Is this a giant stink bug?
Location: Clarksville, MD
September 29, 2011 12:51 pm
Hello Bugman,
We have quite a few stink bugs around our house this time of year (Clarksville, MD) and I found this one that resembles stink bugs though perhaps isn’t related? It is actually a large bug with a diamond-esque back with two smaller (though still large!) ones attached to its back. Pretty amazing, actually. Please let me know what this bug is!
Signature: Andy
Two Wheel Bugs courting a female
Hi Andy,
These are Wheel Bugs. They are members of the Assassin Bug Family Reduviidae in the suborder Heteroptera. Stink Bugs are also Heteropterans, however, they are in the family Pentatomidae. This is the second image of three Wheel Bugs attracted to one another that we have received in the past week.
1
almost lunch
Location: Salad Greens purchased in NS, Canda
September 28, 2011 7:46 am
This was in a box of salad greens I opened in June 2011. I am remiss that I don’t remember the country of origin for the box. It was so unique looking that I snapped some pictures to try and identify but that has not proven to be very easy.
Thanks!
Signature: Angela
Stink Bug
Hi Angela,
This is some species of Stink Bug, and we hope you derive consolation from the knowledge that many Stink Bugs are edible, and should you have accidentally eaten it, there would probably not have been any adverse reactions. Here is some information from the Girl Meets Bug website: “Jumiles: also known as stink bugs. High in B vitamins, these are said to taste either bitter or like cinnamon, and may have tranquilizing and analgesic properties. Apparently, they can survive the cooking process, and thus are often eaten alive. The yearly Jumile Festival involves the eating of thousands of jumiles, and the crowning of a Jumile Queen.” Sadly, it appears that information came from Wikipedia.
Stink Bug
Thanks for getting back to me. I really appreciate your time. Not sure I’ll try eating one if another shows up, but it is good to know it is an option.
Again, Thanks.
Angela
1
Is this a kissing bug?
Location: Katy, TX
September 26, 2011 10:36 pm
Hi, I was bitten by this bug while I was trying to pick it up in my bathroom. The bite is very painful and the skin around the wound swells. After searching around the internet, I am worrying if it is the kissing bug which carrys Chagas disease. What is the difference between this two species? Thank you!
Signature: Hao
Corsair
Dear Hao,
This is a Corsair, Rasahus biguttatus, not a Kissing Bug. Corsairs are in the same family, Reduviidae, as the Kissing Bugs, but Corsairs do not spread Chagas Disease. We based our identification on BugGuide. The bite of the Corsair is reported to be quite painful.
1
Coleoptera on Asclepias subverticillata
Location: Socorro County, NM
September 26, 2011 2:56 pm
Hi!
Just discovered this site; very awesome. Here’s a picture of some beetles on a Horsetail Milkweed (Asclepias subverticillata). This was in Socorro County, New Mexico, on September 16th. Just wondering what they were…
Signature: JB
Bordered Plant Bug Nymphs
Dear JB,
These are not beetles. They are Bordered Plant Bug nymphs in the genus Largus based on this photo posted to BugGuide. We were not aware that Bordered Plant Bugs fed on milkweed.
1
Big red bugs crawl out of tiny blue/black bugs!
Location: Douglas, southeast Arizona
September 23, 2011 2:12 pm
Howdy, I’ve gotten lots of rolling eyes, and shouts of ”that’s impossible!” when I try to tell people about these bugs. Long story short: maybe 2 years ago, I was taking photos of this group of tiny, shiny-bodied blue/black bugs that had been crawling on my fence. I noticed they were slowing down and eventually came to a stop, in different places. Next thing I knew, this red head and body starting coming out of the body of one of the tiny bug!! Could not believe what I was seeing! The size difference, and the fact that the tiny bugs were mobile just a few minutes earlier, creeped me out. So, of course, I got off a few shots…have absolutely no idea why I didn’t take more. I know a couple came out blurry.
I’ve seen these tiny bugs this year in my garden, but they disappeared before I could collect some to see if they would pull an ”Alien” for me and my camera this time:)
I didn’t know what size the pics should be…they were sent in jpeg; let me know if that needs changing. I hope this is a really rare, but known, sight so I can know I was truly seeing what I thought I was seeing. Thanks! Love your site!
Signature: Lori – Arizona
Bordered Plant Bug Nymphs
Hi Lori,
What you witnessed is amazing, but not at all unusual or rare. You witnessed insect metamorphosis. We believe the blue-black bugs are immature Bordered Plant Bugs in the genus Largus, a conclusion we reached upon comparing your photo to this image on BugGuide. Often when a true bug molts, the newly emerged insect is a reddish color, but that will soon darken as the exoskeleton hardens.
Molting Bordered Plant Bug
1
Bug I have never seen before
Location: Ohio
September 24, 2011 4:06 pm
I first found this bug last night when I got some bedding out of my daughter’s closet. Only saw one, but then I saw two more this afternoon in a laundry basket in the basement. Any idea what this is?
Signature: Megan
Bed Bug, Carpet Beetle Larva or other???
Hi Megan,
There is not enough detail in your photo for us to say with any certainty what the identity of your insect might be, but two possibilities are a Bed Bug or a Carpet Beetle Larva. A better photograph would help.
I know for a fact that it isn’t a bed bug. Have too much experience with those so I know exactly what those look like! I looked up carpet beetle larva and found this picture (attached). It looks like the bug on the left. Now to research these things and find out more about them. Thank you!
1
mystery insect
Location: South of Ireland
September 23, 2011 7:16 pm
Could you please identify the insect in the attaced photo. There are many of them in a river near my home in Ireland.
Signature: David
Water Striders
Hi David,
Water Striders are such common insects on ponds, lakes, streams and slow moving rivers, that we cannot understand why they are so underrepresented on our site. Because the spread of their legs distributes their weight evenly across a greater surface area, Water Striders are able to skate across the water without breaking the surface. Water Striders feed on small insects that fall onto the water’s surface. One group of ocean dwelling Water Striders contains the only true pelagic insects that are found far out to sea on the open ocean.
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