Subject: Identify beetle
Location: lat: 34.328092 long: -118.451715
May 5, 2013 12:08 pm
Bugman,
Trying to ID this ”beetle” found in an area where horses are staged for trail riding. The area is surrounded by non-native ponderosa pine stand. Sylmar California, at Wilson Saddle trailhead. Thought they were Democrat Beetles, but not quite
Signature: Dean

Possibly Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

Dear Dean,
We believe you are referring to Democrat Bugs which are True Bugs in the order Hemiptera, not beetles.  These are not Democrat Bugs, but they are Hemipteran nymphs.  We believe they might be Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs.  You can compare your individuals to this image from BugGuide.

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Subject: beetle
Location: costa rica
March 25, 2013 12:23 pm
yellow red and green beetle
Can you help me?
Signature: fred from belgium

Possibly Milkweed Bugs

Dear Fred,
These are not beetles.  They are True Bugs in the suborder Heteroptera.  They remind us of North American Milkweed Bugs in the genus Oncopeltus.  We tried searching that and found a very similar though not exact photo identified as being in that genus on FlickR.

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Subject: mystery bathroom bug
Location: Midwest US
January 7, 2013 7:50 pm
Found this bug in my bathroom. Wondering what it is, and if I should worry that there are more or if it’s harmful? I live in the midwest. In an apartment.
Signature: C

Whitecrossed Seed Bug

Dear C,
This is a Whitecrossed Seed Bug, Neacoryphus bicrucis, and according to American Insects:  “Over much of its range, this species is associated primarily with Ragwort, Senecio anonymus. Males attempt to hold and guard a territory, a cluster of flower heads. Females need access to these flower heads for feeding, mating, and ovipositing.”  Many True Bugs seek shelter indoors to hibernate, and we suspect that might be the case with this individual.  The Whitecrossed Seed Bug will not harm you or your apartment.  

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Subject: Chris in Toronto/Boxelder?
Location: Toronto, Canada
November 29, 2012 10:31 pm
Hi.
Is this guy a boxelder?
I’ve been wondering for a while…the marking are a little different from other examples that I’ve seen.
Thanks.
Signature: Chris in Toronto

Small Milkweed Bug

Hi Chris,
This is a Small Milkweed Bug, Lygaeus kalmii, from the Seed Bug family, not a Boxelder Bug, which is in the Scentless Plant Bug family.  While Boxelder Bugs are sometimes a harmless nuisance, the Small Milkweed Bugs get no complaints.

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Subject: Daniel – Small Milkweed Bug Nymphs?
Location: Hawthorne, California
November 18, 2012 5:26 pm
Well, we’re just two weeks later than when I discovered the Small Milkweed Bugs mating and here are some tiny guys feasting on a Mexican Milkweed seed pod. I’m guessing they are the nymphs?
Oh, and I have discovered Monarch eggs on the milkweed. Too small for my camera to photograph successfully, though!
Signature: Thanks, Anna Carreon

Small Milkweed Bug Nymphs

Hi Anna,
Thanks for sending us further documentation of the wealth of insect life on your garden milkweed plants.  Since we will be out of the office for Thanksgiving, we are postdating your submission to go live on Thanksgiving.  Have a great holiday.

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Subject: Tiny beetles (?) in Montana
Location: Near Gardiner Montana
November 12, 2012 2:46 pm
On August 5, 2005 I came upon this ground swarm of tiny bugs, about the size of sesame seeds or a little larger. They were racing across the ground like swarming ants; some were grouped together in clumps. They did not fly.
This is an area of foothills at an elevation of about 5500 feet near Gardiner Montana at the north entrance to Yellowstone Park. Vegetation was grass and greasewood and scattered prickly pear cactus. I’ll include two photos of the bugs, plus one photo showing the area where they were. I have a video of them racing across the ground but it doesn’t look like I can post a video.
Signature: Randy

True Bugs

Hi Randy,
We will work on this ID as soon as we finish planting onions and sugar snap peas before the sun goes down.  These are not beetles.  They are True Bugs.  They resemble Chinch Bugs.

Gardiner Montana a mile high

Ed. Note:  A short while later.
We really love that you have shown a photo of the habitat.  That might turn out to be especially significant.

Numerous Small Bugs

We are wondering if these might be some species of Dirt Colored Seed Bug in the family Rhyparochromidae.

Eric Eaton agrees.
Daniel:
They are all nymphs, so I don’t know that they can be easily placed…..Dirt-colored seed bugs would be my first thought as well, but I just can’t be totally positive.
Eric

Randy Responds
I don’t see a way to respond to your answer on the website.  But I did some googling after reading your response.  It’s pretty clear these are False Chinch Bugs.  Do a google image search for False Chinch Bugs and you’ll see these.  Apparently mine are in the nymph stage.  One website explains they often feed on plant seeds in the mustard family… one of my pics coincidentally shows a dried seedstalk (laying horizontally) of a pepper grass plant — in the mustard family.  Very cool.  THANK YOU!!  -Randy

Ed. Note:  November 14, 2012
Despite Randy’s confidence that these little nymphs are False Chinch Bugs, we side with Eric because nymphs can be so difficult to identify.  It can be extremely difficult to identify Hemipteran nymphs with any accuracy from a photograph, especially when there are no adults present.  The remote location of this sighting might mean this is a native species with a very localized distribution. 

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Subject: Hi Daniel – Large Milkweed Bug
Location: Hawthorne, California
August 6, 2012 7:45 pm
I know you have plenty of these wonderful bugs posted, but don’t see any of the newly emerged Large Milkweeed Bug. Marty pointed one out to me the other day, and I got the best shot I could. They seem to be very shy at this stage and scoot underneath the milkweed leaves every time they see me. Thought I would send these photos your way. We’re on the lookout for more and hope to get better photos.
Signature: Anna Carreon

Newly Metamorphosed Large Milkweed Bug

Hi Anna,
Thanks for keeping us abreast of the latest insect visitors in your garden.  This newly metamorphosed Large Milkweed Bug will soon darken to the typical black and orange coloration visible in your other photograph.

Large Milkweed Bugs: winged adults and nymphs

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