seed Bug, one of the Leaf Footed Bugs in the family Coreidae.  The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is in the family Pentatomidae, but both families are considered True Bugs in the suborder Heteroptera.  Like Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs, the Western Conifer Seed Bugs will enter homes to hibernate as the cooler weather arrives.  They will not harm you, your pets or your home.  They just want to come in out of the cold.  The Western Conifer Seed Bug is native to the Pacific Northwest, but beginning in the 1960s, there was a significant range expansion that now includes much of Eastern North America.  It is unclear if this was a natural range expansion, or if there was human intervention, or if it can be attributed to global warming.  In the early twenty first century, reports began to arrive that the species was becoming established in Northern Europe.

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Flying Insect with Chubby Ankles
Location:  Richmond, Virginia
October 16, 2010 10:57 pm
This thing is about the size of a stinkbug, but it has what look like fleshy pouches on its two hind legs. It has a proboscis, and I don’t know what it eats.
It has wings and flies, but seems very resistant to Raid: Flying Insect Killer, and Raid: Ant & Roach Killer. I finally brought this thing down with about half a can of each. It didn’t die quickly, and twitched for about 15 minutes as I was drowning it in the spray.
I have nuked all entrances to my house with poison, yet these things seem to be the only things that still get in. Even spraying them directly doesn’t kill them quickly at all.
I’ve never seen them before I moved here, but have seen half a dozen of these things since I moved here about 2 months ago.
Please help!
Signature:  Raid Can’t Help Me

Leaffooted Bug: Dead after spraying with 2 half cans of insecticide!!!!!!!

Dear RCHM,
Rarely have we been so entirely horrified with a posting that we tag as Unnecessary Carnage.  Generally, we lament the dispatching of a single beneficial or benign creature that has been swatted or stomped, but your letter has taken the term Unnecessary Carnage to an entirely new level.  In your obsession to prevent a benign creature from entering your home, you have exposed yourself, your family, your pets, and the environment to poisons with potentially long term side affects that might not be fully understood.  We can’t help but to be reminded of the publicity stunt pulled by B.T. Collins during the aerial spraying of malathion in California in the early 1980s in a feebly unsuccessful attempt to control the spread of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly.  According to Time Magazine Online:  “B.T. Collins, 40, director of the California Conservation Corps, gave the most dramatic demonstration of its safety: he drank a glassful of Malathion diluted with water to the concentration used in the spray.“ Malathion spraying failed to control the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, AKA The Med Fly, in the 1980s and your senseless spraying of insecticides will fail to keep insects from entering your home.  Please take the time to educate yourself about the wonderful natural world around you and to learn about the harmful effects of introducing unnecessary chemicals to the environment.  Your insect is a Leaf Footed Bug in the genus Leptoglossus, possibly the Western Conifer Seed Bug.  These harmless creatures often enter homes as the weather begins to cool so that they can hibernate during the cold winter months.  They will not harm you, your pets, your home or its furnishings.  If you find their presence offensive, simply remove them and please desist with the excessive use of poisons.

Daniel,
I must apologize for my actions that I now realize were unnecessary against the harmless Leaf-Footed Bugs that have gotten inside my house over the last few months. I was scared that they would be dangerous given their size and appearance, but now that I know what they are, I won’t be afraid of them any more. Because of the information you’ve given me, I won’t kill them any longer when I find them, I’ll simply brush them back outside.
Thank you!

You’re welcome.  In the interest of education, the indiscriminate use of pesticides might be very harmful to sensitive individuals as well as the environment.

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red-eyed vireo with mouthful
Location:  West Bath, Maine coastal
September 24, 2010 10:57 am
Hi there, Would you kindly tell me what this Red-eyed vireo has captured for a meal? Thanks in advance for your time. I love your site and promote it every chance I get.
Signature:  Robin Robinson

Red Eyed Vireo eats Leaf Footed Bug

I think Assassin Bug. Yes? Thanks RRR

Hi Robin,
This insectivore has captured a Leaf Footed Bug in the genus Leptoglossus, possibly the Western Conifer Seed Bug.

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