What is this?
Location: Northeastern Colorado
December 8, 2011 12:20 am
Hi Bugman! I am having an issue with this bug around my house. I find them maybe every other day and they are almost impossible to kill. I step on them and they seem to just spring back to life. I finally killed it by drowning it in Windex (This was the only thing I had close to me). Please help! I am new to this area of the country and have never seen this bug before. I haven’t seen them except in the colder months after it has started to snow outside.
Signature: Tricia M.
Small Milkweed Bug carnage
Dear Tricia,
If you find these benign Small Milkweed Bugs “almost impossible to kill”, then perhaps you should just stop trying to kill them. They will not harm you, your home nor your pets. You may read more about Small Milkweed Bugs, Lygaeus kalmii, on BugGuide.
Little Red Six Legs :
Location: Cobb County, GA (Powder Springs)
December 6, 2011 1:42 am
I go hiking often so odd bugs, plants, flowers and animals are something I am usually used to. I often snap pictures of them, and I use them often on my blog and my photo sharing sites. I love photography and being able to capture a moment to last a life time. This one particular bug that I captured the last hike (last week), I can not figure out what it is despite hours and hours or research.
This bug was in park that is used for it’s hiking trails. It has many acres and the only buildings are an old barn and an abandoned house. This bugs bright colors instantly attracted me. While I release the copyright to you… I release it only to you. I just want to know what this bug is, what it does. I have been wondering for days whether or not this thing is more harmful or helpful and why I haven’t seen more of them.
Signature: Concerned Hiker
Assassin Bug Nymph
Dear Concerned Hiker,
This is an Assassin Bug nymph, most likely in the genus Zelus. We have taken the liberty of cropping your photo and moving your copyright information to better fit the format of the images on our website.
You can remove the copyright completely if you wish. I have more than one image of this creature, if you want them as well, let me know. Are they harmless? What do they do?
Thanks, but changing images in posts is time consuming, so we will just let it remain as is.
florida reddish orange black spotted insect
Location: Fleming Island, FL
November 28, 2011 5:59 pm
Hello, this afternoon i discovered these bugs on my window screen in my back garden. I’ve lived in Florida for 26 years and I am an avid gardener, yet i have never seen a bug like this before. I’m located North Florida, just south of Jacksonville. Hoping your expertise can clue me in, thanks so much for your time!
Signature: Fiona
Immature Large Milkweed Bugs
Hi Fiona,
These are Large Milkweed Bug nymphs, and as their name indicates, they feed on the sap of milkweed pods and seeds. If you are an avid gardener, and you like to attract butterflies, you are probably growing their food source, milkweed, however we have also gotten at least one report of them feeding on oleander, a common Florida shrub. Here is a photo from BugGuide that matches your grouping’s stage of development. They are not considered a harmful species in the garden.
Thanks so much for the quick response. I have butterflyweed in the garden, not far from where I saw the bugs. I have never noticed them before and have had butterflyweed for years, good to know what they are and that they are not harmful. Now I can appreciate them for what they are – pretty red bugs!
Thanks again, Fiona
1
giant red flying bug
Location: Andhra Pradesh, India
November 26, 2011 10:49 am
Hi – I’m in Andhra Pradesh, India in late November and this big red flying insect landed on my wall, the on the edge of my laptop. From the end of its back legs to the tips of its antennae it was about 5cm. It looked very bitey, so I caught it in a cup and released it outside.
Signature: Steve Sargent
Assassin Bug
Hi Steve,
This is an Assassin Bug in the family Reduviidae, though we need to try to research the species. Most Assassin Bugs prey upon insects and other arthropods, though a few do suck blood from warm blooded prey including humans. We hope our eventual identification will eliminate this brightly colored species as an insect that sucks human blood. Even species that do not prey upon warm blooded hosts are capable of biting if they are carelessly handled and the bite is reported to be quite painful.
Hi Daniel, many thanks for identifying the bug. It certainly did look potentially harmful, but beautiful, too. Good luck with your work!
Steve
1
Shield bugs
Location: Namibia, Southern Africa
November 20, 2011 2:29 pm
Can you please help identify these shield bugs. They are on the seed cone of Welwitschia mirabilis. The picture was taken at10.50a.m. on 19th April 2011 by the C39 roadside west of Khorixas in Namibia.April was unusually wet in Namibia.
Signature: Roger Pinkney.
Cotton Stainers
Hi Roger,
We aren’t entirely convinced that these True Bugs are Shield Bugs. They may be in another Hemipteran family. We will try to determine their identity.
Hi Daniel and Roger:
These are Cotton Stainers (Pyrrhocoridae); specifically Odontopus sexpunctatus, the Welwitschia Bug. Regards. Karl
Thanks Karl. They aren’t very red for being a Red Bug.
¶ Posted 24 November 2011 § Red Bugs ‡ ° I have never seen anything like this.
Location: Venice, FL
November 24, 2011 9:31 am
Found this insect in my boat in Venice, FL. Was about 3 inches long and strong as can be. Grabbed my boat hook hard enough I felt it grab it from the other end. Boat is parked near a Date Palm tree as well. Had wings tucked in, large front claws and a huge stinger. What is it?
Signature: Thanks, Jeff
Toe-Biter
Dear Jeff,
This is a Giant Water Bug or Toe-Biter. It is an aquatic insect that can also fly quite well. They can often be attracted to lights at night, sometimes in great numbers, and that has earned them another common name, Electric Light Bug.
Tiny Little Guys
Location: Maryland
November 21, 2011 11:33 pm
Hi: I saw quite a few of these little guys around my garden this summer, in both of the colors shown. Not sure if it is the same bug that gradually changes color as it ages, or if the color is a gender difference, etc. They are about 1/4” long.
Thanks.
Signature: Barbara Thurlow
Tarnished Plant Bug
Hi Barbara,
In our attempt to identify your True Bug, we found this nymph of a Plant Bug on in the family Miridae on BugGuide that looks similar to your nymph, so we now suspect you have a Plant Bug which warrants additional research prior to posting. We believe we have correctly identified this as a Tarnished Plant Bug, Lygus lineolaris, based on photos and text on BugGuide. According to BugGuide: “nymphs and adults feed on cotton, soybeans, and more than 50 other crops, plus commercially-grown flowers, fruit trees, forest tree nurseries, and weeds (Over half of the US cultivated plant species are listed as host plants for tarnished plant bugs(2))” and it is described as: “Adult: a pale yellow “Y” shape on the scutellum is the most notable feature; elytra vary in color from light to dark brown; cuneus usually yellowish or clear, with a small black spot at the tip; color and markings vary between sexes and between overwintering and summer adults. Nymph: yellowish-green with 4 black dots on the back.” The spots are visible in your photo of the nymph.
Tarnished Plant Bug Nymph
BugGuide also notes that it is: “The most common plant bug in the US”
Tarnished Plant Bug
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