previous email
September 25, 2009
I sent an email a little while ago (today) asking about a spider in my yard. My mother has since emailed me this name. When I search your site, I see one similar, but am not sure if it’s the same as the spider I sighted in Oregon yesterday.
“bruennich’s argiope”
I’ll attach my pics again.
Thanks!
Sarah in Oregon
Colton, Oregon

lynx or orbweaver spider?
September 25, 2009
My son, 6, found this spider hanging on one of our porch rails yesterday. We took some pics, but I don’t have a good identification system for spiders. He/she did seem to let out some sort of webbing when the cat knocked him from the step. No worries, this critter escaped safely under the porch! I know you can help us bug-geniuses!
Sarah in Oregon
Colton, Oregon

Banded Garden Spider

Hi Sarah,
Thanks so much for attaching your images a second time.  Your spider is in the same genus as Argiope bruennichi, but it is the native Banded Garden Spider, Argiope trifasciata.  This is a harmless, wide ranging species in North America.  Argiope bruennichi is native to Europe.

September 16, 2009
Hi Daniel…It has been a very long time since we last chatted, so I hope all is well! I see you are still going crazy with WTB and writing a book as well (how the hell do you guys fit it all in with your other responsibilities????), so kudos for that!!
My son wound up at he Cleveland Institute of Art and is studying glass and is totally loving it. My other son, is heading to Drexel tomorrow to study film and video and hopefully to make movies! Maybe a documentary about glass blowing or bugs!!
I wanted to let you know that I developed a website and just put it up online. It is totally dedicated to those of us that are completely addicted to bugs and I hope it will become an outlet like your site for them to get a fix, when insect rehab is simply out of the questions or the perils of bug withdrawal (like winter in the northeast) are knocking on the door.
I thought you and your WTB aficionados might really enjoy it. It is called Bug Addiction: Confessions of a Bug Addict and is at www.bugaddiction.com
Look forward to hearing from you and your thoughts on the website….Dave
David Moskowitz

Hi David,
We are thrilled to promote your new website.  We will take the time to peruse it this weekend.

Love the site! Made me feel like a kid again!
September 9, 2009
I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been to peruse your site this evening…er, morning I guess it is now. I grew up on my grandparents’ truck-farm (purple-hull peas, okra, tomatoes, the whole nine yards) so I was naturally turned toward biology at an early age.

We had neither air-conditioning or cable TV so I spent most of my waking hours outside getting scratched, poisoned, and bitten by anything I could find to study in the woods, in the fields, in the barn, and around the two creeks that cut through the property.

I just wanted to say that it was nice to dig around your site and finally find out the true names of some of the “critters” that fascinated my grandfather and myself for so many years. Growing up the way I did led to a deep-seated love of nature and a longing to learn everything I could about it. By the time I was ten this had turned into a full blown obsession with biology….well, marine biology. I loved fish…sorry, bug-people.

Unfortunately life usually doesn’t work the way we’d like and I chose to give up the studies I had longed for in order to pursue a career I could actually pay bills and support a family with. Believe me, what I wanted to do as a MARBie is friendly to neither family or finances.

But I’ve allowed myself to get off track…so in the interest of limiting how much of your time I waste I’ll try to wrap this up. Long story short: I love your site. It allows me to step back into the days of laying in the grass, getting itchy from God-knows-what, watching bugs do their thing. My life has taken a more…normal turn than I would have ever thought and I’m afraid I have made myself forget most of the science I once loved in the interest of “making it” in everyday life. As hard as I try, however, I can’t seem to completely push out the memories of my first love.

I know now that I will never get that degree in marine biology that I can remember dreaming about before I even knew what it was called, but visiting this wonderful site gives this overweight soon-to-be cop a window into his past and a chance to interact with those of you who are lucky enough to be living the dream.

I salute you, bug people, and I hope you will receive the thanks of this former fish guy for taking time out of your lives to put together this site. I know there are more urgent things out there you could be doing.

I’m sorry this ran so long, despite my best efforts it appears I got into quite a babbling spree. I appreciate it if you’ve stuck with me this long. I just wanted to express how I felt about finding your site. Thank you again for putting it together.

—Kris
Vidor, TX

ps: I’m currently between jobs thanks to this great economy of ours and an exceedingly long application process at my next place of employment, so since my schedule is open I think I might take tomorrow to go roll around in some poisonous plants and try to take some pictures of some cool bugs. If I get anything good I might just throw them your way.

Colorful Moth
August 28, 2009
What kind of moth is this? I took the picture in August 2008 in northern Utah, Heber City area up on the mountain.
Toby Cramer
Northern Utah, Heber City area

Great Tiger Moth

Hi Toby,
We don’t get many photos of the Great Tiger Moth, Arctia caja, which is known as the Garden Tiger Moth in Europe.  This is a species that might need conservation since according to BugGuide it is:  “uncommon to rare in North America; European numbers have been declining in recent years“  BugGuide also indicates:  “This species, formerly common throughout the UK, has steadily declined over the past 20 years, with numbers falling by around 30%. There has been a general movement away from the south and toward the north, with climate change believed to be a contributing factor. Warm, wet winters and warm springs are followed by a decrease in the number of tiger moths the following summer (Conrad et al, 2002).  Arctia caja was a favourite with early European collectors, who selectively bred it to create unusual colours and forms.”

August 23, 2009
Please bear with us as we transfer to a new server.  We hope this will increase the speed with which you may navigate our website and the speed with which we can answer questions.  Additionally, since our site migration last fall, we have a better taxonomy and classification system.  We still need to subclassifly many of our categories.  Today we are working on our Caterpillar archives.

Bed bug, sarcoptic mite, mange, ticdk, flea, sand flea, hives
August 21, 2009
About four months ago, my Great Dane (18 months) went to the doctor with bleeding ear tips caused by constant scratching and shaking of her head. The vet said she had an ear infection but did not find a mite. He gave her cream and she got a bit better, however….She soon developed small dark circular spots of darker fur on her neck..Took her back to the vet and he said it was nothing…
Eventually she got much worse…lost all sorts of fur and was extremely itchy…The vet thought mange so he put her on revolution. Finally a few weeks later she was brought back and had a ringworm test…the ringworm test was positive. That same day my landlord called to say there was poison ivy in my yard.
A few weeks later after the dog was being treated…the cat lost all the fur on his ears. He was sooo itchy just like the dog. The cat was tested for ringworm twice and was negative. A day after I broke out in little red marks that were not a bump but were like little line that were so itchy I went to the hospital..They said it looked like scabies. My vet said that the dog, cat and I could not possibly have the same mites, because the mites on them can’t live on me for more then 24-36 hours at a time and my mites could not survive on them..We have all now been treated chemically for mites, and fungally for ringworm. No avail! I am dying here, diabetic and my poor little pets are so itchy too. HELP..What else could this be? The vets are all stumped,.all three and two human doctors too!!!
K Pollock
Keswick ontario canada

Dear K,
While we empathize with your anguish and your pet’s pain and suffering, if three veterinarians and two doctors couldn’t diagnose this upon seeing the patients and taking tests, we have little faith that we lowly photography professors will have much luck.  We would also refrain from blaming bugs because of the cross species infestation, though fleas will bite cats, dogs and people as well as a host of other warm blooded creatures.  Severe Flea Bites might lead to so much scratching that there is hair loss.  Perhaps it is some other environmental factor.  Have you considered moving?  Though we have no idea what the problem could be, this is a definite candidate for the Worst Bug Story Ever section of our website, though again, we must clarify that we are not even sure that a living organism is at the root of the problem.  If you post a comment on this posting, you may eventually get assistance from one of our readers.