Name that Bug
Hi! I found your site while web searching for the identity of this little critter. He’s easily 5 inches long and we found him in the back yard in eastern PA near NewHope getting ready for a family picnic. I’ll send you a second picture of the full bug.
We have been waiting for the photos of the Hickory Horned Devils, caterpillars of the Royal Walnut Moth, Citheronia regalis, to arrive. This is America’s largest caterpillar, and although fierce looking, it is harmless. It feeds on the leaves of trees like Walnut, Hickory and Persimmon. In the fall, the caterpillar leaves the tops of the trees and climbs to the ground where it will dig and pupate, emerging as an adult moth in the spring. We hope you are releasing your captive.
What kind is it?
Just wanted to know what kind of caterpillar this is. I live in Harford Co., Maryland. My husband found it on a green Japanese maple tree. It had already eaten a few limbs. Not sure if its a moth or butterfly. Thanks,
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
The spines of the Io Moth, Automeris io, caterpillar are mildly poisonous. It is easily recognized because of the red and white stripes. The adult moths have eyespots on their underwings. They are small Silkworm moths, the male with yellow upper wings and female with brownish upper wings. They are sometimes found on corn and other garden crops.
green caterpillar
Bugman,
We found this caterpillar in the yard today and would like to know what type it is. We live in Lafayette, Colorado, near Boulder. We’d like to try to keep this guy in a terrarium for a while, any suggestions?
Thanks, the Heggestads.
Dear Heggestads,
I was unsure exactly what your caterpillar was, but I thought I would try searching what I was assuming was the host plant, the poplar tree. I concluded that you have a Big Poplar Sphinx Caterpillar, Pachysphinx modesta. Here is a site entitled Caterpillars of the Eastern Forests, with a pretty good photo. I would recommend keeping several inches of damp, not wet, soil in the bottom of the terrarium for the caterpillar to dig into when pupation time occurs.
barn spider?
Hello!
We have a few of these in our front yard in North Carolina only at night only in the Fall. They spin gigantic webs (roughly 2×2 feet )–but with a very strong anchor webbing that often goes 10-15 feet to the web itself. The spiders are large with a big abdomen,and they have hairs on their legs (as can be seen in the picture). By morning, the webs are gone completely and the spiders can’t be found. They seem somewhat like barn spiders, but the fine-scale concentric web weaving seems different. Let us know what you think they are.
–Zab
Hi Zab,
Tha Barn Spider, Araneas cavaticus, is just one of a large genus known collectively as Orb Weavers. Most have the behavior you describe, including building a large web nightly, and hiding by day. I can’t commit to an exact species in your case.
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Posted 04 September 2004
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spider
Greetings-
This spider has been building a spectacular web outside my parent’s house for the last 2 weeks. Its body is about 1 inch long (head to tail), and about 2 inches from tip of front legs to tip of back legs. It has spots on its back that aren’t obvious in this photo- it builds its web each night and hides during the day so we have had trouble taking its picture! It is a magnificent spider, but we haven’t seen anything like this before (in Cupertino, California) and I we are wondering if it is introduced from somewhere else.
your help will be much appreciated!
cheers,
Karah
Hi Karah,
Your Orb Weaver, Araneas species, is a common spider in the United States as well as other parts of the world. The spiders spin a new web each night.
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Posted 04 September 2004
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some kind of beetle?
Dear Bugman,
I found this bug crawling in the hallway of our home in San Francisco, CA. Sorry about the blurry photos — it was a fast mover and I’m not good with the digital camera. It had wings, but didn’t use them much. I’ve never seen this bug inside or outside, so it piqued my curiosity. Thanks!
Julie
Hi Julie,
We can’t seem to find an exact identification for your Long Horned Borer Beetle, Family Cerambycidae, in our old Dillon and Dillon Beetle Book, but fear not as we have several beetle experts who will probably be notifying us shortly.
Ed. Note: We just received this information.
(08/09/2005) identifications
Hello – I was recently shown your site, and it is excellent. My specialization is longhorned beetles, and in cruising around I notice a number of incomplete or uncertain IDs for this family. I don’t know if you are interested in receiving this sort of input, but if you are, I offer the following additions to your identifications.
This is Xestoleptura crassicornis, an uncommonly collected species which typically breeds in older, dried pine logs, and is found throughout most of the forested portions of the north and central coast, and inland in southern CA.Keep up the good work. You are a valuable resource.
Cheers
Frank Hovore
Identification
I found this guy while fishing for brown trout near a little spring feed creek in Southwest Michigan (8/30/04). The creek has dense tree cover over it. This guys was on a telephone pole by the road. The body was about three to four inches long and with it’s legs it outstretched, it was easily as big as my hand. It seems like a bigger version of a crane fly. I suspect the trout probably feast on these guys when they are in their emergent phase? Here is a couple images. Thank you.
Russ
Thanks Russ,
I can’t give you an exact species name, but you do have one of the larger Craneflies from the Family Tipulidae. The insect is nicely camoflauged against the dead wood. You are probably right that they make good trout food. They are sometimes thought to be giant mosquitos, but they are in fact harmless to man.
what is this?
Hi – We love your site.
Hopefully you can help us. We live in Mid Michigan (Lansing) and my son (age 6) found this exoskeleton on a walk today. I don’t even know where to begin to find out what it is. (Well, I do, because I’m sending you an email.)
Thanks,
Lysne (and Liam)
Hi Lysne and Liam,
I’m guessing you found this exoskeleton near a pond or other body of water. It is the final molted skin of a dragonfly. The larvae, known as nymphs, are aquatic and predatory. They have an amazing detachable jaw that emerges as the nymph attacks prey, small aquatic insects, tadpoles and even fish. The nymph eventually crawls out of the water, molts and flies away as an adult dragonfly. Isn’t metamorphosis amazing?
Hi Bugman,
Could you help me identify this spider. We have these every year, usually from spring to fall and they seem to enjoy the bathroom more than anywhere else. Some of them are small and other very large measuring about 3 – 5 inches of leg span. They come back very quickly, it doesn’t matter how many times we remove them and clean up after them. They are back within a couple of days. Sometimes we have up to 20 at a time. They aren’t bothersome. They seem to like to use hair and thread in their webs and I never see them catch food and eat. What are they? This particular one seems to have a big ball she / he is holding onto with little bumps all over. Is that an egg sack. I have searched for many years trying to find this spider but have had no luck. We live in the Northwestern mountains of New Jersey. I have a few other spiders that I have yet to get pictures of and will post them also when I do.
Thanks,
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Search no further. You have Cobweb Spiders, Pholcus phalangioides. These are domestic spiders, often found in the bathroom. Sometimes when the web is disturbed, the spider gyrates wildly. That does appear to be an eggsac. One of your photos also shows a discarded skin from a prior molt.
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Posted 03 September 2004
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what is this bug
I have attached pics of a flying insect of some sort? Do you
have any clue what it is?
Doug
Hi Doug,
Thanks for the photo of the summer form of the Snowberry Clearwing Moth, Haemorrhagia axillaris, one of the day flying sphinx moths known collectively as Hummingbird Moths. The species is trimorphic, meaning there are three color forms. Your specimen shows the pronounced yellow band on the abdomen.
NJ Bug?
Hi,
We just moved into a 1920s cape about 4 months ago. Today I went to open the garage door and saw this bug there. I have NEVER seen this here or in NY before and was mesmerized. It just sat there. Looked like maybe it was gnawing on the wooden garage. It just sat there. I was able to snap this picture without it budging. But about an hour or so later I came back to look for it and it’s gone.
Is it dangerous???
Celia, NJ
Hi Celia,
Your garage is safe, but your potato plants, tomato plants and pepper plants could get eaten by the Colorado Potato Beetle which was originally found only in the Rocky Mountain States. The nationwide commercial growing of agricultural crops is responsible for this pest’s spread far and wide. Both adults and larvae devour leaves.
ID help
I would like some help with the attached photo. My first thought is its some sort of egg case. I’ve done a lot of searching on the INTERNET and have asked a few knowledgeable friends with no luck. The photo was taken 08/25/2004 in the Charlotte North Carolina area.
Thanks,
Rod
Hi Rod,
You don’t have an egg case, but a caterpillar. It is a Skiff Moth, Prolimacodes badia, one of the Slug Caterpillars. There are several color variations of the caterpillar, but this site has a photo that closely resembles yours. The caterpillars which can be found from July through October feed on cherries, oaks, and many other woody plants.
