odd bug
Location: fredericksburg, va
September 11, 2011 10:57 pm
this bug was in our house today 9.11.11 & bit my husband. apparently it hurt quite a bit. we live in fredericksburg, va & are trying to determine what it is so we can decide if we need to get an exterminator.
Signature: evelyn
Flightless Female Black Corsair
Hi Evelyn,
Regarding the Black Corsair, according to BugGuide: “Females are (often) flightless, tend to live under logs, stones, etc. Adults overwinter under logs, in piles of weeds, etc. Males seen in open in spring, presumably searching for females? During mating, spongy pads on legs are used by males to mount females. Female is reported to stridulate with beak during mating, perhaps (?) to deter attack by male. Eggs are laid singly into soil beneath rocks. Males come to lights in summer.” The Black Corsair is an Assassin Bug that preys upon insects, but like many Assassin Bugs, it will bite humans if carelessly handled or if it feels threatened. You do not need to exterminate based on this unusual indoor visitor.
Daniel – Stink Bug Nymph?
Location: Hawthorne, CA
September 10, 2011 4:23 pm
Is this a stink bug nymph? If so, is it a beneficial or harmful variety?
Signature: Thanks, Anna Carreon
Painted Bug
Hi Anna,
Good call on the Stink Bug family Pentatomidae, but just because this Painted Bug is small, does not mean it is a nymph. We first created a post for the African Invasive Exotic Painted Bug, Bagrada hilaris, in 2009 when we found them eating our collard greens. We quickly learned that they had only been reported in the country since August 2008, and that they were first noticed in Orange County which you may read about on the Natural History of Orange County website. We had a massive infestation on the collards and the kale, but for the past year, we have not noticed them in the garden. You should eliminate them. We did not spray, but we destroyed their habitat and food supply by removing all plants in the cabbage family. Luckily they had gone to seed and needed to be removed anyway. Once the food was gone and they had nothing to eat, they vanished.
Red and black insect
Location: Hemet California
September 4, 2011 9:09 pm
PLEASE identify this bug for me. I have about 25,000 of them in my acre backyard. I need to know if their dangerous, if i need to get an exterminator or what. Please help me!!!!
Signature: Bug information??
Red Bug
The quality of your photograph is not ideal for discerning details, but the photo of the single insect you have attached appears to be a nonnative Red Bug, Scantius aegyptius, a species known to form large aggregations containing individuals from various stages ranging from young nymphs through mature individuals. BugGuide has reported this invasive exotic species is already established in Southern California. Our first reports of this nonnative invasion date back to 2009. The University of Riverside has a nice page on this Invasive Exotic species.
Red Bug Aggregation
Wheel bugs
Location: Hiawassee,GA
September 3, 2011 7:30 pm
Interesting thing happened today. I opened the front door and found these two wheel bugs…in a bit of a compromising position, but I didn’t know what they were until I uploaded the pictures to my computer and saw the wheel on their backs. Truth is, I would not have known what they were at all if it wasn’t for your website.So thank you, because, although I would still freak out if a bug landed on me(I am working really hard on my phobia by trying to educate myself) when I see them now I am more intrigued than scared.
Signature: Recovering bugaphobe
Mating Wheel Bugs
Dear Recovering bugaphobe,
We want to better educate you about Wheel Bugs, members of the Assassin Bug family Reduvidae. Assassin Bugs are predators, and Wheel Bugs prey upon mainly insects. They have mouths that were designed for piercing and sucking. They do not want to suck your blood, though their relatives, the Blood Sucking Conenoses, do feed on blood. Wheel Bugs prey upon insects in the garden, though they will most likely bite, and the bite will be painful, if they are carelessly handled by humans. We have a huge archive of Bug Love images of insects and other things that crawl mating. After mating, she will lay clusters of hexagonal eggs that will hatch in the spring into red and black colonies of insects that resemble spiders, superficially.
Pretty black insect
Location: Port Coquitlam, BC, CA
August 29, 2011 12:49 am
Hello,
These frisky black beauties were scampering around on raspberry bushes in Port Coquitlam, BC, Ca.
They weren’t very numerous, and have been hard to find since these photos were taken.
They move like lady bugs (less cute factor), and were active in full August sun in early afternoon.
You guys run a terrific site. Thanks in advance for any help help. Or, just enjoy the photos:-)
cheers, Storm Vos-Browning
Signature: Storm
Stink Bug Nymph
Dear Storm,
This is an immature Stink Bug in the family Pentatomidae. Immature insects can often be difficult to properly identify to the species level. We found a matching image on BugGuide that indicates it is most likely a member of the genus Chlorochroa.
Stink Bug Nymphs
Good bug / Bad bug?
Location: West Tennessee
August 24, 2011 8:16 pm
Wondering what bug this is that is sucking the life out of this tomato horn worm?
Signature: tn_wildflower
Bee Assassin eats Hornworm
Dear tn_wildflower,
It is nice to see that though it is called a Bee Assassin, Apiomerus crassipes, one of the Assassin Bugs, does not subsist solely on bees. This is a very nice food chain image. See BugGuide for some comparison photos.
Halloween Insect (some sort of mantis?)
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
August 24, 2011 6:32 pm
My father found this insect outside a Halloween store here in Pennsylvania about 7 years ago (October 18, 2004, to be exact). A Halloween store seemed like an appropriate place to find such a weird-looking insect! I’ve never seen another one like it. We’ve always wondered what it is.
Signature: RickMK
Wheel Bug
Dear Rick
After seven years, you can stop losing any sleep. This is a Wheel Bug.
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