Mating Lunas
I Live in Northwest Arkansas and these mating Luna moths were on my deck this morning thought you might want to add to your collection.
Tony Powell
Hi Tony,
The progeny of these mating Luna Moths will pass the winter as pupae and emerge in the spring.
Peach Tree Borers
Hello!
Thanks to your site, I now know that these are Peach Tree Borers. This amorous pair was spotted in Denver. Apparently they wandered over from the Western Slope, where we have terrific peaches. I thought I’d send along the photo if you wanted to use it. Thanks for the great site!
Chris Moore
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for sending us your awesome photo of mating Peachtree Borers, Synanthedon exitiosa. The sexual dimorphism of this wasp mimic moth is quite remarkable as the larger darker female looks like a totally different species than her mate.
What kind of spider is this?
This spider has made a web outside the bedroom window. I was unable to identify it online. We live in N. Central FL. Thanks!
We are shocked and dismayed that you emailed us from our website and you didn’t notice the prominently posted photo of a gorgeous Nephila clavipes, the Golden Silk Spider, also known as the Banana Spider, on our homepage. We also have upward of thirty images of this very distinctive species in our spider archives. In our most recent posting, we discussed the marked sexual dimorphism as the female is about 100 the body mass of her diminutive mate. You photo is of a pair.
Saturnid Rothscgilidia
Hi Bugman
I recently followed the life cycle of a moth in the wild in Queretaro, Mexico.120 miles north of Mexico City. Two cacoons hatched 4 weeks ago and I captured them mating. I am attaching photos. I was intrigued by the comments on the Saturnid Rothschilidia reported from Brazil then challenged. Judging from my photos I seem to have an almost identical example from semitropical central Mexico. What do you think?
Clint
Hi Clint,
We have just logged onto the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site for the first time in an attempt to properly identify your mating Rothschildia species, and we must say an accurate identification is beyond our means. Hazarding a guess, we will take a stab at Rothschildia lebeau aroma. Perhaps Bill Oehlke will come to our rescue.
Daniel,
It is Rothschildia cincta guerreronis, sometimes elevated to Rothschildia guerreronis. Note strong presence of white scaling on forewing, just inside the marginal area, also some white scaling on hindwing in corresponding area. Many of the Rothschildia are very hard to id. … Thanks for sending images. Very nice.
Bill Oehlke
Bug love: Calopteron (reticulatum?)
Dear Bugmen,
These were in the garden a couple of weeks ago (July 13) here in Chapel Hill, NC. They’re sitting on a black snakeroot, under a maple tree, if that helps. You can decide which photo is the more dynamic!
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for sending us your great photo of mating Banded Netwing Beetles. We often get requests to identify this moth as Netwings are not typically beetle-like.
Please help identify
Hello,
I am from Southern Idaho (Jerome) and found these two beautiful insects feasting in my garden (well they aren’t feasting in the picture but they will probably be hungry after) anyway – I don’t know what they are? Horneyts? Flies? Squash Bugs? I didn’t write you right away because I was afraid I would receive a "boy your a dummy" response but I searched and searched and didn’t find this insect on your site. Close, but not exact markings. Can you help? Thank you so much for your time. I know you are very busy! Thank you,
Cindy Flowers
Hi Cindy,
We are going to begin by gently chastising you because we were hurt by your implication that we would call you a dummy when you have a legitimate question. It should be apparent that we answer the same question repeatedly (just look at our Dobsonfly pages) and we have even had to identify many times this month our July Bug of the Month, the Cecropia Moth, despite it being posted at the top of our home page. Your Wasp Mimic Clearwing Moths in the family Sesiidae challenged us. We found two possibilities on BugGuide that did not fully convince us, so we turned to the Moth Photographers Group where Paranthrene robiniae looked correct. Then we returned to BugGuide with that name and located the common name of Western Poplar Clearwing, but not too much in the way of information. We then found an excellent Forest Pest page that profiles your lovely moths because the larvae are borers in the wood of willows and poplars and extreme infestations can be very damaging to trees. Your photo is also quite beautiful and we would have been thrilled to receive it even if this wasn’t a new species for our site.
Attention … Great Spangled Fritillaries mating
Hi Bugman:
Here are a few photos of mating Great Spangled Fritillaries (Speyeria cybele) for your collection. They were taken on a perfect sunny afternoon last weekend in southwest Manitoba, along a forest trail in mature aspen parkland. The key identifying features of this species are the reddish background color on the underside of the wing, except for the relatively wide and clear yellow/cream band between the last two rows of silver spots on the underside, and the lack of any black spots or dashes on the base (inside of the long squiggly black line) on the upper side of the forewing. Apart from these features most Greater Fritillaries (genus Speyeria) are very similar and difficult to tell apart. I believe the curious intruder was another female (males are generally paler than the females). Keep up the great work! Regards.
Karl
Hi again Karl,
Thank you for your gorgeous photos and the concise species identification information for the Great Spangled Fritillary.
Update: (07/30/2008) Speyeria cybele pictures
Hi,
I noticed the Speyeria Cybele pictures on your front page, I think the identity of the male and female is mixed up. Speyeria cybele females are generally paler than males, especially westward and the color of the disc is a little richer brown. More generally in the genus Speyeria males of most species including cybele have darker scaling along the forewing veins, so I think in the top picture the female is on top while the male is on bottom and in the second picture both of the butterflies showing their topsides are males.
Mike
Response: (07/31/2008)
Thanks Mike.
You were quite correct and I did have the sexes reversed. I should have checked again. To add to your comments, many references do say that the female of the species is darker topside, but this is an overall visual effect caused by the heavier black (or dark brown) markings on females relative to males. The orange background color is always more vivid in the male. This difference is only slight in Manitoba, but increases as you go west, as you suggest (in Alberta the females can be almost black and white). Good call, and thanks again.
Karl
Attention … Great Spangled Fritillaries mating
Hi Bugman:
Here are a few photos of mating Great Spangled Fritillaries (Speyeria cybele) for your collection. They were taken on a perfect sunny afternoon last weekend in southwest Manitoba, along a forest trail in mature aspen parkland. The key identifying features of this species are the reddish background color on the underside of the wing, except for the relatively wide and clear yellow/cream band between the last two rows of silver spots on the underside, and the lack of any black spots or dashes on the base (inside of the long squiggly black line) on the upper side of the forewing. Apart from these features most Greater Fritillaries (genus Speyeria) are very similar and difficult to tell apart. I believe the curious intruder was another female (males are generally paler than the females). Keep up the great work! Regards.
Karl
Hi again Karl,
Thank you for your gorgeous photos and the concise species identification information for the Great Spangled Fritillary.
Update: (07/30/2008) Speyeria cybele pictures
Hi,
I noticed the Speyeria Cybele pictures on your front page, I think the identity of the male and female is mixed up. Speyeria cybele females are generally paler than males, especially westward and the color of the disc is a little richer brown. More generally in the genus Speyeria males of most species including cybele have darker scaling along the forewing veins, so I think in the top picture the female is on top while the male is on bottom and in the second picture both of the butterflies showing their topsides are males.
Mike
Response: (07/31/2008)
Thanks Mike.
You were quite correct and I did have the sexes reversed. I should have checked again. To add to your comments, many references do say that the female of the species is darker topside, but this is an overall visual effect caused by the heavier black (or dark brown) markings on females relative to males. The orange background color is always more vivid in the male. This difference is only slight in Manitoba, but increases as you go west, as you suggest (in Alberta the females can be almost black and white). Good call, and thanks again.
Karl
Ed. Note: (08/01/2008)
Choosing our Bug of the Month each month is sometimes a difficult decision, but we try to use a very recently submitted photo. The photos that Karl sent of the mating Great Spangled Fritillaries are positively gorgeous, and they brought back fond memories of the Dog Days of Summer in Ohio, and the numerous Fritillaries that would visit roadside wild flowers like milkweed and Joe Pye weed among others. These beautiful and noble butterflies were also among the favorites of Vladimir Nabokov, one of our favorite authors.
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