2 beetles seen in Montana
Location: NW Montana, Glacier NP
September 13, 2010 6:32 pm
Greetings Bugman!
You have a wonderful site! My grandson and I found it a year or so ago.
I am trying to identify 2 kinds of beetles (there is a 3rd in the photo, but tiny)that I photographed on some white spirea at Glacier NP last month.
Can you help me identify them? I searched the site, but probably not the right search word combos.
You may use the photos with attribution if you like.
Gretchen F.
backyardnotes.wordpress.com
Seattle, WA
P.S. I have a link to your site on my blog
Signature: backyardnotes
Ornate Checkered Beetle and Mating Flower Longhorns
Hi Gretchen,
Thanks for the complimentary letter. We believe the black and yellow beetle is an Ornate Checkered Beetle, Trichodes ornatus, based on BugGuide images, but since its head is buried in the inflorescence, positive identification may not be possible. The mating pair appear to be some species of Flower Longhorn in the subfamily Lepturinae, possibly Xestoleptura crassipes, also pictured on BugGuide.
Many thanks, Daniel! I just have that ‘need to know’ gene and when I post photos on my blog I like to have an identification.
And, thanks for the link to BugGuide! I will add that to my links list.
Gretchen Flickinger
Unknown Mating Beetles
Location: Texas Hill Country
September 7, 2010 4:01 am
Hi there!
We found these guys in our backyard, there’s actually a lot of them. Over the last couple of years they have made more of an appearance then before. I think they like the oak trees in our yard. During the morning they fly around the trees, and by mid-afternoon there buzzing around at head level. I’ve tried identifying them with your catalog, but the only beetles I’ve found are similar are the Japanese Beetles, and these are lacking the dots along they’re sides, aside from not being quite the same color. Thank you for you’re lovely site, it provides endless education for my children and myself.
Signature: Beetle GURL
Green June Beetle Mating Frenzy
Dear Beetle GURL,
The only way we can think of to tactfully refer to this activity is a mating frenzy of Green June Beetles in the genus Cotinis. The ranges of the eastern Green June Beetle, Cotinis nitida, and the western Green Fruit Beetle or Figeater, Cotinis mutabilis, overlap in Texas, so we aren’t certain which species you have encountered. You can browse BugGuide for more photographs and see the BugGuide information page of the genus for more general information. You can also read the information page on the Figeater on bugGuide and the information page on the Green June Beetle on BugGuide for specific information on the two species.
Green June Beetle Mating Frenzy
¶ Posted 07 September 2010 § Beetles ‡ ° Also tagged: Who am I?
Location: San Diego, CA
September 2, 2010 1:22 am
So, we found these bugs everywhere on the new vegetables that we planted. It is some sort of chinese green vegetable. ( not sure which one, as my kids dumped all the seeds in the dirt =). There are tons of them on the ground near the sprouts and all up in them. What are they, and from the picture it looks like they are reproducing. So how do i get rid of them if they are harmful to my new plants?
Jeanine
Mating Painted Bugs
Hi Jeanine,
In our opinion, the African Painted Bugs, Bagrada hilaris, which were first reported in California just two years ago, will go down in history as being one of the most problematic Exotic Invasive agricultural pests due to their fondness for sucking the juices from plants in the cabbage family. We first noticed hoards of them on our collard greens last summer. It seems mating is the main objective of every adult, and mating pairs like the ones in your photograph seem to be more common than single individuals.
FUN! thank you so much for identifying it for us! my kids will be delighted. Do you know any ways to rid of it?
jeanine
¶ Posted 02 September 2010 § True Bugs ‡ ° Also tagged: Blue-margined Ground Beetle
Mating Blue Margined Ground Beetles
Blue-margined Ground Beetle
Location: Somervell County, Texas
September 1, 2010 2:11 pm
I took these two pictures of what I believe are Blue-margined Ground Beetles. I assume the one picture is a shot of them mating? While I was taking pics, my 7yo gently blew on them and they popped apart and walked their separate ways.
I simply wanted to contribute the photos if you need them. We are in Somervell County, Texas and these were spotted in August, 2010.
Signature: Amber
Post-Coital Blue Margined Ground Beetle
Dear Amber,
Out of respect for our younger readers, we do not use cuss words on our website, however we are far from prudish. This photo of presumably courting Ground Beetles has to be one of the most provocative Bug Love images we have ever seen. We compared your images to Blue Margined Ground Beetles (the photographer’s name rather than an accepted common name) that are posted to BugGuide, and we have to agree with you. There may be a coleopterist out there that will correct us, or a faithful and very beetle knowledgeable reader like mardikavana who may set us straight, but we believe your beetle looks like Pasimachus depressus.
¶ Posted 02 September 2010 § Beetles ‡ ° Also tagged: this stung my wife
Location: SE PA woods
August 27, 2010 5:08 pm
AND NOW LIVES UNDER A CUP IN THE BACKYARD
THANKS, JMR
Mating Wheel Bugs
Hi JMR,
This is a they and they are mating Wheel Bugs. Wheel Bugs do not sting, but rather, they bite, and the bite is reported to be quite painful, but not dangerous. You should release them from their cup as they are important predators that will help keep the population of plant eating insects in check.
Canoodling Saturniids
Location: Western Pennsylvania (Slippery Rock)
August 27, 2010 9:26 pm
Hi, Daniel,
I am attaching two pictures of mating Saturniid moths, but I could not tell if they were Promethea Moths or Tulip Tree Silk Moths. You’ll notice from the file names that I first misidentified them as Io moths. About six weeks ago, these two were found on the screen over our mud room window, and there they stayed for many hours – literally most of the day. When night fell, they were gone. These are such elegant creatures.
Glenn Marsch
Mating Prometheus Moths
Hi Glenn,
These mating Prometheus Moths are truly lovely. The moth closer to the camera is the dark male, and we suspect he looks larger because of the use of a wide angle lens which is distorting the perspective since the female is generally the larger of the sexes.
Wow, that was quick, and I am impressed. Thanks for the ID. Now I can go to my Flickr site & update the caption.
Best Regards,
Glenn
¶ Posted 27 August 2010 § Moths ‡ ° Also tagged: Mating Skippers
Location: Northern Kentucky, near Cincinnati, OH
August 23, 2010 9:15 pm
Hi Bugman,
Love is in the air and definitely in my garden. The skippers have been abundant and madly chasing each other around for a few weeks.
I’m going to take a stab at this and tentatively suggest that these are Little Glassywings, based on a plethora of other photos that I’ve taken of these adorable little guys and that they are common to my county. I know it’s pretty impossible to clearly identify the species based on these pics.
What cracks me up, watching their mating ritual, is that the female will land and spread her wings and body out, seemingly making herself available for mating, just from my observations.
The male will usually do a little bouncing ’dance’ over her for several seconds and then land next to her. He then curls his abdomen toward her, invitingly. Sometimes she accepts his advances, other times not.
This gal apparently found her suitor acceptable.
Regards,
Ragdoll
Mating Skippers
Hi Ragdoll,
Thanks so much for supplying such a detailed account of your observations of the mating habits of these Skippers. We are currently experiencing technical difficulties and we do not have the time to research your identification, but we will post your email and we hope the images show live. We will link to the Little Glassywing, Pompeius verna, page on BugGuide.
Mating Skippers
Thanks a bunch, Bug Wo/Man, but please, don’t trouble yourself too much trying to verify the species. I know skippers are very similar and hard to identify, and these particular pics don’t really do a lot to help with that.
I just wanted to share some shots and the antics of one my favorite garden visitors. They are so cute with their fat, fuzzy little bodies and great big eyes. Plus, they’re pretty fearless. They’ll almost let me touch them, at times, and seem to be as interested in me as I am in them.
I’m happy that you found the shots worthy of posting and, as always, thanks for such a wonderful site. You’ve given me an outlet for my love of ‘bugs’ and kindled a real desire to learn about them, simply because no question, comment, or assumption is too ignorant for you. I’m living proof of that.
Warm Regards,
Rags
Leaf hopper love.
Location: Staten Island, NY
August 21, 2010 9:17 am
I thought you might be interested in these pics of mating leaf hoppers
Spuds
Mating Sharpshooters
Hi Spuds,
We believe this may be our first photo of mating Leafhoppers. Your Leafhoppers are Sharpshooters in the genus Graphocephala. They look like they might be Rhododendron Leafhoppers, Graphocephala fennahi, based on photos posted on BugGuide.
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