More Polyphemus Love
March 9, 2010
Last week we found a large cocoon on ground, brought it inside, and hung it in a jar. Last night we saw a large moth struggling in the bottom of the jar. We took it outside to a ficus tree on the patio, where it climbed up a few feet and stopped. As you can see in the first picture, the wings didn’t expand properly. But apparently male moths don’t care so much about pretty wings, because she found a mate in a matter of hours.
Matt in Houston
Houston, TX
Mating Polyphemus Moths
Hi Matt,
Thank you for your wonderful written account and your stunning photograph of mating Polyphemus Moths.
You’re welcome. I appreciate the site where I could find out exactly what it was quickly!
Wow, the life of a moth is short. Out of her cocoon barely a day, it appears she is already dead, or nearly so. But there are several eggs along the limbs, so the cycle continues.
Mating Robber Flies
February 26, 2010
Hi, WTB,
Mating Robber Flies. Mid-July, 2009. Foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains, southern Arizona, about 4,400′. There are lots of Robbers around here, and I’m always glad to observe them.
Best,
Denny
Mating Robber Flies
Hi Denny,
We believe these may be Neomochtherus californicus, a species of Robber Fly that is represented on BugGuide with a single series of three images, though we would need to defer to a Diptera expert, or better yet, a Asilid expert, for a conclusive identification.
Robber Flies Mating
Cricket?
February 23, 2010
Wondering what this is – common and latin name
david
chira Island, Costa Rica
Katydid: Ancistrocercus circumdatus
Dear david,
Our readership enjoys hearing details about the sightings that are submitted to our website. For identification purposes, additional information is often quite helpful. The spare wording of your letter (and that of your numerous other submissions) fails to engage our readership and doesn’t provide us with anything helpful except a location. We will contact an expert in the Orthopterans, Piotr Naskrecki, to see if he can provide a response.
Hi Daniel,
This is a pair of Ancistrocercus circumdatus (Pseudophyllinae), a species
common in Guanacaste.
Piotr
Ed. Note:
Technically, these Katydids are not mating, but since Piotr Naskrecki indicated that they are a pair, we are taking creative license and tagging them as Bug Love.
Hi Daniel,
Ok thank you for the feedback. I didn’t want to be long winded as I don’t have too much to offer and I thought people wanted brief listings, but I can add a few things I guess as to the area I found it in. Can I update it online?
Thanks,
David
Yes you may.
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Posted 24 February 2010
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Katydids
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Also tagged:
Good Old Fashioned Weevil Lovin’
February 23, 2010
I found these guys on a day hike at Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam. It was around May 13th and the rainy season had not quite started yet.
Danielle
Vietnam, Cuc Phuong National Park
Mating Weevils from Viet Nam
Hi Danielle,
We will attempt to identify these Weevils. Can you tell us how large they were?
More Bug Love
February 21, 2010
Hi, WTB,
Thanks for the nice words about the very recent Cactus Longhorn Beetle photo.
Seeking ID help, please, for this pair of grasshoppers from late September in the foothills of the Santa Rita Moutains in southern Arizona at about 4,400 ft. These are plentiful from mid- to late summer.
Denny Schreffler
Mating Spur Throated Grasshoppers
Hi again Denny,
Another gorgeous photograph. At first we thought these might be mating Lubber Grasshoppers in the family Romaleidae. Many members of the family are large Grasshoppers with bright coloration and BugGuide does not picture anything quite like your specimens, though the Plains Lubber Grasshopper, Brachystola magna, looks similar. We wonder if perhaps it might be a species of Lubber Grasshopper that is mentioned on BugGuide, but not pictured, Spaniacris deserticola. According to information we unearthed on the internet, it is found in Mexico and Arizona, but alas, we cannot find any photos. Perhaps an expert will be able to provide us with additional information. As we continued to try to identify this gorgeous pair, we found a website on the Studies in nearctic desert sand dune Orthoptera that contained this information: “Four decades of the author’s records indicate that Spaniacris deserticola (Bruner) is confined within the periphery of the Colorado Desert. It is usually found, near or within a few hundred feet of sea level, marking the shore line of ancient Lake Cahuilla (except for the Dale Lake record). The preferred host plant is Coldenia palmeri growing on the lower fringes of bajadas, with C. plicata on drift sand being second in preference. Spaniacris can tolerate sand and rock temperatures of 60 C. (believed to be a maximum for Colorado Desert life). Mating takes place at that and lower temperatures. When they are disturbed while on the tops of host plants, their flight is low and direct and of short duration, and they come to rest on the torrid soil for long periods of time. The female, much larger than the male, can sustain the male in flight while mating. The study verified spatial longevity of Spaniacris at Indio, California, after approximately 70 years and for the Kane Springs area after 52 years.“ That suggests that Spaniacris deserticola has developed wings, and that does not appear to be the case with your pair, which inclines us to believe that is not a correct identification. We now believe they are probably Spur Throated Grasshoppers in the subfamily Melanoplinae which includes the gorgeous Painted Grasshopper that also has undeveloped wings in the adult for. The bottom line on this is that we need professional assistance.
Eric Eaton writes back
Daniel:
Anyway, the pair of grasshoppers are Barytettix humphreysii cochisei, and the subspecies is in Bugguide already….They are in the spur-throated grasshopper subfamily Melanoplinae in the family Acrididae. Neither gender has functional wings as adults.
More information, images here:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/171279
Thanks for giving me a sneak peek at this great image!
Eric
February 18, 2010
I tried to send a photo for your Bug Love page, but it failed to upload. Can you accept regular email with attachments?
Eric Eaton suggested that I submit some photos to you (and another site) several months ago, but I’m just now trying that.
Thanks,
Denny Schreffler
Tucson
Hi Denny,
Responding to this email should allow you to attach images. Please include all the information that is required on our form, like the location, and some information about the insect. Also, please confine your images to one species per email.
Thanks
February 21, 2010
Thanks, Daniel,
I “replied” by sending the photo through an different email program a few days ago, so I’m not sure that you received it. Here’s a direct reply with an attachment.
Thought that you might appreciate a pair of Cactus Longhorn Beetles (Moneilema gigas) for your Bug Love page.
Northern Sonoran Desert (southern Arizona), late August during a light rain.
Denny Schreffler
Mating Cactus Longhorns
Hi Denny,
We don’t understand why you had problems originally, and we never received your response through your alternate email program. We are going to contact our web master, who is currently driving across country on holiday, to see if he has a solution to your previous problems. Having received this attached photo, we are positively thrilled that you submitted a totally awesome image of mating Cactus Longhorns, Moneilema gigas. The camera angle is perfect and the quality and resolution are excellent. According to BugGuide, members of this genus “feed on cactus, esp. cholla, Opuntia species.”
Ed. Note: The original letter sent by Naaman was for the identification of the African Painted Bugs, and this pair of mating Convergent Lady Beetles was also in the photo.
February 13, 2010
Thanks! here are two more pictures of the ladybugs. maybe these help to identify them better?
Naaman
Los Angeles, CA
Mating Convergent Lady Beetles
Thanks Naaman,
Your mating Lady Beetles are the native Convergent Lady Beetle, Hippodamia convergens. You may compare your photos to images posted on BugGuide.
Mating Convergent Lady Beetles
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Posted 13 February 2010
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Lady Bug
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Also tagged:
small black bugs with orange spots
February 13, 2010
there were hundreds of these little bugs crawling on some plants with a few dozen ladybugs mixed in, and they were about the same size. i was hiking in some hills in the los angeles area and it was yesterday, feb 12th
naaman
los angeles, ca
Painted Bugs mating
Dear naaman,
We first reported on the Painted Bugs from Africa feeding on our own Collard Greens and Kale in Mount Washington, Los Angeles in July 2009. We believe this fecund species has the potential to become a serious pest on cruciferous plants in the cabbage family. BugGuide also recognizes that potential. UC Riverside Center for Invasive Species website also recognizes the threat. It is interesting that in our garden as well as in your photographs, every adult seemed to have been caught in flagrante delicto, a good indication that there will soon be a new generation with even more individuals. From the angle of your photograph, it is difficult to ascertain the identity of the mating Lady Beetles.
Painted Bugs and Convergent Lady Beetles Mating
Ed. Note: Additional images revealed these to be a pair of Convergent Lady Beetles, Hippodamia convergens, a native species.
For your “Bug Love” page…(blue damselflies from Illinois)
February 7, 2010
Hello. I took this picture early this past July on Lake Shabbona in Illinois, near Chicago while on a fishing trip. There were mating pairs of these blue damselflies everywhere, and these two landed right in front of me. They didn’t flinch when I put the camera right up to them. I thought I’d submit it to see if you guys would like to post it on your Bug Love page. Thanks for your time.
Justin M. Fabre
Illinois
Mating Bluets
Hi Justin,
Thanks for sending us your wonderful photo of mating Bluets in the genus Enallagma. BugGuide has numerous possible species, and we would defer an exact species identification to an expert. This mating position is called a Wheel or Heart formation. Are you by chance related to Jean Henri Fabre, the French entomologist who lived from 1823 to 1915 and who wrote one of the first popular culture books on insects?
Hi Daniel.
I was happy to submit my photo to WTB. Reading the submissions, responses and seeing the great photos is a lot of fun. I didn’t realize how many different species of Bluets there were until I googled “blue damselfly” just before I submitted it. I’m glad you guys will try to find out. As for a relation to Jean Henri, I’ve wondered myself as it’s possible, but I honestly don’t know. I was away longer than expected this week and finally dug out the external hard drive with the rest of the set that I’ll attach to the email. The top one is the “I (heart) U” shot I submitted. Feel free to use any or all that you wish on the site. Thanks again.
Justin
Mating Bluets
Thanks for sending additional photos Justin.
Mating Bluets
French’s Longicorns
January 21, 2010
I just discovered your site today – being a keen bug fiend, I cant believe that I had not come across it before!
I searched through your site to find more information on French’s Longicorn beetle (Batocera frenchi) – but couldnt find any!
We came across these beautiful, large longicorns on a hike through the Wooroonooran National Park in North Queensland in November – They were in a recently broken hollowed tree (probably had something to do with it breaking!!) and appear to be in the midst of a courtship. This is the first time I have seen these amazing beetles – even though they are described as having a geographical area from Mid New South Wales to North Queensland.
Hopefully someone will be able to let me know if they are rare? In which case, I am completely and utterly chuffed to have met them personally 
The Dreaded Bug Queen
Wooroonooran NP -Palmerston, North Queensland, Australia
Mating French's Longicorns
Dear Dreaded Bug Queen,
Though we are based in Los Angeles, we here at What’s That Bug? have had a long history of posting letters of Australian insects, most notably during your summer because our readership does not submit as many identification requests during our winter months. We have posted several letters from locations including India and Israel containing images of the related Mango Stem Borer, Batocera rufomaculata, and once we even posted a letter of a Chinese species we believe to be Batocera rubus, but your wonderful image of mating French’s Longicorns is a first for Batocerus frenchi for us. An image of a French’s Longicorn is posted on the Csiro website, but there is not much information. We have been unable to find out much information on your beetle, though a specimen of French’s Longicorn is listed as rare and is currently for sale on the Insects & More website is listed at 52 Euros, which is approximately $75 US, a hefty price indeed. A female on the same website is selling for 65 Euros. Another website lists it as very rare. We believe your sighting is significant and we are thankful you sent us your marvelous image. Just prior to posting, we decided to search by the common name French’s Longicorn rather than the scientific name. We found a wonderful website of Shell Picture Card series on Cerambycidae that contains this information: “Card no. 339 – French’s Longicorn Beetle, Batocera frenchi (Van de Poll) [as Batocera frenchi Blkb.] Card data: ‘This is one of the finest Longicorn Beetles in Australia. It is found in the rain forests from northern New South Wales to north Queensland. It measures 2” or more in length and is found in certain native fig trees, in the branches and trunks of which its grubs feed. This beetle is a common species of the family Cerambycidae.’ Comments: The biology and host plants of Batocera boisduvali (Hope)(often regarded by entomologists as the same species as B. frenchi) have been reviewed by Hawkeswood (1987a) & Hawkeswood & Dauber (1990, 1993).“
what’s that bug? is it benefitial?
January 19, 2010
I was sawing a bush that is called here (in Hawaii) Holy Coa. suddenly these bugs apeared out of nowhere. Here are 2 photos of them.
v.
Kauai Hawaii USA
Kiawe Round Headed Borer
Dear v.,
We thought your beetle bore an uncanny resemblance to the Mesquite Borer, Placosternus difficilis, a species BugGuide reports from Texas and the “Southern tier of U.S. states, south to Honduras; Cuba, Bahamas.“ We then did a web search to see if the Mesquite Borer was introduced to Hawaii, and we were immediately led to another BugGuide page of an insect found in Hawaii and placed in the same genus, but with the disclaimer: “Placosternus crinicornis (Chevrolat) has been recorded from Hawaii but not P. difficilis.“ We followed that thread and were led to the Insects of Hawaii page on Placosternus crinicornis, the Kiawe or Prosopis Round Headed Borer which is listed as non-native. It may also be found on an Invasive Species website. According to Wikipedia, Kiawe or Prosopis limensis is a species of mesquite native to South America. Since neither the insect nor its host are native to Hawaii, it is fair to say that neither are beneficial to helping to maintain the indigenous biodiversity of Kauai.
Mating Kiawe Round Headed Borers
Saw this (possible) mating ritual…
November 24, 2009
Although I saw the two bugs interacting for some time, I have no idea what they are after having looked here and there for an answer.
Stingrey
Big Bend National Park
Robber Flies
Hi Stingrey,
These courting Robber Flies are gorgeous. The male is flying. We believe they are in the genus Laphria, but we cannot find an exact match on Bugguide. The closest is Laphria trux but it has black legs, not red ones like the individuals in your photo. Last week we got assistance from an expert in Robber Flies, Dr. Robert A. Cannings, Curator of Entomology from the Royal British Columbia Museum. We are writing to him again for assistance.
Hi Daniel: I’m sure this is a Heteropogon. There are a number of
species in Texas (and I’m not familiar with them) but this may be H.
patruelis, which is relatively big and has a red abdomen. I’ve sent the
photo to Eric Fisher to see if he can help.
Rob
Update from Robert A. Cannings and Eric Fisher
November 30, 2009
Hi Daniel: Here is Eric Fisher’s reply about the Heteropogon. There’s no one better at identifying most NA asilids, so I doubt if you’ll get a better answer.
Cheers,
Rob
Hi Rob,
Yes, this courting pair do look like Heteropogon patruelis — especially in overall coloration. Only puzzling thing is I can’t really see signs of the patches of erect black & white hairs on the midlegs of the male (I assume the extended legs are the fore pair, and the dangling ones are the midlegs; hard to tell because the leg-base area is so dark).
… Cheers,
Eric
