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Mating Promethea Moths and resulting Caterpillars
Mating Promethea Moths and resulting Caterpil…
Mating Promethea Moths and resulting Caterpil…
Posted 5 days ago

Promethea ranching
Location: South Illinois
May 16, 2012 9:02 pm
Sent you a picture of a female promethea earlier this spring. She found…

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Mating Promethea Moths and resulting Caterpil…
New Things Happening in Entomophagy!!!
New Things Happening in Entomophagy!!!
New Things Happening in Entomophagy!!!
Posted 14 days ago

Hi Daniel,
This is a sort-of press release: I'd be grateful if you'd feature it on your site.
Thanks,
Dave

As many have noticed,…

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New Things Happening in Entomophagy!!!
Red Admirals swarm eastern North America
Red Admirals swarm eastern North America
Red Admirals swarm eastern North America
Posted 19 days ago

Red Admiral population explosion
Location: St. Catharines (near Niagara Falls, Ontario)
May 3, 2012 10:13 am
Hello,
I thought you might be interested to…

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Red Admirals swarm eastern North America
Pseudoscorpion
Bug of the Month May 2012: Pseudoscorpion
Bug of the Month May 2012: Pseudoscorpion
Posted 22 days ago

8 legs Plus pinchers?
Location: SE PA, 20 miles west of Philadelphia, 15 miles north of Wilm, DE
April 29, 2012 9:34…

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Bug of the Month May 2012: Pseudoscorpion
WTB? sponsors National Moth Week event Saturday, 21 July 2012
WTB? sponsors National Moth Week event Saturd…
WTB? sponsors National Moth Week event Saturd…
Posted 111 days ago

Make plans for your own local National Moth Week event!!!
Posted February 1, 2012
What's That Bug? will be working the the…

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WTB? sponsors National Moth Week event Saturd…
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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Leaf Footed Bug

Is this bug friend or foe?
Location: San Diego, CA
April 6, 2012 10:34 am
Would you please tell me what this is and do I want it in my garden. I found them yesterday mating on one of the succulents in my front yard.
Signature: Granny Geek

leptoglossus granny 300x205 Leaf Footed Bug

Leaf Footed Bugs

Dear Granny Geek,
These are Leaf Footed Bugs in the family Coreidae and the genus Leptoglossus.  The closest species match we can find on BugGuide is a single photo of Leptoglossus brevirostris, and we cannot say for certain that is the species.  Your individuals appear to be on a cactus.  Can you confirm?  This family and genus are plant feeders and some members of the genus Leptoglossus can damage fruits like pomegranates and tomatoes.  The insects have piercing mouthparts that they use to suck fluids from plants and if they secrete an enzyme while feeding, it will damage the fruit.

Daniel,
Thank you for the bug ID.  Guess I will treat them as pests and try to kill them.
Yes, it is on a type of cactus.  I don’t know what the cactus is called.  It seems to have a thinner skin than most of my cacti, but it has some impressive needles.  It’s red flowers are bee magnets.  It’s like bee crack – the bees crawl all over each other to get inside the flowers.
Leslie

Hi Leslie,
If they are not really plentiful, and they are not attacking fruit you are eating, you might not need to worry about them.

Thanks – though the front yard is cactus, the back yard has all kinds of fruit trees.  I would like to stop them before they infest the fruit.

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Posted 06 April 2012 § Leaf Footed Bugs ‡ Comments (0) °

What’s That Bug????? Mystery Insect from Malaysia is male Scale Insect

Mutated Flying Insect ?
Location: On a small forest hill in the middle of Kota Kinabalu city, Sabah, Malaysia.
April 6, 2012 8:34 am
Hi Mr. Bugman,
I have found a strange looking insect which baffles me and my friends.
We do not even know what insect order it is from.
It looks like a mutated insect.
Description: 7mm length, Red body, black wings, black legs, black hairy antennae, black popped out eyes, back of thorax black, front of thorax contains 2 yellow bumps, white powder on thorax, several hairy long ”structures” at the end of it’s abdomen. The insect can hover high and well too. Other findings from the net – http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/10235360
Signature: Xing

mystery malaysia xing 300x291 Whats That Bug????? Mystery Insect from Malaysia is male Scale Insect

Male Scale Insect from Malaysia

Dear Xing,
This really is a mystery.  Prior to enlarging your images, we thought it most resembled a wasp mimic moth in the family Sesiidae, but we immediately rejected that upon viewing the larger images.  Thanks so much for providing the Project Noah link and the dialog there is fascinating.  We are not convinced that this is a Planthopper, though it does share some characteristics with Planthoppers.  We wish your side angle photo had a good view of the mouthparts, as that would help to eliminate many possibilities.  This insect seems to possess characteristics that would place it in certain orders, however, it also has characteristics that would tend to eliminate those orders.  The antennae are similar to some beetles, in particular the Glowworms, but the projections at the end of the abdomen are decidedly not beetle-like.  We are going to contact Eric Eaton to see if he can provide any suggestions.  If we were to hazard a single guess on a quiz show, we would have to go with the order Megaloptera which contains Alderflies, Dobsonflies and Fishflies.

mystery malaysia xing 2 300x206 Whats That Bug????? Mystery Insect from Malaysia is male Scale Insect

Male Scale Insect from Malaysia

Perhaps our readers will provide some possible identifications.

mystery malaysia xing 3 300x271 Whats That Bug????? Mystery Insect from Malaysia is male Scale Insect

Male Scale Insect from Malaysia

Eric Eaton provides an identification.
Daniel:
This is a male scale insect.  I know!  It is positively enormous considering the size of most male scales, but that is what it is.  Thanks for sharing the amazing images.
Someone at “scalenet” might recognize this one immediately.
Eric

Thanks much Eric.
Daniel

Sure.  Margarodidae may be the family.
Eric

 

 

Posted 06 April 2012 § Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers ‡ Comments (3) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Cow Path Tiger Beetle

Cow Path Tiger Beetle
Location: Central MN
April 6, 2012 8:03 am
Greetings, bugnuts!
I found this colorful little monster on the second of April. But what a terrible name for him: Cow Path Tiger Beetle (cicindela purpurea). That’s what my book calls him, anyway.
Cheers. I look at your site everyday. It’s a relief to have some insects out and about again here in the north. But scary early!
Signature: Don J. Dinndorf

cow path tiger beetle don 300x219 Cow Path Tiger Beetle

Cow Path Tiger Beetle

Dear Don,
Thanks so much for the compliment.  Unlike you, we do not find the common name Cow Path Tiger Beetle to be “terrible”, though we do find it unusual.  Common names do create the possibility of confusion since many species have multiple common names, each highly localized, and species that cross international boundaries with language changes face even more confusion.  That is the reason the scientific community settled upon the binomial naming system that avoids common names.  Should you find it troublesome to refer to this lovely Tiger Beetle by the name Cow Path Tiger Beetle, you can always use the name favored on BugGuide, which is Purple Tiger Beetle, though BugGuide does recognize the other common name as well.  BugGuide also notes:  “Uncommon through much of its range; a beautiful species” and that it prefers “Upland habitats with shale soils. Found in forest clearings, often along dirt paths through grassy areas.”  We suspect the common name Cow Path Tiger Beetle refers to sightings occurring along paths traveled by cattle to reach high altitude pastures with better grazing.

cow path tiger beetle don 2 300x229 Cow Path Tiger Beetle

Cow Path Tiger Beetle

Posted 06 April 2012 § Tiger Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Caterpillar of Wilson’s Wood-Nymph

Caterpillar I can’t identify!
Location: College Station, Texas
April 5, 2012 7:38 pm
Salutations! I was out in my backyard when I noticed this caterpillar on my blackberry bush. The paddle shaped ”setae” (they might not be hairs, hence the quotes) are really distinctive, but I couldn’t find anything that looks like it! I can send more pictures if you want.
Signature: Meaghan P.

wilsons woodnymph cat meaghan 300x221 Caterpillar of Wilsons Wood Nymph

Caterpillar of Wilson's Wood-Nymph

Ed. Note  Our automated response:  Thank you for submitting your identification request.   Please understand that we have a very small staff that does this as a labor of love. We cannot answer all submissions (not by a long shot). But we’ll do the best we can!

9:31 PM
I asked some people at the Entomology department here at the university I attend, and they have identified the wee-beastie as Wilson’s Wood-nymph Moth (Xerociris wilsonii).
Cheers,
Meaghan P.

Hi Meaghan,
We are sorry we didn’t get back to you but we are very happy you got a correct identification.  We will be posting your photo of the Caterpillar of Wilson’s Wood-nymph Moth and linking to the BugGuide page for the species.

wilsons woodnymph cat meaghan 2 300x230 Caterpillar of Wilsons Wood Nymph

Caterpillar of Wilson's Wood-Nymph

Hi Daniel-
No apologies needed!  I love your website and I was SO excited to have something to send in.  Hope you all have a great weekend!
Regards,
Meaghan P.

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Posted 06 April 2012 § Cutworms and Owlet Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Mourning Cloak Caterpillar

Mourning Cloak?
Location: Denison, Texas
April 5, 2012 6:08 pm
I have seen about 13 of this in one afternoon crawling around. Is this a mourning cloak? Can they hurt you?
Signature: Thanks

mourning cloak cat dallas 300x225 Mourning Cloak Caterpillar

Mourning Cloak Caterpillar

You are correct.  This is a Mourning Cloak Caterpillar.  They can often be present in great numbers as you have witnessed.  According to the Auburn University webpage on Stinging Caterpillars:  “Several species of nymphalid larvae bear conspicuous bristled or multi-branched spines similar to those found on some stinging caterpillars. One species, the spiny elm caterpillar (larva of the mourning cloak butterfly), is reported to possess urticating spines.”  According to BugGuide:  “Caution: Do not touch the larva; its spines may cause a stinging sensation if handled.”

Posted 06 April 2012 § brush footed butterfly caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

Smooth Spider Beetle

What kind of bug is this?
Location: Manayunk, Philadelphia, PA
April 5, 2012 5:05 pm
Found it crawling on a sweater I discarded on the floor after a night of drinking. I could have picked up the bug at any of these places:
-dry cleaners (where the sweater came from)
-a drinking establishment
-my couch
-my bedroom floor
Please advise!
Signature: Resident of the City of Buggerly Love

spider beetle philadelphia 300x206 Smooth Spider Beetle

Smooth Spider Beetle

Dear Resident,
As much as we are amused that you may have picked up this Smooth Spider Beetle, Gibbium aequinoctiale, in a drinking establishment, we would put money on your couch or your bedroom floor.  Spider Beetles are known to infest stored foods in the pantry, and you may want to check any food that has been unused for past the expiration date to see if it is contaminated.  The BugGuide may have additional useful information for you.

Related Posts

Posted 05 April 2012 § Pantry Beetles, Grain Weevils, Spider Beetles, Meal Worms and Carpet Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Southern Yellowjacket Queen emerges from hibernation

Southern Yellowjacket queen
Location: North Central Indiana
April 5, 2012 12:43 pm
Last night I saw this thing crawling across my sofa out of the corner of my eye. It was quite large and I thought it was a Cicada Killer. But since it didn’t match any photos I found online I kept searching. I finally found my answer this morning: Southern Yellowjacket Queen. She was still where I left her on the window when I got up this morning so I put her outside where she crawled underneath my house near the front door. I hope she doesn’t start a hive there once she has finished hibernating. Thought you would enjoy these photos!
Signature: Emily

southern yellow jacket queen emily 300x198 Southern Yellowjacket Queen emerges from hibernation

Southern Yellowjacket Queen

Hi Emily,
We agree with your identification.  This description on BugGuide agrees with your photo:  “This species is highly distinctive and unmistakable. All castes possess conspicuous yellow longitudinal stripes on the mesoscutum, a trait shared with the closely-related allopatric Vespula sulphurea but no species within its range. The queens and workers are dimorphic. Workers and males have similar abdominal patterns, with no free spots and an unusual pair of lateral yellow stripes through the black basal band of the second tergite. Queens of this species are quite large for a yellowjacket, with orange fascia on the abdomen expanded to nearly obliterate the dark markings.”  This photo of a queen from BugGuideis a very close match to your individual.  Thank you for doing all the research prior to sending your photos.

southern yellow jacket queen emily 2 300x205 Southern Yellowjacket Queen emerges from hibernation

Southern Yellowjacket Queen

 

Posted 05 April 2012 § Hornets and Yellow Jackets ‡ Comments (0) °

Prominent Caterpillar, genus Heterocampa

caterpillar in a miami park
Location: southwest of Miami, FL
April 5, 2012 12:13 pm
Dear bugman:
Greetings from Miami. I recently photographed this caterpillar in a Miami preserve. I am a naturalist and am familiar with common caterpillars but this one was new to me. Can you provide an ID? Many thanks!!!
Signature: Jennifer in Miami

heterocampa cat jennifer 300x206 Prominent Caterpillar, genus Heterocampa

Prominent Caterpillar

Hi Jennifer,
Your caterpillar is one of the Prominent Moth Caterpillars in the genus Heterocampa.  We cannot be certain for sure, though BugGuide has photos to help to distinguish the various species.  We would guess that your individual might be a Wavy Lined Heterocampa, Heterocampa biundata, based on this photo posted to BugGuide.

Dear Daniel:
Thank you so much!!  AFter googling around a bit, it seems like Heterocampa are fairly variable and difficult to ID.  I never would have gotten it.  Thank you for your time.
Jennifer P

Posted 05 April 2012 § Prominent Moth Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) °

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