Unidentified bug
Hi, I live near Columbus, Ohio. I saw the attached wasp looking insect on my back porch. It has a very long tail attached. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Any idea what it is?
Thanks,
Jared
Hi Jared,
You have sent in a photo of a Giant Ichneumon, Megarhyssa species. This is a harmless wasp, in your case a female. She uses that long ovipositor to lay an egg on a wood boring grub. Her young then feeds off the grub.
Another Toe Biter.
Hello. I live in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada and ran across this huge bug at our factory. It was a great mystery to everyone, but I was sure I’d find some answers here. I love your site.
Thanks for the compliment William. The graph paper is a nice addition to your photo.
found this fly/wasp? in Oman
Tarik Al said
Hi Tariq,
This sure looks like a Cuckoo Wasp from the Family Chrysididae to us. These metallic blue or green wasps can roll into a ball by burying their head in the concave abdomen. It lays its eggs in the nests of bees and wasps, hence the name cuckoo.
what are these buggers?
Dear Dr Bugman,
We have suddenly and violently been infested by these tiny mites. My boyfriend is bitten (and itchy) all over but I have not been touched. We think they have come in through the window and are speculating that they could be from the nest of pigeons below our window. I have included a few photos. You can see them against the frame of my powerbook…that frame is about 1/3" wide. The smallest ones are white, the slightly larger ones are a dark brown. They appear to have 2 antennae. We just fumigated with a product from the store. What are they? Will this work?
thank you so much,
Laila Ames
Hi Laila,
The symptoms you describe are consistant with Bird Mites, but we can’t give you anything more conclusive based on your photo. From what we hear, biting mites can be very difficult to erradicate and may take professional help. Good luck.
Tiny Black Bug pics on a dime…
Great website, wonderfull resource! We just moved into a house this week I have no idea what these are, but I found about 10 of them around my window this morning lying around barely moving.
Hope you can help,
jesse
Hi Jesse,
This appears to be some species of Grain Weevil, a type of Pantry Beetle. They infest stored grain products. It is possible they were somehow left behind when the previous tenant vacated. Without a food source, they are trying to get outside and are dying.
I know you’ll be so excited to receive yet ANOTHER email asking…do you know what kind of bug this is? I live in San Antonio, TX and have found these bugs in my garden just in the last couple of weeks. I can’t quite tell if they’re damaging my plants or not, but they are everywhere and multiplying rapidly. I really appreciate your help!
Thanks,
Cara
Hi Cara,
Your photo is rather blurry, but we are almost certain you have Harlequin Bug nymphs, Murgantia histrionica. This is a type of Stink Bug that often infests cabbage plants and wild mustard. They can get very plentiful.
Large spider photographed near Nanaimo, B.C., Canada
Thank you for your photo of a female Banded Argiope, Argiope trifasciata.
Bugman,
My family and I are living in Xalapa, Mexico for the year. We have many of these faux-bark creatures and I am fascinated! I have no idea what their classification is. I have tried desperately to find them on the Internet, but have so far found nothing. They are about 1/2 inch long. They have a little caterpillar-like head but their bodies (shell?) look like bark. I have also found them going up and down webs or silk from the ceiling. They stick to the ceiling, plants or anything with their exposed mouths. The one on my house plant is eating the leaves, but not too many, so I let him/her stay. Thanks for all you do!
Tamara
Hi Tamara,
Certain Inchworms in the Geometrid Family exhibit similar camoulfage tendencies. That is our best gues
Small kitchen spiders with a death wish
Your site is terrific! I have spent a lot of time trying to get a good shot of our latest guests in our kitchen in Annandale , Virginia to send in for identification. They are much more active at night but also move around in the daytime. My original email to you came back because the file was too big and then your site was down for a while. Naturally, left to my own vivid imagination, I decided these are of the brown recluse variety. Imagine the scene when several of these guys committed hari kari into boiling water as I started a batch of macaroni for lunch at my daughter’s birthday party. Apparently they were living in the hood above the stove prior to the steam bath. They’ve moved on to the cabinets but not before one drowned in my cup of decaf; didn’t notice him until I swallowed the last drop. Really! Of course, with my growing belief that my friends are brown recluses, it took a while to determine whether my tongue was numb from the dead spider in the coffee cup or just because of bad decaf. I’m pretty sure brown recluses aren’t living in Northern Virginia but my skin is crawling anyway. Tell me I’m being melodramatic (please!)
wondering in VA ,
Katie
Hi Katie,
Your letter is so entertaining. You do not have Brown Recluses. I believe you have a spider from the genus Chiracanthium, known as the Cream House Spider. According to Hogue: It was introduced from Europe and “often enters homes, where it builds a sack-like web in corners and crevices (even in household appliances). … When disturbed they draw the fore pair of legs back and in, forming a cage around the body. As they walk, these spiders often wave the fore legs about or thrust them forward as if testing the path. These spiders have relatively strong long fangs and have been known to bite humans, causing a wound that is painful and slow to heal.”
Thanks so much for the quick reply! I’m relieved to finally have a name for these guys that doesn’t contain “recluse” — although the painful bite, slow healing part makes me a little nervous. By the way, thanks to your great and informative site, one very large, ugly, creepy, crawly house centipede received a free ride to the great outdoors this morning rather than a one-way garbage can trip. — becoming enlightened one bug at a time,
your Annandale fan, Katie
Great site!
I have been searching for hours to try to find out what this bug is that has taken over one of my butterfly weed plants. Should I worry about it infesting the rest of my garden? I was reading some of the other posts and this is such a great resource for curious folks like me! Hope you can help me identify this bug.
Thanks, Timlie Reis
Gulf Coast Mississippi
Hi Timlie,
You have Aphids. These pests can easily infest many types of plants. You have some winged sexual adults which mate in the typical manner. They then produce generations of female aphids which do not need a mate, but can give live birth without the help of a male. The aphids then become very plentiful. They damage plants by sucking the juices from new growth. They are uaually very host plant specific but other aphids are more general feeders. You can easily eliminate them or at least contro them with diligent daily hosing. Use a strong spray to wash them away. You can also spray them with soapy water. It clogs their breathing aparatus and causes them to drown.
This is an additional comment relating to the milkweed in Temile’s photo. It was a milkweed plant which is the host plant for a number of butterflies, including monarchs. Your advice about using soapy water to rid it of aphids was correct but would also kill off butterfly eggs, caterpillars & chrysalises. A strong stream of water will also wash off eggs, caterpillars and possibly chrysalises. There is hope, however! The natural predator for the aphids is the lady beetle. My experience is that lady beetles usually come along about 2 weeks after the start of an aphid infestation. If the infestation is not overwhelming I usually leave the aphids for the lady beetles. The lady beetles may also lay eggs and the larva will devour the aphids. But if my plants are overwhelmed by aphids or there are caterpillars feeding which need the leaves right away I control by carefully hand-squishing aphids (while they’re still on the stems & leaves) until the lady beetles show up. Yech! But having monarchs around the yard all year is worth it. You do a fabulous job!
Warmly,
Kathleen Scott
on my eggplant
These bugs are freaking me out! They are crawling up my eggplant plants. As you can see, they look like double decker armored ants. They are with an ant in this photo and they seem to live peacefully with the ants except that I don’t know what’s happening with that ant which looks a little like it is in midair and I’m not sure why. The plants have ants on them too. I am scared of these bugs! Should I be? Will they eat the eggplants? I finally have a couple eggplants on the plants and I am looking forward to eating them myself and I don’t want to share with weird looking bugs.
Please advise.
Lisa in Los Angeles
Dear Lisa,
You have immature Keelbacked Treehoppers, Antianthe expansa, which often infest eggplants and other solanaceous plants like tomatoes and peppers. They will not eat your eggplants, but they will suck the juices from the plant stems. Treehoppers are related to aphids and also have a symbiotic relationship with ants. The Treehoppers secrete honeydew from their anuses and the ants love to lap up the sweet treat. The immature Keelbacked Treehoppers are quite spiny and can pinch. The adults are green and winged. When they feed on the plant juices with their sucking mouthparts, they sometimes spread viruses to the plants. They are injurious and should be eliminated from the garden either with soapy water, or our favorite method, squashing.
weird bug
Hi – I’ve seen another interesting bug. It was crawling across my porch. it’s not the first time I’ve seen its kind, and have always wondered what it is. Thanks!!
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
The wonders of metamorphosis never cease to amaze. Most everyone can identify a Ladybug, more accurately a Ladybird Beetle, but few people recognize the larval form. That is what you have photographed. They have ravenous appetites and devour huge quantities of Aphids. The Larval Ladybird Beetles are often found in tall grass and they are very mobile.
