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Toe-Biter

Looks carnivorous to me…
March 3, 2010
Hey Bugman! I found this bug at work today and I’ve never seen anything like it!
I’m so very curious about this insect, but can’t ID it at all…
Hepler
Corvallis, Oregon

toebiter hepler 300x224 Toe Biter

Giant Water Bug

Hi Hepler,
Identification requests for Giant Water Bugs, commonly called Toe-Biters, are so frequent during the summer that we have put them on our Top 10 list.  Members in the genus Lethocerus are reported from coast to coast in North America on BugGuide, and they also may be found in many other parts of the world.  Much larger relatives are eaten in Thailand.  Your observation that the Giant Water Bug looks carnivorous is astute, and they are fierce aquatic predators that can also take flight to seek out new hunting grounds.

Posted 03 March 2010 § Toe Biters and other Aquatic True Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Male Giant Water Bug Tends to eggs as female eats

February 24, 2010
Giant Water Bugs
Hi, WTB,
I’ve been going through photos from last summer and I thought that you might be interested in some Giant Water Bug images that have a little more detail (including particulate gunk in the water — sorry for that) than is sometimes seen in field photographs.
The first image gives an idea of the male behavior of, what seems to be, aerating/hydrating (and, perhaps, cleansing?) the eggs by rapidly moving his back in and out of the water.

abedus male eggs denny 300x239 Male Giant Water Bug Tends to eggs as female eats

Male Giant Water Bug with Eggs

The second shot shows a submerged male with all of the eggs, and only the eggs, above the surface.

abedus male eggs denny 2 300x239 Male Giant Water Bug Tends to eggs as female eats

Male Giant Water Bug with Eggs

The third photo is of a completely submerged male and eggs.  You just can see the very tip of his backside breaking the surface.

abedus male eggs denny 3 300x240 Male Giant Water Bug Tends to eggs as female eats

Male Giant Water Bug with Eggs

The final shot is of a, presumably, female — totally submerged — who is feeding “up” on the food chain.
Early July, foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains, southern Arizona, about 4,400 ft.
Denny Schreffler

abedus feeding denny 300x240 Male Giant Water Bug Tends to eggs as female eats

Giant Water bug with Prey

Dear Denny,
You are continuing a pattern of excellence with both your photos and your verbal descriptions.  These documentations of a Male Giant Water Bug in the genus Abedus, probably Abedus herberti which BugGuide reports is found in Arizona, are positively spectacular.  The focus and detail are superb, and the observational information on the aeration/hydrating/cleaning behavior of the male with the eggs is a wonderful addition.  The Giant Water Bugs in the genera Abedus and Belestoma are interesting in that the female cements the eggs to the back of the male after mating, and the male has the responsibility of protecting the eggs, though once the eggs hatch, he is freed of his duties.  Thanks so much for including the information that the photos were taken in July, because so often our readers submit images that are many years old and they fail to include such relevant information.  Though your photos are quite detailed, you neglected to indicate what prey was captured in the Food Chain image, other than that it is up the food chain.  Is it possible to provide that information?

I don’t know what fleshy little vertebrate morsel she is eating — I came upon her after she already had been through the carry out line — but it probably tastes like chicken.
Thanks for the nice comments.
Denny Schreffler

Eric Eaton Agrees with identification
Hi, Daniel:
The giant water bugs from Denny here in Arizona are the species Abedus herberti.
Eric

Posted 25 February 2010 § Eggs § Toe Biters and other Aquatic True Bugs ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , ,

Lychee Shield Bug from India

Metalic Geen Bug with black spots
February 21, 2010
Hi…i’m from India. The other day i had a visit from this fascinating bug. It was sitting on one Holy Basil plant in my Verandah. It’s been vacationing on this plant for the last 2 days.
Can you tell me what bug this is and which family of bugs does this belong to?
Thanks.
Sid
North India

jewel bug india sid 300x265 Lychee Shield Bug from India

Lychee Shield Bug

Dear Sid,
Your insect is a Jewel Bug or Shield Backed Bug in the family Scutelleridae.  Scutelleridae was, according to BugGuide:  “formerly considered a subfamily of Pentatomidae” which contain the Stink Bugs.  Both families are now grouped into the superfamily Pentatomoidea, and they are classified in the suborder Heteroptera, the True Bugs.  We found a matching photo on Flickr, but it is incorrectly titled a Jewel Beetle, and True Bugs are in a completely separate order from the beetles.  There are also two different photos of this species posted on photo.net, but they are only identified as Jewel Bugs, without a species name.  Continued searching revealed another photo on Flickr with the caption:  “Kanch Poka (Green Jewel Bug – Lampromicra spp, under Family Scutelleridae), beetle is common insect in rural Bangladeshi bushes.“  Another Flickr page depicted this Jewel Bug with the name Chrysocoris stolli, which we then verified on  Dave’s Garden website with the common name Lychee Shield Bug.  The TrekNature website also pairs the scientific name Chrysocoris stolli with the common name Lychee Shield Bug for this species from India.

jewel bug india 2 sid 300x279 Lychee Shield Bug from India

Lychee Shield Bug

Thanks Daniel for the great info. I found your website on google and its now on my favorite list.
You’ve got a great website for nature enthusiasts. Keep it up. Don’t ever stop it.
I have also made the donation and will make more in future also.
Cheers!
Sid

Thanks for your kind words and your generosity Sid.

Update:  September 10, 2011
Lychee Shield Bug
Website: www.flickr.com/photos/zolivier
September 10, 2011 12:24 pm
Hi Daniel,
I came across you website through a reference to a picture of mine (http://www.flickr.com/photos/zolivier/4032614447/) in this identification post:

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2010/02/21/lychee-shield-bug-from-india/

I always try to get the taxonomy right but mostly rely on pictures searches for identification, which I admit is not always the best way!
(Here’s an example that might have typically led me to get the wrong name: http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=194178)
So to rectify, my picture is of a Lychee Shield Bug – or Green Jewel Bug – which is indeed of the Scutelleridae family, and the species is likely to be Chrysocoris stolli, is that right?
I’m keen on rectifying my mistake on my flickr photo…
In the meanwhile I’ve done a bit of reading about differences between true bugs and beetles. I’m really glad I came across your website today, I definitely won’t make the mistake again!
Best Regards,
Signature: Olivier

Hi Olivier,
We agree that this is a Lychee Shield Bug, and we would like to point out that the India Nature Watch website incorrectly identifies it as a Jewel Beetle instead of a Jewel Bug.

2

Posted 21 February 2010 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (1) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Lynx Spider eats Pod Boring Bug while Freeloader Flies share the feast in Australia

aussietrev foodchain
February 19, 2010
Hi guys,
Thanks for clearing up that velvet ant gender. This Lynx spider has caught herself a pod boring bug but is having to share it with minute flies that feed on the victims of spiders. I guess they must be immune to the effects of venom or feed before it has made its way through the body of the bug.
aussietrev
Queensland. Australia

lynx freeloaders eat pod sucker australia trevor 300x213 Lynx Spider eats Pod Boring Bug while Freeloader Flies share the feast in Australia

Common Lynx Spider and Freeloader Flies eat Pod Sucking Bug

Hi Trevor,
This is such an intricate Food Chain image and we are impressed with the excellent focus and detail on the individuals.  The Common Lynx Spider is well represented on the Brisbane Insect website, but the prey you have indicated, the Pod Sucking Bug, is not recognizable in your photo.  We did locate images of the Pod Sucking Bug, Riptortus serripes, on the Brisbane Insect website.  You sent us another example of Kleptoparasitism with Freeloader Flies last year, and we did extensive research at that time on the phenomenon.  These Freeloader Flies are in the family Milichiidae, and the Biology of Milichiidae page has this information:  “Another very interesting feature of Milichiidae behavior is kleptoparasitism or commensalism. Species of several genera suck at the prey of spiders or predatory insects such as Reduviidae, Asilidae, Mantidae, or Odonata. Mostly they are attracted to predators feeding on stink bugs (Pentatomidae) or squash bugs (Coreidae) (Frost 1913, Robinson & Robinson 1977, Sivinski & Stowe 1980, Landau & Gaylor 1987). In almost all cases it is only the females that are kleptoparasitic. In some cases a close association between milichiid and predator has been postulated, because it was observed that the fly “rides” on the predator for some time, staying with the one predator rather than changing between different predators (Biró 1899, Robinson & Robinson 1977).“  Irina Brake is the expert on this fascinating family.
Interestingly, in the past two days, we have received numerous beetle corrections from a Dr. Trevor J Hawkeswood of Australia, and we lamented that we have not had any recent submissions from you.

lynx food chain australia trevor 300x190 Lynx Spider eats Pod Boring Bug while Freeloader Flies share the feast in Australia

Common Lynx Spider and Freeloader Flies feed on Pod Sucking Bug in Australia

Posted 20 February 2010 § Freeloader Flies § Green Lynx ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Mating True Bugs from South Africa: Cotton Stainers perhaps

Dear What’s That Bug
February 18, 2010
I’ve been finding these little beetles all over my garden during the last few months. Can you tell me what they are? They seem to like plants and when I dug up some mint recently there were loads of them in the soil around the roots.
Thanks for your help.
Kate
Cape Town South Africa

mating cotton stainers south africa kate 300x206 Mating True Bugs from South Africa: Cotton Stainers perhaps

Possibly Mating Cotton Stainers

Hello KAte,
These are True Bugs, not beetles, and we believe they may be Cotton Stainers in the family Pyrrhocoridae.  We found one photo that matches on a South African website, but the species is not identified.  We also found reference to a South African Cotton Stainer, Dysdercus nigrofasciatus, but we have not had any luck finding a photo, but trying a web search of Cotton Stainer South Africa produced an image on Flickr.

Hi Daniel and Kate:
They do look like Cotton Stainers (also Red Bugs or Fire Bugs). I think they are likely in the genus Cenaeus, of which there are several species in South Africa. They appear to be a very close match to C. carnifex. You could also compare to photos provided at the Diversity Explorer and Zandvlei Trust web sites. Regards.
Karl

Posted 19 February 2010 § Red Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs invade home

Identify unknown insect possibly beetle
February 17, 2010
Wehave thousands of these bugs on our screened porch, in the roof ridge and attic vents, outside walls, kitchen, bedrooms, living room, etc. They are very slow moving at any time of year and appear harmless to people. Mainly s curiosity.
Bob Weber KSQ
Kennett Square, Chester County, PA, USA

brown marmorated stink bugs bob 300x186 Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs invade home

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs

Hi Bob,
You have Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs, Halyomorpha halys, a species that was introduced from Asia where it is an agricultural pest.  According to BugGuide:  “They sometimes invade homes in the winter by the hundreds!“  Here is a link to a fact sheet on Invasive.org that shows the entire life cycle.

Thanks a million Dan, you guys are the best – I don’t care what anybody else says about you. You are extremely timely, accurate and thorough and a fantastic service for us laypeople annoyed by invasive bugs.
I have read some of the literature you pointed to and it seems as though the synthetic pyrethroid insecticides indicated are not very effective due to sunlight deactivation in a few days.  I think BMSBs may be sensitive to Spectracide Bug Stop indoor plus outdoor insect killer which I have used during the past six months to reduce spiders, centipedes, thousand leggers , etc. which have profusely invaded our daylight basement by spraying all windows and doors perimeters as well as spraying the floor wall corners and joist wall corners throughout the basement.
I did notice masses of these BMSBs at the attic peak vents and ridge vents when I was exterior prepping and painting this past September/October.  I will try spraying these points from the outside and inside as well as the porch and attic.  I have also gotten BAYER Advanced Home Pest Control Indoor & Outdoor Insect killer which is supposed to have a 9 month residual – to keep killing throughout the fall and winter – however, I don’t see stink bugs listed on the label of either of these pesticides.  It seems as though there are numerous dead adult BMSBs on the basement floor and I thought the pesticide was the cause of mortality but it could have possibly just been their lifecycle.
I used to have the philosophy of not killing indoor bugs – especially spiders – since I felt the spiders would control all the others but the wife couldn’t stand all the creepy crawlies anymore and is deathly afraid of spiders so we took control action which has been extremely effective in the basement so far.
Best regards,  Bob

Posted 18 February 2010 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: ,

Painted Bugs Mating: Invasive species from Africa

small black bugs with orange spots
February 13, 2010
there were hundreds of these little bugs crawling on some plants with a few dozen ladybugs mixed in, and they were about the same size. i was hiking in some hills in the los angeles area and it was yesterday, feb 12th
naaman
los angeles, ca

painted bugs mating naaman 300x216 Painted Bugs Mating: Invasive species from Africa

Painted Bugs mating

Dear naaman,
We first reported on the Painted Bugs from Africa feeding on our own Collard Greens and Kale in Mount Washington, Los Angeles in July 2009.  We believe this fecund species has the potential to become a serious pest on cruciferous plants in the cabbage family.  BugGuide also recognizes that potential.  UC Riverside Center for Invasive Species website also recognizes the threat.  It is interesting that in our garden as well as in your photographs, every adult seemed to have been caught in flagrante delicto, a good indication that there will soon be a new generation with even more individuals.  From the angle of your photograph, it is difficult to ascertain the identity of the mating Lady Beetles.

painted bugs mating ladybirds naaman 300x206 Painted Bugs Mating: Invasive species from Africa

Painted Bugs and Convergent Lady Beetles Mating

Ed. Note: Additional images revealed these to be a pair of Convergent Lady Beetles, Hippodamia convergens, a native species.

Posted 13 February 2010 § Lady Bug § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: ,

Immature Stink Bugs in New Zealand

Garden infestation
February 9, 2010
We have these “bugs” all over our tomatoes this year. I live in New Zealand and tomatoes are in full swing. We have a variety of different fruit trees and other veges in our garden too. This is the first bug I have ever come across I couldn’t Identify easily. Can anyone identify this and tell me how to control it if at all?
Bemused
Auckland, New Zealand

stink bug nymph new zealand Immature Stink Bugs in New Zealand

Immature Stink Bug

Dear Bemused,
This is an immature Stink Bug, and may species are problematic on garden plants.  We believe this might be an immature Green Vegetable Bug, Nezara viridula, which is pictured on the Brisbane Insect Website, or perhaps the closely related New Zealand Vegetable Bug, Glaucias amyoti, which can be seen in the adult form on the Life Unseen Website.

Posted 12 February 2010 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °

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