Skip to content

Tag Archives: bug love

BUG OF THE MONTH JUNE 2009: Golden Backed Snipe Flies Mating

Another Pair of Golden Backed Snipe Flies Mating
Golden Backed Snipe Flies Mating
Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Leaving the house today, these two bugs were on my porch cushion. They were there for almost 1/2hour. They even gave me time to go get my camera , focus a few shots and get this great one! I emailed the pics to a friend as the “gold button” on the flies is truly a gold color- unlike the yellow color that comes off in the picture. The gold is what really attracted me to examine them closely. So, this evening, further intrigued, I hit the internet only to find your site within seconds, identifying the flies with ease, yelling to my husband, “THEY ARE GOLDEN BACKED SNIPE FLIES!!!” Gotta love the web!
A. Shafer
ExtremeNW NJ

snipe flies mating a 300x209 BUG OF THE MONTH JUNE 2009: Golden Backed Snipe Flies Mating

Golden Backed Snipe Flies Mating

Dear A.,
Thanks for sending in your photo of Golden Backed Snipe Flies mating. We will be adding your letter to the Bug of the Month posting since your photo is so much sharper than the original one we posted.

Golden Backed Snipe Flies Mating
Fri, May 29, 2009 at 5:33 AM
Good morning.
As I was walking from my car about 8am this morning, I chanced upon two bugs mating in the parking lot. They would hop a few feet away each time I got close but firmly refused to go get a room.
Thanks to your site, I was able to learn that the romantic couple is a pair of Golden Backed Snipe Flies. The gold on their backs is quite attractive!
Sorry for the quality of the photo. All I had was my cell phone.
Thank you for this site. It is great when we have a Cool Bug Alert and need to identify what the cool bug is. (In our family, we yell “Cool Bug Alert” and all come running to look. We then look up the bug and learn about them.)
Steph S.
Fairfax, VA

snipe flies mating steph 300x224 BUG OF THE MONTH JUNE 2009: Golden Backed Snipe Flies Mating

Golden Backed Snipe Flies Mating

Dear Steph,
Thanks so much for your kind letter. We would love to hear that more people are using the Cool Bug Alert, since most alerts tend to have such a negative connotation in our modern world that is so full of the threat of terrorist attacks, abductions and contagious diseases. We are also quite happy to post your image of mating Golden Backed Snipe Flies. Since June is upon us, and it will be time to select a new Bug of the Month, we would like to select the Golden Backed Snipe Fly, Chrysopilus thoracicus, for the honor. According to BugGuide, the season for sightings is spring, more specifically “Spring. April-May (North Carolina)” though all of the submissions to our site have been from late May through June in more Northern locations. The May/June sighting calendar is also supported on BugGuide’s Data Page. We witnessed our own first sighting several years ago in Mill Creek Park in Youngstown Ohio in early June. BugGuide also indicates: “Life Cycle Details unknown. This fly is observed in early to mid-spring perched quietly on low vegetation in deciduous woodlands. “

Posted 29 May 2009 § Snipe Flies ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mating Leaf Beetles: Calligrapha verrucosa

Beige Bug Nookie
Wed, May 27, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Greetings!
I decided to head down to the river today to see what bugs I could dig up and I found this amorous couple having a lovely time on a branch. It was very windy, but they didn’t seem to mind.
The (female?) on the bottom finally got perturbed with me & started to move, but as her lover wasn’t about to take off, it nearly made me giggle – she was going very slow, and it didn’t look like she was slow by choice.
They’re extremely colourful (if not clashing a tad with those red legs!), but they posed nicely for me and I’ve sent 2 clips along to you.
Enjoy! And hopefully, you’ll be able to tell me what they are. icon smile Mating Leaf Beetles: Calligrapha verrucosa
Janet
On the shores of the Oldman River, near Taber. Alberta, Canada.

calligrapha mating janet 300x199 Mating Leaf Beetles: Calligrapha verrucosa

Mating Leaf Beetles

Dear Janet,
Your pair is Calligrapha verrucosa, a species of Leaf Beetle without a common name. According to BugGuide, they feed on the leaves of willow. All of the photos posted to BugGuide were from Saskatchewan.

calligrapha mating janet 2 300x228 Mating Leaf Beetles: Calligrapha verrucosa

Mating Leaf Beetles

Posted 28 May 2009 § Leaf Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Mating Crimson Longhorns from Israel

Crimson bug love!
Tue, May 19, 2009 at 10:50 PM
I was tempted to put “Beetle porn” in the subject. Here’s why:
I saw this guy (I know this is a male, for sure) during my hike last weekend in the Upper Galilee. At first I thought “Cool, beautiful beetle I can identify later”, but then, with no thought to his surroundings, and completely at ease with my camera, he found a mate. You could almost hear the lousy dialog and the cheap porn-clip music in the background! The ants peeking in on the action didn’t bother the amorous couple either.
I did identify them later as Purpuricenus desfontainei. It’s Hebrew name, loosely translated, is the Crimson Longhorn. Apt, don’t you think?
BenS
Upper Galilee, Israel

crimson longhorn israel 270x300 Mating Crimson Longhorns from Israel

Crimson Longhorn

Dear BenS,
Thank you so much for contributing your wonderful images of mating Israeli Longicorns to our website.  We are even more thrilled that you have identified them as Purpuricenus desfontainei.

crimson longhorns mating israel 271x300 Mating Crimson Longhorns from Israel

Crimson Longhorns Mating

Posted 20 May 2009 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

American Carrion Beetles: Eating and Mating

Cluster of mating black and yellow bugs in Delaware
Mon, May 11, 2009 at 1:55 PM
I stumbled upon this mass of mating beetles (maybe they aren’t beetles) inside and on top of a rotting snake at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. Just curious as to what they are since I’ve never seen them before.
D. Fiero
Delaware

carrion beetles eat snake 300x233 American Carrion Beetles: Eating and Mating

Carrion Beetles

Dear D.,
While it is difficult for us to ascertain from your photograph that mating is occurring, it is very obvious that a group of American Carrion Beetles, Necrophila americana, is feasting on the dead snake.  We will trust your powers of observation in the matter. Insects might be the original multi-taskers.  While multi-tasking might not be terribly efficient for humans in the computer age as evidenced by the documented numbers of automobile accidents that have occurred during cellular telephone calls and texting, trying to compete more than one task at a time is here to stay.  Getting back to the American Carrion Beetles, the rotting snake will also provide a food source for larval beetles, so mating while feeding would be a logical behavior.  According to BugGuide, the American Carrion Beetle’s habitat is “marshy and forested areas.”  BugGuide also indicates:  “Adults consume fly larvae (maggots) at carrion, as well as some carrion,” which would be a good way to ensure that there is more food for the developing beetle larvae.

1

Posted 12 May 2009 § Carrion Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Ambush Bugs Mating and Feeding on Eight Spotted Forrester

sharing a conjugal assassination
Wed, May 6, 2009 at 12:27 AM
Hi WTB?!!
First let me say that I love your site! I use it all the time to find out what kind of critters I come across in my random days. AWESOME! While this is not a request for identification, I thought I’d share a nifty story about my first encounter with an 8-Spotted Forrester Moth. This was the only way to share the photos.
In March of 08 it was really windy as per usual, but I was bound and determined to take pictures of bugs. I was very excited to find a very colorful “butterfly” on one of the trees lining my driveway. Those trees are great as they have LOTS of flowers in the springtime and attract many bees and fluttery things for me to enjoy and photo. Well this little beauty seemed to be stuck somehow and didn’t/couldn’t fly away like they normally do when I get so close. Being one to take advantage of a situation I snipped the tip of the branch and brought it inside so I could get a better, calmer view.

ambush bugs eat forrester diptych 300x210 Ambush Bugs Mating and Feeding on Eight Spotted Forrester

Ambush Bugs eat Eight Spotted Forrester

Imagine my surprise when I followed the tongue of my “butterfly” down through the flowers into the mighty grip of a little female assassin! WOW! It was VERRRY windy that day so she must have been holding on insanely tight! Being as the (later identified) moth was already caught and most of the damage done I decided to let the macabre show play out and see what kinds of pictures I could get. Well they’re not quite the quality I was hoping for, but they’re clear enough to tell a story and get a point across. In the first diptych you can see her hanging on to the tongue (left) while he takes the lion’s share (right). In the second image was the “adults only” portion of the show where she was allowed to get hers while he *ahem* “got his”. The excitement of that capture was apparently great enough that he just couldn’t wait. And because they are so difficult to see amid the flowers the third image shows him strutting his stuff across the edge of a leaf as victor and stud.
Hope you enjoyed as much as I did. Creepy though it was, it was still way neat-o to see! the assassins were put back outside afterward to continue doing what they do. Unfortunately 1 moth was harmed in the process of making these photos, but that’s how nature rolls!
Mary in Magnolia, Texas
South-East Texas

ambush bugs eat forrester 300x211 Ambush Bugs Mating and Feeding on Eight Spotted Forrester

Ambush Bugs eat Eight Spotted Forrester

Dear Mary,
Thanks so much for your graphic photos and riveting first hand, eye witness account of this mating and food chain marvel. We only have one slight correction. The amorous hungry couple are Assassin Bugs, but they are in the Ambush Bug subfamily Phymatinae . It was not until we searched BugGuide that we became aware of the taxonomic change as Phymatidae was once a distinct family. Thanks for providing this wonderful cross-tagged submission.

ambush bug mary 300x204 Ambush Bugs Mating and Feeding on Eight Spotted Forrester

Ambush Bug

Posted 06 May 2009 § Ambush Bugs § Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Mating Mourning Cloaks

Brown Butterflies Mating in Flagstaff, AZ
Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Hello, today, April 29, 2009, I noticed 2 brown butterflies mating on the side-railing of my porch. At first, I thought the wood was peeling and went closer to pull it off, but realized that they were butterflies in the throes of passion icon smile Mating Mourning Cloaks They remained very still, but intermittently would flap their wings. I watched them for about 30 minutes and took several pictures and video. Although I attempted to identify what type they were by searching on the internet, there are far too many species for a non-etymologist like myself to even narrow it down. Bugman, please help me to identify these unknown butterfly lovers!
Beatrix G.
Flagstaff, Arizona

mating mourning cloaks beatrix 272x300 Mating Mourning Cloaks

mating Mourning Cloaks

Hi Beatrix,
We love Mourning Cloak Butterflies, or Camberwell Beauties as they are called in England. The Mourning Cloak, which hibernates in the winter, is a harbinger of spring in many parts of the world. It is often the first butterfly seen when it begins to warm and the days are sunny. We are thrilled to have your image of a mating couple.

Posted 30 April 2009 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Crane Flies: Mating Swarm Interrupted!!!

In a stump, flies, mates. What is it?
Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 4:25 PM
My wife and I have a really decayed stump that we are planing on removing and planting a garden over. So I decided to kick it a bit to see how easy it would be to remove. It crumbled very easily (as does the ground around it where the roots have rotted) but a bunch of these bugs flew out. Well, they hovered because they were busy mating, ends stuck together and flew awkwardly around.
The bugs themselves are dark brown with light yellowish markings. The karings are kinda stripey down the abdomen and a blotch on either side of the thorax. The head looks tiny and curled under the round thorax. I caught a mating pair, one has what looks like a stinger, but I think I know what it really is *winks*. They are about an inch long, with thin long smoke colored wings.
Brian
Tacoma, WA

crane flies ctenophora brian 300x214 Crane Flies: Mating Swarm Interrupted!!!

Crane Flies

Dear Brian,
What a wonderful account of the mating activity of these Crane Flies. We believe they are Ctenophora vittata – Ctenophora angustipennis as evidenced by the images posted to BugGuide. The “stinger” is actually the ovipositor, and it is the female that is in possession of it. We are going to contact Chen Young at the Crane Flies of Pennsylvania website to see if he can elaborate on the mating activity you witnessed. Our guess is that these adults are newly emerged. Adult Crane Flies don’t feed, so they don’t live long anyways. The larvae, sometimes called Leatherjackets, eat decaying organic material, and perhaps they were in the stump as larvae.  We are also going to tag your images Bug Love despite the mating activity being observed and not documented.

crane flies ctenophora brian 2 300x282 Crane Flies: Mating Swarm Interrupted!!!

Crane Flies

Posted 28 April 2009 § Crane Fly ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Mating Moths: probably One-Spotted Variants

Furry Mating Moths
Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 6:57 AM
Found these two almost furry looking moths mating on my window this morning. At least I think they’re mating. Since they were on the glass I was able to photograph them from the top and bottom. I apologize for dirty window. It’s pollen season down here.
Resa
Atlanta, GA

mating moths zale 300x183 Mating Moths: probably One Spotted Variants

Mating Moths

Hi Resa,
Our best guess on this is a Noctuid Moth, possibly in the genus Zale. We couldn’t find an exact match on either BugGuide or the Moth Photographers Group, and we are hoping one of our readers may have a more exact answer for you. Even if we can’t positively identify your amorous couple, we are thrilled to put their photos on our Bug Love page.

mating moths zale 2 300x212 Mating Moths: probably One Spotted Variants

Mating Moths

Comment: Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 4:30 PM
How about One-spotted Variant, Hypagyrtis unipunctata?
Artemisia

Thanks so much Artemisia,
Hypagyrtis unipunctata , the One-spotted Variant, as pictured on BugGuide is a much better candidate than our original guess of a moth in the genus Zale.  According to BugGuide: “Size wingspan 20-47 mm  Identification
Adult: note scalloped hindwing; extremely variable sexually, seasonally, and geographically; both sexes yellowish-tan to orangish, mottled with white, brown, and blackish; lines and discal spots on all wings black; forewing has pale subterminal spot near costa; colors in spring specimens contrast more than in summer brood; females usually larger with more deeply-scalloped hindwing; melanics commonly occur but paler spot still visible near forewing apex “  and  “larvae feed on leaves of alder, apple, ash, basswood, birch, cherry, dogwood, elm, fir, hazel, hickory, maple, oak, pine, poplar, rose, serviceberry, willow.”

Posted 28 April 2009 § Moths ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Page 23 of 69« First...10...2122232425...304050...Last »