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Mating Red Headed Ash Borers

ant like bug with balck and yellow stripes.
August 27, 2009
Ive been living imy my house for over 12 years, and my father recently found these bugs crawling all over the branches he had cut off the tree a few weeks back, that were not there when he cut them off. He has NEVER seen a bug like it.
It looks like a big ant with black and yellow stripes going down its back. I got a close of picture of two, that look like they are mating.
buggedeyed
Lancaster, CA

ash borers mating 300x218 Mating Red Headed Ash Borers

Mating Red Headed Ash Borers

Dear buggedeyed,
These are mating Red Headed Ash Borers, Neoclytus acuminatus.  The mating pair was probably attracted to the smell of the freshly cut wood.  The larvae bore in ash trees, and according to BugGuide:  “Larvae feed on the sapwood of ash and other hardwoods, and even occasionally on vines and shrubs. Larvae are commonly found feeding in downed timber with the bark left on.”

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Posted 28 August 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Femalllllllllle Brunner’s Mantis: Parthanogenesis oddity

Green Walking Stick?
August 25, 2009
I found this “little” bugger by a pool in the DFW area of Texas. He very calmly sat there for 10 minutes while I went to fetch my camera. It was about 6 inches long.
Katie F.
Texas

brunners mantis katie 172x300 Femalllllllllle Brunners Mantis: Parthanogenesis oddity

Brunner's Mantis

Hi Katie,
We are quite excited to have received your letter at this point in time as we are currently working on the Bug Love section of our book that is devoted to mating insects.  This is a female Brunner’s Mantis, Brunneria borealis. We first posted a photo of a Brunner’s Mantis in September 2005.  According to BugGuide, it is also known as a Walkingstick Mantis (hence your question) or a Northern Grass Mantid which is a bit odd since it ranges in:  “Southeastern United States: North Carolina west to Texas.“  The reason your letter has us excited is that BugGuide indicates Brunner’s Mantis:  “reproduces by parthanogenesis; males are unknown.“  This of course demands considerable more research on our part.  Parthanogenesis is virgin birth, and a female Brunner’s Mantis is able to produce an oothica with viable eggs without ever contacting another member of her species.  There was a study on Brunner’s Mantis in 1948 by Michael James Denham White entitled The Chromosomes of the Parthenogenetic Mantid Brunneria borealis in Evolution, vol. 2 (1948), pp. 90-3 and we are trying to get a copy of that paper.   White’s interest in parthanogenesis continued in his study of a South African grasshopper, Moraba (later Warramaba) virgo.  An online biography on MJD White states:  “In an earlier study in Austin on the mantid Brunneria borealis White had described an exclusive parthenogenetic reproduction system and had pondered on the genetic consequences of parthenogenesis for a number of years. He sent off a short note to the Australian Journal of Science about his discovery, which was published in August 1962. White enthusiastically took Ken Key, his taxonomist colleague, to look at the all-female population. Key was initially sceptical that this would prove to be a valid species. However, he was soon convinced that no males were present and provided a suitable taxonomic place for the species, with a joint publication in the Australian Journal of Zoology in 1963.“  The biography makes a point about White’s pronunciation of the word “femalllllllllle” during his lectures.

Parthanogenic reproduction, though rare in insects, is not unique to the Brunner’s Mantis.  Many Aphids undergo both sexual and asexual reproduction at certain seasons and under certain conditions, but the fact that there are no known male Brunner’s Mantis specimens brings up some unusual questions.  We wonder if DNA analysis would reveal that all individuals are identical and originating with an Eve, much the way the DNA of plants started from cuttings are all identical.  Every single Sterling Silver rose is genetically identical since they have all been started from cuttings of the original specimen hybridized in 1957 by Gladys Fisher when she crossed Peace with an unnamed seedling.  The interesting case of the Brunner’s Mantis begs the question if there were ever males of the species.  It is possible that once the females developed the ability to reproduce without insemination, the then useless males vanished.  Without males to change the DNA with each generation, there can be no natural evolution or variation.

Posted 26 August 2009 § Preying Mantis ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Mating Hera Buckmoths

Bug Love: Hera Buckmoths
August 25, 2009
Hi Lisa Anne and Daniel. As you can imagine, I was quite pleased today to find these mating Hera Buckmoths on the ranch of my friends Bart and Gay Lynn Byrd. I hope you enjoy them also.
The improvements to your site are great icon biggrin Mating Hera Buckmoths
Peace
Dwaine
north of Glenrock, WY

mating hera buckmoths dwaine 230x300 Mating Hera Buckmoths

Mating Hera Buckmoths

Hi Dwaine,
Thanks so much for sending your awesome photos of mating Hera Buckmoths.  We are copying our webmaster who just spent an entire work week on our site improvements.  We dumped all of our revenue into a new server and we are thrilled with the new found speed.

mating hera buckmoths dwaine 2 218x300 Mating Hera Buckmoths

Mating Hera Buckmoths

Posted 25 August 2009 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Texas Leaf Cutter Ant

Texas Leaf Cutter Ant – Atta texana (Buckley)
August 24, 2009
Found a pile of leaf confetti at the base of a Shumard Oak in my yard, followed the trail for about 20 yards then it went under the fence. There were no ants, found out they operate at night and took some pictures this morning around 4:30. They may just defoliate my tree! Looked them up on the Aggie Extension site and believe that I have correctly identified them.
Renee
Seguin, TX

leaf cutter ant renee Texas Leaf Cutter Ant

Texas Leaf Cutter Ant

Hi Renee,
We agree with your identification of a Texas Leaf Cutter Ant.  BugGuide also lists many additional common names, including Town Ant, Cut Ant, Parasol Ant, Fungus Ant and Night Ant.  Leafcutter Ant and Leafcutting Ant are also used. BugGuide also states:  “Food  In Texas these ants damage weeds, grasses, plum and peach trees, blackberry bushes and many other fruit, nut and ornamental plants as well as several cereal and forage crops. The ants do not eat the leaf fragments they collect, but take them into their underground nest where they use the material to raise a fungus garden. As the fungus grows, certain parts of it are eaten by the ants and fed to the larvae. This fungus is their only known source of food.Leaf cutting ants will attack pine trees but ordinarily they do little damage when other green plants are available. During the winter when green plant material is scarce, seedling pines are frequently damaged in parts of east Texas and west central Louisiana. Where ants are abundant, it is almost impossible to establish natural pine reproduction. In such sites, young pine seedlings often are destroyed within a few days unless the ants are controlled before planting.
Remarks  Leaf cutting ants live in large colonies of up to 2 million.“  We are also linking to the Forest Pests website that contains much information including this:  “Biology – The ants have a mating flight in May or June. After mating, the females establish nests beneath the soil and become the queens of the colonies. Worker ants carry the cut foliage and other vegetative material back to the nest, where it is used to culture the fungus that is their primary food.“

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Posted 24 August 2009 § Ants ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Mating Blister Beetles

black with red stripes
August 23, 2009
I’ve found a half-dozen or so of these guys crawling around behind the barn, although it might be a mistake to refer to them all as “guys”. they have five horizontal red stripes around a tapering body – maybe 3/4 to 1″ long. Head and legs are more like those of ants – little teeny wings (?) with a vertical red stripe. they can move really fast when they want to, but mostly just waddle around.
I’ve looked in all my available references and I’m stumped.
Nancy L.
western AZ at 5000 feet elevation

megetra mating nancy 235x300 Mating Blister Beetles

Mating Blister Beetles

Dear Nancy,
We really think Blister Beetles in the genus Megetra are phenomenal looking, and we are ecstatic that you have sent us a photo of a mating pair.

megetra nancy Mating Blister Beetles

Blister Beetle

Posted 23 August 2009 § Blister Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Mating Thread-Waisted Wasps

Thread Waisted Wasps Mating
August 13, 2009
Hi, I just saw these two in the garden, and just found them on your site! Ironic that the description onsite said they could often be seen mating in the garden because that’s exactly what they were doing when I saw them! Hope you can use the pictures and thanks again for a great site!
Kathleen Haines
Newport News, VA (southeastern VA)

thread waisted wasps mating Mating Thread Waisted Wasps

Thread Waisted Waps Mating

Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for sending us your excellent images of Thread Waisted Wasps, Eremnophila aureonotata, mating in your garden.  Indeed, Bugguide does state:  “Female digs burrow and provisions with a single large lepidopteran larvae. These are reported to include various moths from the families Noctuidae, Notodontidae (especially), and Sphingidae, and also skippers (Hesperidae).  The wasp is commonly found on wildflowers with large clusters of blossoms, such as Queen Anne’s Lace, from summer into fall. One frequently observes mating pairs on the flowers.“

thread waisted wasps mating 2 Mating Thread Waisted Wasps

Thread Waisted Wasps Mating

Posted 14 August 2009 § Thread Waisted Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Cobalt Milkweed Beetle

please verify
August 10, 2009
I found these beetles on milkweed and have tentatively identified them as Blue Milkweed Beetles. Is that your assessment too? And is that the beetles’ genitalia that I am seeing in the second photograph?
Tom
near Mt Shasta, Ca

cobalt milkweed beetles mating tom 300x259 Cobalt Milkweed Beetle

Cobalt Milkweed Beetles Mating

Dear Tom,
BugGuide refers to Chrysochus cobaltinus as the Cobalt Milkweed Beetle.  Your photo of a couple in the process of mating is a nice addition to our Bug Love pages.  We will try to get an answer on the genitalia question for you.

cobalt milkweed beetle tom 300x198 Cobalt Milkweed Beetle

Cobalt Milkweed Beetle

Posted 10 August 2009 § Leaf Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Painted Bugs from Africa mating in Mount Washington: Bagrada hilaris

July 26, 2009
We noticed some tiny Stink Bugs on our kale and collard greens yesterday, so today we took out the camera and shot some photos.  According to BugGuide, this is a new Invasive Exotic species from Africa, Bagrada hilaris.  It is a very small Stink Bug, about a quarter of the size of the similarly marked Harlequin Stink Bug we also photographed today.  We should try to get one more photo as a size comparison.

mating bagrada hilaris 20090726 300x185 Painted Bugs from Africa mating in Mount Washington: Bagrada hilaris

Mating Invasive Exotic Stink Bugs in our own garden

We went back out with the camera, placed two specimens in the freezer to slow them down, and took the following size comparison photo between Bagrada and Murgantia and then posted the images to BugGuide.

bagrada murgantia compare 300x255 Painted Bugs from Africa mating in Mount Washington: Bagrada hilaris

Bagrada (left) and Murgantia size comparison

The Natural History of Orange County website has a nice page documenting the life history of what the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commissioner is calling the Painted Bug in a posted pdf entitled Bagrada_hilaris.

Update:  We wrote to Stephanie at the US Department of Agriculture
Hi Stephanie,
Apparently this new African Stink Bug was first documented in Los
Angeles and Orange Counties last year.  Does anyone need specimens
before I squash what is feeding on my collard greens and kale?
Daniel Marlos

Thanks so much for letting us know. Apparantly, it has been widespread in California for a while now and has been found in La Crescenta, Altadena, Eagle Rock, Pico Rivera, Bell Gardens, Los Angeles, and Long Beach, which are in a roughly 27 x 10 mile swath north-south within the Los Angeles basin in Los Angeles County, California.
Go ahead and squash ‘em. However, I won’t have to put you on the nasty reader list now, would I?
Take care,
Stephanie

Ed. Note:  On killing insects
We need to clarify several things here.  Nasty readers are people who are rude to us, not people who kill harmless insects and other arthropods out of fear or ignorance.  We strive to educate the public regarding fierce looking, but harmless or beneficial creatures that are often squashed or that become unnecessary carnage by other means.  We have no ethical problem with the killing of problematic species, and invasive exotic Stink Bugs feeding on our garden crop would be one of those exceptions.  We are putting ourselves on blast here:  Yes, we will squash all the Bagrada hilaris we find on our produce since we don’t use insecticides in our vegetable patch.

Posted 26 July 2009 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (4) ° Also tagged:

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