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Bugman speaks at Theodore Payne Foundation
Bugman speaks at Theodore Payne Foundation
Bugman speaks at Theodore Payne Foundation
Posted 1 day ago

Make reservations now and support the non-profit Theodore Payne Foundation!!!
Local Lepidoptera: Butterflies and Moths of the L.A. Region with Daniel…

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Bugman speaks at Theodore Payne Foundation
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 9 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…
Bug of the Month February 2012: Mole Cricket from Slovenia
Bug of the Month February 2012: Mole Cricket…
Bug of the Month February 2012: Mole Cricket…
Posted 10 days ago

creepy crawler unidentified
Location: Horjul, Slovenia, EU
January 31, 2012 8:21 am
Found this thing trying to eat my hardwood floor! The noise…

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Bug of the Month February 2012: Mole Cricket…
What's That Bug? makes High Country News
What’s That Bug? makes High Country News
What’s That Bug? makes High Country News
Posted 90 days ago

November 12, 2011
What's That Bug? is profiled on High Country News.

Rock star status
November 14, 2011 11:22 am
Dear Daniel, Thanks for…

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What’s That Bug? makes High Country News
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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mating Cecropia Moths

Mating Cecropia Moths
Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 9:06 AM
Thought this photo would be great for your Bug Love section. Beginning of April last year (2008), I saw these 2 Cecropia Moths on a bush at the school I teach at in Buckholts, Texas (central Texas area). I was amazed first by the size of these moths (as I had never seen any moths of this size), and then that I was seeing 2 of them together (figuratively and literally)! The Cecropia Moth has to be the most beautiful insect I’ve ever seen!
Scott Snyder
Central Texas

cecropias mating scott 300x199 Mating Cecropia Moths

Cecropia Moths Mating

Dear Scott,
Though your photo was taken last year, it is just about the right time of year for our southern readers to begin sighting the beautiful Cecropia Moth.

Posted 24 March 2009 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

First Luna Moth of 2009

Luna Moth Spotted
Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 9:14 AM
I’ve already determined what it is but I got a great shot of it I wanted to share with your readers. I do have it in much higher res if you want. I spotted it on the wall when coming into my shop the other morning and it was so interesting I had to grab my camera and get a shot of it. Enjoy the photo.
Rich
West Columbia, SC

luna rich 245x300 First Luna Moth of 2009

Luna Moth

Dear Rich,
We always love posting the first Luna Moth of the new year.  Thanks ever so much for your gorgeous photograph.

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Posted 24 March 2009 § Luna Moth - Rare Specimen ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Darkling Beetle from Argentina

Tenebrionidae from Argentina
Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 4:24 AM
HI!
I´m sending a couple of pictures from Scotobius milliaris, Family Tenebrionidae. I´ve taken them in San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Patagonia.
This is a common species living in central Argentina, but expandig its distribution to cities in Patagonia, where you can find it only in garden´s houses. It is easy to see adult – larva under fallen leaves and walking on the grass. Some call them “catanguitas”.
I believe there aren´t any picture of this species on the web yet.
Hugs
Mirta

darkling argentina mirta 228x300 Darkling Beetle from Argentina

Darkling Beetle

Hi again Mirta,
Thanks for allowing What’s That Bug? to be the first site to picture this lovely Darkling Beetle in the family Tenebrionidae.  It resembles our Southern California Ironclad Beetle.  We have been so busy with work and our new aquarium that we have been a bit lax in posting new submissions, only about one or two a day at the moment.

darkling argentina mirta 2 275x300 Darkling Beetle from Argentina

Darkling Beetle

1

Posted 24 March 2009 § Darkling and Ironclad Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Glowworm Larva or Railroad Worm

Black with orange spot… not a centipede
Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Hi I found this interesting specimen in George Washington national park located in Staunton Virginia. I have never seen anything like it and have been camping there for about ten years. I was hoping you would be able to ID it for me as it’s a very interesting and colorful insect. I thank you for your time and effort… I love your site and have used it extensively to satisfy my curiosity about bugs…
Thanks!!
David Barton
Staunton Virginia

glowworm david 300x177 Glowworm Larva or Railroad Worm

Glowworm

Dear David,
What a positively magnificent Glowworm Larva you have photographed. it is in the family Phengodidae. There is an identical specimen posted on BugGuide that was photographed in North Carolina. It is unfortunate that you didn’t have the opportunity to see it glowing a luminescent green in the dark.  Glowworms are also known as Railroad Worms.

glowworm bic david 300x224 Glowworm Larva or Railroad Worm

Glowworm

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Posted 22 March 2009 § Fireflies and Glowworms ‡ Comments (0) °

Pseudoscorpion

Small Bug with 2 long arms like lobster pinchers
Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 5:07 AM
I found this bug twice in our bathroom and this morning in our kitchen. I was reading the paper and it might have crawled off my t shirt. Unable to identify it.
Doug
Flushing, MI

pseudoscorpion doug 300x228 Pseudoscorpion

Pseudoscorpion

Dear Doug,
This is a harmless Pseudoscorpion, a minute predator often found indoors. We get countless identification requests from around the world on Pseudoscorpions, and we should probably include it in the Top Ten Tag. Though your photo is not the most detailed we have ever received, we love the inclusion of the ruler in the photo so our readership can see just how tiny this amazing predators really are.

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Posted 22 March 2009 § Pseudoscorpions ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Longicorn from Uruguay

Longhorn Beetle?
Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 5:59 AM
I came upon this sunbathing beetle on March 2 while walking along the beach just west of Colonia, Uruguay. The beach was along the River Plate, just across from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was wondering if it was indigenous or perhaps had washed ashore from a passing freighter.
Patrick J.McNamara
Real de San Carlos, Uruguay

longicorn uruguay 300x200 Longicorn from Uruguay

Longhorned Borer Beetle

Dear Patrick,
You are correct. This is a Longhorn Borer Beetle or Longicorn in the family Cerambycidae. We doubt it fell off of a freighter and suspect it is native. We don’t recognize the species, but perhaps one of our readers will write in with a correct identification.

Update: from Eric Eaton
Sun, 22 Mar 2009
Daniel:
Oh, and I’m fairly confident the Uroguayan longhorned beetle is a species of Trachyderes. Sure looks like it anyway.
Eric

Update:
Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 7:05 AM
Hi Bugman:
Good call Eric. It looks like Retrachydes (=Trachyderes) thoracicus. The Argentinean link has an excellent photo about ¾ of the way down. Regards.
Karl
http://www.cerambycoidea.com/foto.asp?Id=197
http://www.argentinean-insects.com/cerambycidae.htm

Thanks Eric,
We will link to the Texas Beetle Information page since there is one member of the genus found in the U.S., Trachyderes mandibularis, the Long Jawed Longhorn Beetle, though it is not the same species.

Posted 21 March 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Hermit Flower Beetle

Rain Beetle Photo?
Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 10:41 AM
My son and I came across this large beetle on a tree in our yard. We live in Southwest Minnesota. I tried to send it to you last fall when we found it but received no reply. I believe it is a rain beetle.
Vonda Talsma
Minnesota

hermit flower beetle vonda 300x199 Hermit Flower Beetle

Hermit Flower Beetle

Hi Vonda,
While we are sorry we didn’t answer you in the fall, the reality of the situation is that we are unable to answer all of our mail.  We believe this is a Hermit Flower Beetle, Osmoderma eremicola.  According to BugGuide, it is also called the Odor of Leather Beetle because of the resemblance to the smell of Russian Leather.  BugGuide indicates:  “Adults take fruit juices and sugary liquids in captivity” and “Found in rotten logs, so presumably larvae are decomposers. Adults nocturnal, found in woodlands and orchards. Adults come to lights.”

hermit flower beetle vonda 2 300x207 Hermit Flower Beetle

Hermit Flower Beetle

1

Related Posts

Posted 21 March 2009 § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Earth Boring Dung Beetle

Rhinoceros Beetle
Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 9:28 AM
Hello Again!
Found this little guy struggling in a pool, a few months back. I assume he’s some species of Rhinoceros beetle (what else could you call it?). Fairly small – from memory, I’d say just about 1/2″ long, no larger (sorry no size reference in the photo).
Found in Santa Cruz Mountains, Los Gatos CA
Out of curiosity, is there an ideal size photo for submissions? OK if I send you a full-size 8 MB file of some critter in the future?
Cheers!
NewtHunterDave
Santa Cruz Mountains CA

dung beetle horned california 300x253 Earth Boring Dung Beetle

Earth Boring Dung Beetle

Dear NewtHunterDave,
We believe this is a Dung Beetle. Dung Beetles and Rhinoceros Beetles are both Scarab Beetles. Males in the genus Phanaeus, known as Rainbow Scarabs, have horns. BugGuide shows a species, Phanaeus amithaon, from Arizona, but we are not convinced this is your species. We also located a BioOne Online Journal posting, Copyright © 1997 William Ericson ,on a new species from Sonora Mexico, Phanaeus yecoraensis, and the detail photos resemble your specimen as well. The horn on your specimen is quite distinctive. We will seek assistance from Eric Eaton on this identification. Regarding the image size, both the Salamander image and Dung Beetle image you sent that we posted were ideal. Since our site migration last September, our site has the option of clicking on the image to see a larger version. We post no larger than 800 pixels wide by 550 pixels high at 72 dpi, and the program selects the ideal thumbnail to display. We prefer larger images so we can crop and resize to maximize what our site offers.

Cool!
I’ll include a couple other photos of this guy from different perspectives in case that helps with the ID.
(Although, for my purposes, ‘dung beetle with a horn’ is probably close enough!)
Also, for what it’s worth, he was shiny, but I didn’t notice any sort of iridescent or metallic/rainbow effects on this beetle.  If I had, I would have tried hard to capture that in a pic.
Thanks!
NewtHunterDave

dung beetle horn ca top 300x236 Earth Boring Dung Beetle

Earth Boring Dung Beetle

Update: Freom Eric Eaton
Hi, Daniel:
Sun, 22 Mar 2009
One I actually recognize! LOL! It is one of the “earth-boring scarabs” in the family Geotrupidae. The species is Odonteus obesus. The specimen is a male. There are some nice images on Bugguide, but we could use a few more if the submitter wants to post there. Thanks.
Eric

Thanks Eric,
Since all the specimens on BugGuide are mounted, we will ask NewtHunterDave to post his beautiful live images.

Posted 21 March 2009 § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

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