Cecropia Moth and resulting Caterpillar Hatchlings
(06/20/2007) Cecropia Moth Hatchlings
Hi Bugman...I photographed this cecropia moth on June 8/07 after it laid eggs and the eggs hatched on June 19/07. I really enjoy your site and appreciate how much work goes into keeping it going. I noticed you don't have these eggs on your site so thought they might be a good addition.
Tom Rook
Brantford, Ont. Canada
www.stockfullofnature.com



Hi Tom,
Thanks for sending us your Cecropia Hatchling image. We linked back to your excellent stock photography site and we hope that doesn't crash your server.

Luna Moth Eggs
(06/12/2007) Do you have any pics of Luna Moth eggs? I just shot these....
Hey Bugman,
Caught a (evidently female) Luna Moth the other night.  I put it in my daughters butterfly cage so she could see it in the morning. Low and behold, it laid eggs.  You have plenty of moth pics on your sight, but I didn't see any egg pics.  Please feel free to use these, if they suit you. Love the sight!
Dave Schloat



Hi Dave,
Rarely do we get egg photos where they are documented as to their identification. These are the first Luna Moth Egg photos we have received.

Male Giant Water Bug with Eggs
(06/13/2007) Water bug with eggs (and others)
Thanks for posting my Polyphemus picture! Here are some others you might like. One is a picture of a large water beetle of some kind. I believe it is the male bug, and the female has laid her eggs on his back. Do you know what it is? Also, I have included a shot of what I believe to be a Woolly Bear caterpillar, though I have never seen a "blonde" one before! Is my identification correct? The dragonfly picture I have attached is of a male Spangled Skimmer eating some other bug for breakfast. Lastly, I have included a picture of a Praying Mantis egg case, with the baby insects emerging. All of these pictures were taken at Goose Pond Mountain State Park in Chester, NY (southern NY). Thanks again!
Kat



Hi Kat,
Thanks for submitting your other images. We do not have the time nor the wherewithall to deal with multispecies letters. Should you decide to submit anything in the future, please only submit photos of one species per letter. Forced to choose, we decided to post your male Giant Water Bug, Belostoma lutarium. The female cements the eggs onto the back of the male. This species shares the names Giant Water Bug, Toe-Biter and Electric Light Bug with the more frequently seen Lethocerus americanus.

Male Predatory Water Bug with Eggs
(05/19/2007) Toe Biter?
Not sure but I guess its a Toe Biter.All the pics I saw didn't have any eggs so Im sending you this cool pic. Found it in a pond in Gulfport Mississippi.
David Cox
Gulfport MS



Hi David,
This is a Predatory Water Bug and it has many of the same common names as the more commonly photographed genus Lethocerus, including Giant Water Bug, Electric Light Bug and Toe-Biter. This is however a different genus, Belostoma. Males of this genus carry the eggs which the female cements onto his back.

Chalcid Wasp emerges from Parasitized Eggs
(04/27/2007) Hey bug guru
I cant tell you how much I appreciate your dedication to one of my geeky passions. Your time and work does not go unappreciated. Please evaluate the attached photos. I hope they meet your guidelines for size. I found a few small eggs on a leaf in a ficus tree in the front yard. Lucky me, I just purchased a new microscope.



The egg pictures were taken at 100x and the hatch was taken at 50x. I live in Mesa AZ. I found the eggs on 4-21-07 and they started hatching on 4-27-07. The little bugger started to warm up and moving subjects at 50x are hard to capture. When he, sorry, or she was fully stretched out it looked like a miniature wasp. Im thinking some kind of boring wood wasp, but Im sure you will set me straight. The attached photos are composite images of over 60 taken on each final photo. The 5mp camera and the Image-Pro Express software are impressing the you know what out of me. The eggs are about half the size of a pin head. In some of the photos you can see small particles of dirt on the side of the eggs. Thanks to you and yours for all your work Thanks
Danny
Empire Fluids Lab



Hi Danny,
These are pretty awesome images, though hearing that they are composite has us a bit troubled. We hope the integrity of the actual even is faithful. We suspect that this is some species of Chalcid Wasp. Chalcid Wasps parasitize other insects, and according to the USDA: "All chalcidids are parasitic. Most attack pupae of Lepidoptera and Diptera, but some parasitize other Hymenoptera or beetles. Parasites of Lepidoptera usually attack young pupae, while those of Diptera attack mature larvae (Clausen 1940)." often Bugguide doesn't have any documentation quite like this, and as the wasp and host are quite specific, we will see if Eric Eaton can assist us in identifying the eggs and wasps. We will also try to contact Bill Oehlke who operates an awesome Sphingidae page since these eggs look like they might be Lepidoptera eggs, and the Ficus Sphinx is a moth that feeds on Ficus. Thankfully, you not only provided us with awesome images, but with enough background information to continue sleuthing until we exhaust our means in the identification.

Daniel,
Thank you so much for you work on this. I want assure you that my integrity is of the highest. I have sent you picture's in the past. This Leica will not let me take a clear single image and to appreciate the details of the egg I spent a bit of time stacking multiple images. Im dedicated to the appreciation of mother natures gifts. ... Thanks again for all your time dedicated to informing the world on BUGS. It is nice seeing others around the world send pictures and how the site is growing. Thanks
Danny

Hi Danny,
Consider us chastised. There has been much publicity in the world of photo journalism due to photographers combining images digitally that, while they convey the truth of the experience, are still considered tampering. Your photos are quite gorgeous and the effort you have expended to assure detail in every portion of the image is obvious. We hope that both Bill Oehlke and Eric Eaton respond to our queries. Though we do not know the exact species here, we are still confident that your images are of a Chalcid Wasp. Thanks again for writing.

Update: (05/09/2007)
Daniel:
Chalcids are out of my league, sorry! There are a few critters that just aren't easily grasped in terms of ID, and those are among them.
Eric

Update: (05/10/2007)
Daniel,
I have never seen Pachylia ficus eggs so have nothing to compare these with. All of the Sphingid eggs that I have seen have been green, very smooth and without the upper ring, but I have not seen any under such high magnification. I am not an expert on wasps but I do know that some wasps parasitize eggs. Sorry I cannot be of more help. I suspect caterpillars of many species from many different families feed on Ficus.
Bill Oehlke

Unknown Eggs
(04/21/2007) Unknown
Hi,
These are apparently very ornate eggs of an insect. I'm told they're not from butterfly or moth.They are magnified in the image (probably 15x). They were attached to a sedge, Carex hormathodes, high among rocks along the coast of Narragansett Bay in RI. I have never been able to figure out what they might be from.
Thanks
Francis Underwood



Hi Frances,
We don't recognize your eggs, but suspect they might be from some Hemipteran or True Bug. We are posting in the hopes that one of our readers might be able to assist you. We are also posting the date you printed on the photo, August 12, 2004, as that might be significant.

Huntsman Spider and Spiderlings
(04/03/2007) breeding huntsman spider
Hi,
Your site was very helpful with identifying my pet spider. I think it is a huntsman or giant crab spider and definitely a female. Only her breeding behavior doesn't match the description. I live in Phoenix, Arizona, and a friend found the spider in her basement. Instead of killing it she asked me to take it. After a couple of days of feasting on crickets and becoming VERY round, she started a kind of cocoon in one upper corner of her cage.



She was INSIDE the snowball sized construct and over a couple of days it became so dense, I couldn't look through anymore. This was in January and yesterday the Mom spider came out of the cocoon, followed by about 100 tiny babies. I think, I won't have a roach problem for the next couple of years.... Have you heard of a spider that is actually inside a cocoon with to lay her eggs or was that just an improvised burrow because the cage didn't provide an ideal nursery place ? If so, she was pretty inventive. I'll attach some pictures when she started the cocoon and some from yesterday with the babies and the VERY HUNGRY mom (has not eaten for three months). I transferred the "nest" to a bigger container without so many openings. You can see mom coming out of the crumbled looking cocoon (moving damage).



She later Squeezed the cocoon from inside and made it smaller and smaller and every convulsion made more and more babies to leave the safe home. They ran straight up towards the glass cover. You never stop learning with those amazing pets. I hope it's not too much, but I'm really excited about it.
Martina



Wow Martina,
Your photo documentation is awesome. We believe this is a Golden Huntsman Spider, Olios fasciculatus. Our Audubon Guide says the "female carries egg sac in jaws until spiderlings emerge and disperse." We are not sure about the nursery web behavior, but your photo documentation might be scientifically noteworthy.

Ribbon Winged Lacewing
(03/20/2007) What's That Bug?
Dear Bugman,
What a fantastic site you guys have!!! I just found out it the pic I sent is a Ribbon Winged Lacewing, a Neuropteran - could you help with the species id? Have now attached another pic, which presumably are its eggs (since they have the characteristic stalk-shape, just like other lacewings). Best,
Nick

Hey Guys, I stay in Mumbai, India and found this fly (?) in my house. At first glance, it looks like a large mosquito but has these two long appendages that stream behind it as it flies around in a seemingly "drunken" fashion, ducking and weaving crazily about. Been trying to identify it for a few days and hit upon your site. I'm afraid its not a very good photo but here goes anyway...
Nick Chatterjee,
Mumbai, India



Hi Nick,
Your three emails came in rapid succession. The egg photo was not attached, but we are thrilled to post the other two images of the Ribbon Winged Lacewing.

here is the egg photo again....

Newly Hatched Imperial Moth Caterpillars
(03/16/2007) Really cute caterpillars
Hello Bugman!
Last Summer, in my yard, I found a large yellow and brown moth. It was being bullied (stung) over and over by a yellowjacket. I killed the bee and scooped up the moth and brought it onto my back porch. I put "her" into my butterfly keeper from pre-school and left her on my back porch with a mixture of sugarwater for butterflies, lots of leaves, some dirt and a shallow bit of water. Much to my surprise she began to lay tiny little yellow eggs. She died soon after. I felt so sad for her. Not knowing any better, I thought the little eggs would stay eggs till the next season. Boy was I excited and covered up in tiny little caterpillars one day! I put them outside in hopes they would find whatever they needed. These are the pictures I took of them. I could see each tiny life inside each tiny egg! It was so beautiful! Thank you for such a wonderful web site!
Rene' Jackson
Conyers, Ga



Hi Rene,
BugGuide has an excellent example of the life cycle of the Imperial Moth. We are happy to get your images of newly hatched Imperial Moth Caterpillars.

Wheel Bug Lays Eggs, Eggs Hatch
(02/26/2007) Wheel bug mom
Thought you might enjoy this wheel bug that nested near my shop last spring.
Keith



Hi Keith,
This is the first photo we have ever gotten of the adult female Wheel Bug with her eggs.

Katydid Eggs
(02/23/2007) Another Katydid egg photo
You're site is fantastic! I was able to identify these eggs that I found on a hanger in my basement. We live on a farm in an old farmhouse (in Iowa). Our basement plays host to numeours treefrogs, toads, & salamanders so there was no telling what these things were. Any additional information you have on hatching them would be appreciated. There is no better learning tool than to experience real life science. I'm very fortunate in that my daughter (7 years) loves bugs, snakes and nature as much as I do! We've used your site to identify several caterpillars and moths that share our corner of the world. Thanks so much for all your efforts!
Sandy & Miya McAntire



Hi Sandy and Miya,
Keep the eggs cool or they will hatch too early. They will hatch on their own. The young Katydids will eat most green leaves, but tender spring foilage will be best.

Atlas Moth in Singapore lays eggs
(02/18/2007) Atlas Moth?
Hi there,
Nearly stepped on this gorgeous monster as I got out of my parked car. Stumbled onto your site when I was trying to id it. Thought you might like a picture. Also wanted to ask if you think the little pink things are eggs?
Gen
from Singapore



Hi Gen,
We have gotten photos of Atlas Moths in captivity before, but this is the first wild specimen to come our way. Your are correct in speculating that the pink things are eggs.

Argiope aurantia lays eggs
(01/16/2007) Golden Orb Weaver Laying Eggs...



I came across some pictures on my computer that I took last September and I thought you might find them interesting. They are of a Golden Orb Weaver making her egg sac and laying her eggs in my back yard (in Orlando, FL). Luckily, I had borrowed a camera at the time and I could get pictures. Best Regards,
Matthew



Hi Matthew,
What an amazing series of images. We had to post them all.

Spider Eggsacs
(01/05/2007) What kind of eggsack is this?
Hey,
I thought of you guys when I saw this pair of rather large egg sacks on a utility box next to a garden. They are each about 1" wide by almost 2" tall. Any ideas on what will crawl out? Thanks,
Jerry



Hi Jerry,
These Eggsacs belong to some type of Spider, but we cannot tell you what. Several hundred Spiderlings will emerge.

Mating Differential Grasshoppers	Differential Grasshopper Laying Eggs

Probably Coreid Bug Hatchlings with Eggs
(10/26/2006) Aphids and egg-chain thingy
Hi Bugman,
I noticed that you didn't have any pictures of aphids that matched the ones I found on my key lime tree in Austin, TX, so I thought I would send them along. They wouldn't be very exciting, except I think the egg chain along the middle of the leaf is really neat. I try to avoid bug carnage where possible, but for the sake of my future margaritas and key lime pies, I did have to murder all of the aphids shortly after the photo shoot. I love your site and consult it frequently.
Thanks!
Stephanie



Hi Stephanie,
These are not Aphids, but Hemipterans. We originally thought they might be Assassin Bug Hatchlings and if that was the case, they are beneficial insects not to be destroyed. We sought Eric Eaton's input and he wrote back: "I'm pretty sure that this is actually some kind of leaf-footed bug in the family Coreidae, but I can't tell from such tiny hatchlings. Assassin bugs don't lay eggs in a line, as far as I know. Not sure where the image was shot, but I know that there are some great resources on coreids from Florida educational websites. Eric" If Eric is correct, and we suspect he is, then these are plant feeders and you probably made the right move eliminating them from the tree.

Polyphemus Eggs
(09/26/2006) Third Grade Students Request Assistance
Hello wonderful bug people,
My third grade students rescued a moth that was dying. It laid eggs just before it died, and those eggs have now hatched! It's been very exciting here in our classroom at Clayton Elementary in Austin, Texas. We've done some internet research and believe our moth is a Polyphemus moth... we would like verification of that, and also request assistance in knowing what type of leaves to feed the little larvae that are now crawling around. Thanks for the help.
Patricia Detrich
Third Grade Teacher



Hi Patricia,
Polyphemus Caterpillars will eat leaves from a wide variety of deciduous trees, including alder, basswood, birch, chestnut, elm, hickory, maple, poplar and sycamore. We would recommend keeping about ten young caterpillars for classroom observation and placing the rest on host trees in vaarious locations.

Western Black Widow Family Values
(09/09/2006) A rare treat, Western black widow male, female, and eggs in one photo!
Adult female, eggs and male - Latrodectus hesperus - Male Female El Mirage AZ, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA September 6, 2006 An adult female with egg sacks, and a closeby male. I could not believe she was staying put, maybe because she was guarding her eggs, she was quite alarmed at me. This is one of 4 adult females in my yard that I have found. Most of the time they run and hide when I approach. This was a treat!
Candy Cox



Hi Candy,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful domestic moment with our readership, many of whom appreciate family values. We are also thrilled to find there are others out there without widow phobia.

Feather Footed Fly and (probably) Lacewing Eggs
(09/04/2006) spiral of eggs
Hello
We have found several of these egg structures in our yard in Lafayette, LA. All have this near perfect spiral shape. We thought perhaps they were lacewing eggs since they are stalked, but can find no information on this particular pattern being common to lacewings. Could they belong to some other insect? Thanks for your great website. We had a feathered footed fly in our yard this weekend too. What a super cool looking fly. We were bummed to see you already had a bug of the month for September! Thanks again!
Patty & Scott
Lafayette, LA



Hi Patty and Scott,
We choose the Bug of the Month based on what we think will be a common sighting that month. We believe your eggs are Lacewing Eggs. Owlflies also have stalked eggs, but they are often in a horseshoe pattern. Thanks for the awesome image of the Feather Footed Fly, Trichopoda pennipes, an important biological control agent of the Squash Bug. We found a site dedicated to this Tachnid Fly.

Polkadot Wasp Moth or Oleander Moth lays Eggs
(08/10/2006) Oleander Moth Laying Eggs
Hi Bugman, I forgot to put a subject last time and thought you might think it was spam. Have a great night! Sincerely,
Audrey
Hi There,
Thank you for all the hard work you do on this site. Last year I had caterpillars that wear chowing down on my Oleander so I picked them all off and douced it with insecticide. Never will I do that again; no pesticide in my garden! It's strange that as I have become more and more interested in gardening, I don't want to kill any bugs because we all have some sort of function, right? :-) Anyway, I later found out from your website it was the Oleander Moth (common name) and they are incredibly beautiful. Many people plant Milkweed for butterflies to devour so we should let the Oleander Moth do the same. Yesterday in the late afternoon I had the pleasure of watching a beautiful mother while she was laying eggs on my plant. I look forward to the little babies devouring my Oleander if even to catch a glimpse of their natural beauty. The date on the pic say 2005 because every time I turn my camera on it asks for the date and I just hit enter. But rest assured, the pic are from yesterday. Thanks for the great information, time and dedication it takes to run such a wonderful site as yours. Sincerely,
Audrey Ruthkowski; Realtor
Palm Coast, FL



Hi Audrey,
You must know us well. We frequently delete emails without subject lines because it is our experience that if the querant is too lazy to put in a subject line, other necessary information is also lacking. Turns out it is just not worth our while to open those emails, usually. Thank you so much for your gorgeous photo. We are thrilled that your garden is now insecticide free.

Blinded Sphinx Eggs hatch
(07/13/2006) Interesting photos
Just thought you might enjoy these pics for your site...and since I use your site to ID many insects I'm not sure about, I wanted to pass them on to you. The Sphinx eggs came about when my wife brought the adult moth home from work for me to photograph. While in the terrarium it laid eggs and they hatched within 6 days, and are growing fast. Every egg but one hatched. The Hummingbird Moth came from a tip by a friend, and once we went looking we had no problem locating it. Your site is excellent and its obvious that alot of hard work and hours are what keep it going.
Tom Rook
Brantford, Ont.
www.stockfullofnature.com



Hi Tom,
We will post your Blinded Sphinx Hatchlings on our eggs page and include a link back to your site. Hopefully some traffic will head your way.

Royal Walnut Moth Laying Eggs
(07/07/2006) Photo to share, if that's okay.
Hello, my mom saw this Royal Walnut Moth on the side of our house in southeast Pennsylvania. Your website is awesome, it was my only way to ID the moth--even enature.com (my other-animal-ID-place) didn't have it! Anyway, it laid eggs and a few had fallen to the ground, seemingly unharmed, so I'm going to see if they hatch, with my 4-year-old sister. Just thought I'd share my photos, in case you wanted to use them. If not, that's fine too! Thanks again!
Sylvia



Hi Sylvia,
Your photo is lovely, but what we really like about it is the eggs. Insect eggs are often very difficult to identify and we get numerous requests. We will be posting your image and letter on several of our pages, including the egg page. If the eggs hatch, and you have the opportunity to see a grown caterpillar, they are very impressive. We get photos of the Hickory Horned Devils in September and we have many photos of them on our numerous caterpillar pages.

Polka-Dot Wasp Moth laying Eggs
(06/23/2006) Polka-Dot Wasp Moth Eggs
Hello again! I was just going through some old pictures I have and I found this picture of a Polka-Dot Wasp Moth laying its eggs on my oleander (of course, they were removed when it was finished... ) and thought it was worth sharing... Best Regards,
Matthew



Hi Matthew,
We really scored with your photos today.

Preying Mantis Oothica
(05/04/2006) what's this?
we found this in the corner of our fence, and I am assuming it's some kind of cocoon, since there isn't any opening. I have been searching the net for moths in oregon, to see if I could find a picture of it, but I have had no luck. Do you know what it could be? It looks like layers of paper, but there isn't any opening, so I know it's not a wasp.
ali in oregon



Hi Ali,
This is a Preying Mantis Egg Case, known as an Oothica. It will hatch into several hundred baby mantids.

Lacewing Eggs
(04/30/2006) Unknown Eggs...
Hi,
Just like to ask if anyone can provide me with the information on what egg are these? Thank you very much.
With regards
Adrian Lee Kian Tat



Hi Adrian,
Stalked eggs are typical of Lacewings. The larvae are so ferocious and hungry, that the first to hatch would devour its siblings, so the stalk is a way to ensure a higher birth rate. The newly hatched larvae have to climb down the stalks, and the theory is they will wander away while siblings are climbing down.

Amphibian Eggs
(04/05/2006) Alarmed by what we found in back yard
Hello Bugman,
We are hoping that you can help us. Recently we realized that there are standing water and ground water problems with the property of our newly built home. We are working to protect ourlseves and now we recently found this and would like your help in identifying it. I've attached a picture, it seems like a many, lomg jelly like tubes with eggs or bugs in them?? Is this right, can you please clarify whatsthisbug? Thank you for all of your help.
A family in Virginia



Dear Virginians,
These are Amphibian Eggs, probably Toad Eggs, but possibly Frog or Salamander.

Spider Egg Sac: possibly Cyclosa bifurca
(04/01/2006) third and final unknown for the day
This is the third unknown object found on a japanese maple today in Memphis, Tennessee. Is this an egg sac? It's about an inch long and is suspended by a thin thread that spanned at least a foot between 2 branches.
Thanks,
Tim



Hi Tim,
This is a Spider Egg Sac. We have an old text that identifies eggs of this type as belonging to Cyclosa bifurca, but we believe that name may have been changed.

Preying Mantis Oothica
(03/18/2006) Praying Mantis Egg Case
Hi Bugman,
I thought that you would like this picture of the egg case that I found in the woods across the street from my house. How many praying Mantis nymphs do you think will come out of this egg case? I live in Wayne County Michigan. I love your website!
Thanks.
Jacob Barnaby Age (9)
The Barnaby Family



Hi Jacob,
Several hundred young mantids will emerge from your Oothica when the temperature is correct.

Maybe Moth Eggs or Fungus
(03/03/2006) unknown eggs? and spider
Hello, I came across what I think may be some insect eggs. They were bright red and attached to the underside of a fallen log.
Also, I came across this little spider in a clearing in the same patch of mixed woods in southeastern Georgia. Any ideas what either may be?
Anthony



Hi Anthony,
The spider is an Araneus Orb Weaver, and we suspect the eggs might be some species of Moth. Moths often lay eggs in clusters that resemble this. The vast quantity has us baffled though, and we wouldn't rule out an odd type of fungus. It is difficult to tell from a photograph.

Thanks for the info, I had collected some of those "eggs" in hopes of hatching them, I checked them again today; they had turned dark brown. I looked a little closer and saw tiny stalks so I lightly brushed them and they puffed. Odd fungus indeed.

Probably MOth Eggs
(02/20/2006) eggs on house in florida
Bugman (bugwoman?),
Please help, I've searched your egg site and several other sites and several bug books with no solid answer. The attached photo of eggs were found on the side of my house in South Florida. Collectively they are about the size of a fingerprint. In fact, I thought this smudge on my house was a leftover mark from yardwork.
These eggs were found near two potted tomato plants, on the west side of the house. They are flesh colored or pale peach. I discovered them this past weekend (Feb 18, 2006). What do you think they are?
Judy



Hi Judy,
Eggs are very difficult to positively identify, but we suspect they are moth eggs. Our first choice is one of the Tiger Moths in the family Arctidae, followed by a Giant Silk Moth in the family Saturnidae.

Nymphes myrmeleonides
(02/15/2006) Neuroptera eggs
Dear WTB,
Further to the photo of the eggs posted on 19th January this year. Some similar eggs have just hatched on the underside of my verandah roof. The larvae have been milling about for a couple of days, but presumably will soon disperse. Those pincers look rather fearsome!



I have discovered they belong to a member of the family Nymphidae, probably Nymphes myrmeleonides, an insect I had seen previously around the garden. So, here are the larvae and the adult: Kind regards and thanks for your fascinating website,
Grev



Hi Again Grev,
Thank you so much for the fascinating follow-up and the wonderful photos.

Wheel Bug Eggs
(02/06/2006) bug eggs?
Ok, any idea what these things could be? My boyfriend located them on a tree in his back yard and I am very curious.
thanks,
taryn



Hi Taryn,
Your boyfriend discovered a cluster of Wheel Bug Eggs, Arilus cristatus. This species of Assassin Bug is beneficial in the garden as it preys on many destructive pests.

Fly Eggs on Taco Filling
(02/04/2006) bug eggs
Hi There
Please don't be disturbed by this photo, as it isn't poo, it's actually some taco mince. ANYWAY it hadn't been sitting in the pan for that long, but when i went back there were these 2 bunches of white egg things something had laid there. I had a foil cover over it, but obviously i didn't cover it very well. But yeah, do you by any chance know what kind of bug eggs they are? Like are they maggot eggs? The only other bugs i have seen around the place are ants (though there were none around near the eggs or anything), spiders (only really little ones and some daddy long legs) and a praying mantis i saw earlier around but i doubt it was that. So i'm guessing it was the flies =S Sorry if i sound like a complete idiot but i am just really curious.
Donna



Hi Donna,
You might be ruining tacos for some of our readers. They look like Fly Eggs. They are consistant with Fly behavior. We are going on the record that they are probably Fly Eggs which will hatch into Maggots. Often we get letters from people who just don't understand where swarms of flies come from in their clean homes. Imagine a scenario where you didn't notice the eggs, threw the meat in the garbage, waited a few days to take it outside during a heat spell. The eggs would hatch and develop quickly. The maggots would crawl out of the garbage to pupate and then miraculously appear as a swarm of flies in a few more day, after all evidence was removed. Thanks for sending in the photo.

Katydid Eggs
(02/02/2006) Another for your eggs page?
Hi. :) I've been enjoying your site for months (some people would probably say I've been enjoying it too much; I think the whole household is getting tired of being called in to see some weird/beautiful/crazy bug!). It's helped me with several buggy identity questions. But, finally I've got one that has me stumped. Found these on a dead branch of an heirloom rose bush (Zepherine Drouhin, 1861) this afternoon, and am totally clueless. At first I thought scale, then hibernating insects...once I pried a couple loose (believe me, they were stuck down quite well!), and saw that they were the same featurless pearly lavender grey on the underside, I realized I was looking at egg cases. But of what? We don't get a whole lot of insect life on the plants (aside from 2005's Japanese Beetle invasion), being on the third floor, so it's most likely something that flies. We've had an exceptionally mild winter here in Maryland (so mild I hesitate to glorify it with 'winter', in fact), so insect oddities are sure to abound this summer. These are about 1/8 of an inch long, neatly tiled (there are six of them in total), and the color is right in the middle between these two photos. I'm just north of Washington DC. I'd kind of like to know what these are before I succumb to my usual 'bring it inside and see what it hatches into!' impulse. My roommates may not be happy if I let a hundred or so Japanese Beetles or something hatch in the kitchen! (but I'll be a hero to the cats for bringing them toys.
judy renee



Hi Judy,
Just think of the thrill your household will get when you show them your letter posted. These are Katydid Eggs. Katydids lay their disklike eggs in the fall. The eggs of the angularwinged katydid are 0.125 to 0.15 inch long and laid in two overlapping rows on the surface of twigs and leaves, just as your photo indicates.

Mystery Australian Neuropteran Eggs
(01/19/2006) Whose eggs are these?
Hullo,
I wonder if you can help me identify the creature from whom came these eggs? I found them under a pallet (in East coast Australia).
Thanks
Grev



Hi Grev,
We have no idea, but we are excited to create a new Egg page. We sometimes get requests for egg identification and we are rarely able to identify them. Maybe somewone will write in with the answer.

Good morning and thanks for your reply. I am a little closer to an answer about the eggs. "Order Neuroptera: In about half the families, eggs are laid on thin stalks, either in rows or in a "U" shaped cluster, attached to wood or leaves." (A Field Guide to Insects In Australia by Zborowski & Storey). I suppose we can rule out lacewings (we have plenty of those), as they lay their eggs singly. Other Neuroptera around here are Mantis Flies and Antlions Regards,
Grev

More Mystery Eggs
(01/09/2006) Can you identify thses please?
Hi Bugman! As the note on the baggie I've taken a scan of says,these things were
attached to the underside of a bedskirt,(approx. 40 of them). Can you identify what
they are? Thanks!
James Alexander



Hi James,
Hmmm. Don't know. We will post and hopefully they will be identified.

i found these eggs inside a trashcan full of aluminum.. so i know its not fish or frog eggs, there was water in the can, leopard slugs and centepedes under the can but i have no clue what they could be. its been about 40 degrees F lately (eastcoast, chessepeake bay), iam assuming its some sort of insect, i was thinking a dragonfly but i cant find anything, and there arent any around here this time of the year. maybe you can help
Charles



Hi Charles,
These are most definitely not insect eggs. We suspect perhaps Salamander Eggs.

Raising Mantises as pets!!!
(01/01/2006) mantis news
Hello!
We just found your site and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am sending you some pictures of our mantises from this past year. Believe it or not, we have two that are still alive and kicking into 2006! One is about 2 inches long and the other is a giant mantis about 4 inches long. This year our smaller mantis laid 8 egg sacs and the larger one has laid 3 giant sacs. My daughter is a big mantis fan and has kept them for pets for the past few years. This is the longest we have had them survive. Most die in Nov or early December. Every year we learn new things. This year we had two males and one female and wanted to see what would happen with two... it was very interesting! As you can see in the picture, both got on her back and hung out there, waiting their turn, so to speak, and it actually looked as if they were communicating with each other while waiting... funny. It was hard to get a picture with the two of them but I did my best. Thanks for your site!
Christine and Elena



Hi Christine and Elena,
Thank you for your wonderful New Year's message. Your photos are a fabulous addition to our site.

Mantis Eggcase
(12/23/2005) Butterfly type?
Hi there,
its the start of winter here in Ontario and while walking along a creek the other day I found this on an old surveying stick. Its about 2.5 inches long by 1.5 wide and 1.5 deep, pretty fat for what I'm guessing is a butterfly pupae. It was found near Orangeville, Ontario if that helps at all. Sorry for the dark photo but it was more 'toffee' colored than the pic shows and quite scaly. Thanks. A great site that is really fun to scan through.
Andrew G. Bruce



Hi Andrew,
This is a Preying Mantis Eggcase and in the spring, several hundred mantidlings will emerge.

Mantis Dilemma
(12/16/2005) Praying Mantis egg case is where it should not be....
Help Bugman!
What do we do now?
As you know, we found this Praying Mantis around Thanksgiving day, and we decided to keep it because it was too cold to leave it outside. Well, today (December 16), I came home from work and found that she had just attached an egg case to the lid (metal mesh) of the terrarium that she is currently living inside. Isn't it kind of late in the season for her to be doing this? Anyway, if she had put the egg case on one of the vines, I could have taken it and hidden it outside in one of the bushes. But, instead, she had to go and stick it to this big metal lid. I know that if we keep this egg case inside the house where it is warm, a gazillion praying mantis babies will hatch sometime in January or February. It will be still way too cold for them to go outside and I doubt if we could keep them all alive. So, I know that it is important to get this egg case out of this warm house as soon as possible. Problem is, this lid is way too big to put in the refrigerator and too big to hide outside in our small bushes. First we saved the mom, now we have to find a way to preserve her offspring. (I've attached a picture of our dilemma). I'm not sure what to do about this. Any suggestions?
Mary Strong-Spaid



Hi again Mary,
We are sorry to hear that your kind deed is becoming a burden. First, mother Mantis will not live forever. You could try putting the entire terrarium outside after she dies. Perhaps a better solution is to pry the eggcase off of the screen and proceed with the plan to place it in the bushes. The eggcase is composed of an insulating foam and prying it off once it is hardened will not damage all of the eggs. You will then help to ensure the survival of the some of the offspring by postponing the hatching until there is a food supply. Good Luck.

Thanks for the advice on what to do with the egg case. I would really like to see the them around in the spring. We didn't want them accidently coming out into a winter world where there is not enough room or enough food. I assure you that our Praying Mantis, Martha (my husband named her), is not a burden! We have enjoyed having her with us for the past few weeks. We know that it won't be long now before she dies. We'll be sorry to see her go. Again, thanks for the help.
Mary

Mating Mantids and resulting Egg Case
(11/18/2005) Is this a good bug or bad bug?
Dear Bugman,
We have Praying Mantis' in our yard here in Rocklin (Sacramento) CA. Shortly after seeing they are getting ready for the winter we see this Cocoon or Crysalis (which is it?). Are these the eggs for the good bug, Praying Mantis, or do I need to get rid of these if they're a bad bug? Or, thirdly, are these good eggs for some other bug? Thanks for the insight and help as we decide to keep or eliminate this addition to the house this winter!
Larry in Rocklin CA.



Hi Larry,
We love your mating Mantis photo. The result of the coupling is the subject of your second photo, a Preying Mantis Egg Case. The female spews out a frothy substance with her eggs that hardens to protect them from inclement weather. Come spring, you will have 100's of baby Mantids emerging to rid your garden of unwanted, and occasionally beneficial, insects.

(11/10/2005) Challenge: Insect Eggs
I found these eggs outside today on this little branch.  They're   quite small, maybe 1/4 - 1/2 inch in height. I live in East Tennessee   (in the valley) and was wondering if you know what they'll hatch into.
Caleb Wright



Hi Caleb,
Your letter came in around the time we had trouble with our old web host and in the transition, it got forgotten. Originally we contacted Eric Eaton and he agreed with us that these were Hemipteran Eggs, True Bugs, but neither he nor we recognize the species. Sorry for the long delay, but we just got a new letter for an egg identification and it prompted us to create a new egg page. Then we remembered your fascinating image.

Mantis Reproduction
(08/28/2005) Praying Mantis Laying Egg Sack
Hi, I love your site! We're just crazy about bugs here at my house. Several years ago we started noticing praying mantis in our garden and have been captivated by them ever since. I keep a lively and fairly wild garden so they'll have a happy habitat (they love butterfly bush, golden rod.... basically anything that attracts bugs for them to eat). Each year they delight us with something new. Two years ago we were lucky enough to spy one laying her egg sack and I was able to get a photo. So, I though I'd pass it along to your other praying mantis-loving viewers to see. I have a small garden in a city/suburban neighborhood and yet manage to keep a large (6-12 adults) mantis population. Thanks for all you do.
Angel



Hi Angel,
Thank you first for the compliment and second for the wonderful photograph. This is a first for us, Mantis egglaying.

Preying Mantis Eggcase
(02/06/2005) Cocoon
We found this cocoon attached to the underside of a small branch on a miniature Japanese maple in our yard. The photos were taken on February 3, 2005 in Clackamas County, Oregon near the city of Milwaukie at 45 25' 45"N  122 36' 26"W, elev. 125'. The cocoon is 35mm long and 18mm at the widest.
It seems that these might be fairly common in our area. About two months ago I saw a bird carry one of them into the yard and break it up looking for some morsel inside. I have not opened the cocoon so I can't report what is inside, if anything. I intend to do some macro studies of the attachment point in the next few days. Any help identifying the insect will be appreciated.
Michael A. Perry



Hi Michael,
If you leave the Preying Mantis Eggcase where it is, it will hatch in the spring releasing about 200 baby mantids who will begin to rid your garden of unwanted pests.

Daniel,
Outstanding! We have a pesticide-free garden and rely exclusively on natural predators to control unwanted pests. This egg case is a very valuable find and will be carefully preserved until the mantids hatch. Thanks!
Mike

(06/02/2004) Egg case, Cocoon, Chrysalis?
I've found a few of these around the house (a couple on the house), and I'm wondering what they are. Ibelieve I opened one up a couple years ago without seeing one single 'thing' inside, which lead me to believe that it was some kind of egg case. 'little help? btw, just discovered the sight; thanks for being here!



Hi Gerrold,
It looks to me like you might have Preying Mantis egg cases. The females spray a type of foam to insulate the eggs against a severe winter and also to protect them from other harm.

(06/05/2004) Mantis egg-cases hatched!
Thanks again for your response, and I thought you might be interested in what we discovered this morning.

As the attatched pictures show, we have baby mantises! My camera wouldn't get quite as close as I would've liked , but you might be able to make out a baby hanging entangled from the case in picture #1. He was small, ill formed, and not moving, so I put him on the bench & shot him away from the case. Then I noticed he was moving, ever so slightly(possibly they emerge from the case in a state rather like that of a butterfly leaving the cocoon, and need some time to 'puff up and dry out'. Afterwards, we found one of his brethren on our Buddleia (butterfly bush), and I managed to snag a couple of pics of him scouting her new 'digs'. This guy is about a quarter of an inch long, the eggling was maybe an eight of an inch.

Wow Gerrold,
That is so exciting. Thank you so much for the follow-up letter and the beautiful photographs. We are posting them immediately. Please continue to send us mantis photos if possible. We would love to post some eating photos as well as fully grown specimens.

(06/14/2004) Mantis Brood Update
Are you a victim of success?     Couldn't get to the site today, but here's an update for you on my baby mantis brood. I found one of the 'kids' on my Hardy Hibiscus today; (S)he's a hair over half an inch, eyeballs to end of abdomen (if it was held oyt straight, instead of canted up like that). No dining pictures yet--That'd be a stroke of luck, but I will keep my fingers crossed.

Painted Arachnis
(10/26/2003)



We recently spotted this Tiger Moth, The Painted Arachnis, Arachnis picta, laying eggs on the side of our house. Every night, the moths are attracted to the lights outside. Our Green Lynx Spider has been feasting on them on a regular basis, hence the corpse on the right.

Mantid Egg Case or Ootheca
(10/5/2003) Dear WTB,
Early in the week we tore down our arbor and fence and discovered this cocoon attached to a fence post behind the foliage.  We live near Modesto, CA in the central valley.  We have been unable to identify what will come out of this cocoon once the insect immerges - can you help?  It is approx. 1 inch long and has scales like a snake.  The exterior is very "tough".  It has maroon striped markings on each side with a cream color filling out the remaining exterior.  My photos are a bit fuzzy - couldn't get my digital to focus for a closer shot.  Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated!  My children and I are perplexed.
Thank you,
Sheri McNeilly



Hi Sheri,
I would like to do more research before giving you a definite answer, but it looks more like an egg case than a cocoon.  It might be a preying mantis egg case known as an Ootheca.  I will get back to you.

Thank you - as you can see, I'm not up on bug terminology.  A mantis would be wonderful.