What is it?
Location: Maine
January 23, 2011 7:13 pm
A friend took this photo and we can not identify it…can you help?
Signature: Not sure
Dragonhunter
Dear Not sure,
Luckily for us, there was a field on our submission form for a location, or we might have gotten no useful information from your email. Did your friend find this creature in the kitchen? or during one of the snowstorms that is currently blanketing much of the northeast? or as we suspect, in a lake last summer? This is a Dragonhunter Naiad, the larva of a Dragonfly. You may compare your image to this posting of a photo of a larval Dragonhunter, Hagenius brevistylus, on BugGuide. The Dragonhunter has one of the most distinctive looking Naiads, the name given to all aquatic larvae, of all the North American Dragonflies. According to the Insects of West Virginia website: “Dragonhunters often capture dragonflies nearly their own size” which explains the common name Dragonhunter. According to a University of Michigan web page: “Hagenius brevistylus is most certainly Michigan’s most distinctively shaped odonate larva (Fig. 1). The very flat abdomen is broad, nearly circular in outline, bearing dark mid-dorsal hooks and sharp lateral angles on abdominal segments 2-9. This shape is shared by other gomphid genera in other parts of the world and appears related to the habit of burrowing in leafy trash.“ Over time, the appearance of the larvae may have evolved to mimic dead leaves like elm tree leaves ensuring that predators might overlook the tasty larvae, which then contributes to the survival of the species.
Large Flying Insect
Location: Elmira (upstate) NY
January 7, 2011 5:50 am
This large unusual flying insect appeared on my printer in April of 2008.
I took a shot of it because it was so unusual looking to me. I’ve had the photo in my comp ever since and while cleaning my files came across it again. I’m still curious what is this bug? I haven’t seen one since I snapped the shot.
Signature: Debbie F
Giant Stonefly
Hi Debbie,
This is a Giant Stonefly in the genus Pteronarcys. Of the entire family Pteronarcyidae, BugGuide indicates: “st nymphs develop in medium to large rivers adults are nocturnal and often attracted to light.” They are sometimes called Salmonflies.
Bug identification.
Location: Diggins, Missouri, under water in a pond.
November 18, 2010 1:39 pm
I was fishing a little while back and caught a rock with a little bug that was living in/on it under the water. It stayed on the rock and didn’t really seem to notice I was holding it, I just ended up taking a picture and putting him back, it looks like a bedbug, I’m having a hard time trying to figure out what it was, it’s ”bugging” me. If you could solve this mystery for me it’d be very appreciated.
Signature: Brad McBandycars
Naiad on a Hook
Hi Brad McBandycars,
You hooked a Naiad, a talent that Ulysses would admire. A Naiad is the aquatic nymph of a flying insect that is usually associated with water. Your Naiad is a young Dragonfly. If the Naiads of Dragonflies are similar to other larvae, they probably undergo 5 molts before becoming adults. The molts are stages known as instars and the adult is called the Imago. We cannot identify the species of Dragonfly you have hooked.
Unknown Dragonfly Naiad
Bug in Southeast Georgia
Location: Southeast Georgia north Florida
November 7, 2010 5:25 pm
I moved to Camden county GA I work in Charlton County there is a Bug that no one can tell me the name of.
It looks like a big Roach the smallest one I have seen is about 1-1/2 inch to about 3 inch long about 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide with these big grabbers or claws in front sorry i am not a artist but it looks something like this
Signature: dove
Toe-Biter we presume
Dear dove,
There is little doubt in our mind that you have drawn a Toe-Biter or Giant Water Bug. We are posting a photograph with your drawing and linking to the Bug of the Month posting of the Toe-Biter from 2008.
Toe-Biter
Swimming insect? in Pak Chong, Thailand
Location: Pak Chong, Thailand
October 25, 2010 10:20 am
Hi. This thing is swimming in our pond in Pak Chong, Thailand, a mountain/jungle region in North Eastern Thailand. It’s several centimeters long, and seems to have 6 legs that it uses to swim. Hangs out both under water and on the surface. Not sure if it’s some type of dragonfly nymph? Any ideas? Thanks.
Signature: macnmotion
Water Scavenger Beetle Larva
Dear macnmotion,
This is the larva of a Diving Beetle, most probably a Predaceous Diving Beetle. They are sometimes called Water Tigers.
Thank you for the very quick reply. So the ones in our pond look much younger and less developed than some of the photos I’m seeing. I guess I can expect changes to be upcoming.
Will this larva begin to eat the small fish in the pond (1 cm)? So far these things hang out near the light at night and have made no move to attack any fish as far as I have seen.
Thanks. Andy
Hi again Andy,
Water Tigers will eat small fish.
Identification Request: found on Malibu Beach, Southern Califonia
Location: Malibu, California
July 23, 2010 5:33 pm
These were collected at night the week of the 4th of July by my teenage son on the beach in Malibu, California. They are shown in a regular five gallon bucket and are about an inch long excluding antenna.
During the day I noticed similar looking, but much smaller, bugs jumping on the sand. The color camouflages them well. The small ones were far too fast for me to photograph.
Attached, a small photo. High res one (URL may change):
Signature:
Eli the Bearded
Marine Amphipods
Hi Eli the Bearded,
Good name. These are some type of Crustacean. We believe they are Marine Isopods, but we cannot find a matching photo online. Perhaps our readership can assist.
Marine Amphipods
Karl makes a Correction
These look like marine amphopods (Amphipoda), specifically beachhoppers (Amphipoda: Talitridae). They are probably Megalorchestia californiana, California Beach Fleas (aka: California Sand Fleas, California Beach Hoppers, Long-horned Beach Hoppers), or perhaps another closely related species. K
http://www.wallawalla.edu/academics/departments/biology/rosario/inverts/Arthropoda/Crustacea/Malacostraca/Eumalacostraca/Peracarida/Amphipoda/Gammaridea/Talitridae/Megalorchestia_californiana.html
Predaceous Diving Beetles
July 9, 2010
I have been keeping 3 predaceous diving beetles in a large fish bowl for several months. This morning we discovered several clusters of eggs all over the stems of the aquatic plants in the water. I’m interested in raising the young, but I’m concerned that I might not be able to provide enough food to keep them alive. I’ve been trying to research food sources online, and have found nothing except maybe mosquito larvae that would work for the new beetle hatchlings. Any ideas?
Mike
Shreveport, Louisiana
Predaceous Diving Beetles
Hi Mike,
Your insect-aquarium sounds so wonderful. Do you have a lid on the bowl? Predaceous Diving Beetles can fly quite well, but the larvae are totally aquatic and are known as Water Tigers. When they hatch, the young Water Tigers will most likely prey upon one another, eliminating the smallest and weakest. As they grow, you can probably feed them live tubifex worms or red worms which are also sold at most aquarium stores. Since they cannot fly, the larvae can also be placed in a larger container outside and they will be able to feed upon any mosquito larvae that develop in the tank. Newly born guppies will serve as a nice food supply as they begin to grow. Luckily, they will not need to eat daily. Good luck with this awesome opportunity.
This bug creeps me out man….
June 9, 2010
This bug runs around here in Shreveport/Bossier City area, It has massive claw like things and once it latches onto a stick or something it does not let go, they are probably 3-4 inches in length give or take.
Ben
Shreveport, La
Toe-Biter
Hi Ben,
This is a Giant Water Bug, commonly called a Toe-Biter or Electric Light Bug. They are aquatic predators that will bite a person if carelessly handled, and the bite is quite painful. Though they are aquatic, they fly quite well and they are attracted to lights. Because of their large size and unusual appearance, they are one of the most common identification requests sent to our website. Since we will be out of the office from June 15 through June 22, we are setting some letters to post in our absence, and your letter will be one of those.
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