Prionus emarginatus – A Female!
Hi Daniel, Bob and Eric,
I am writing to share one more round of photos. These are Vicki’s best shots out of at least 50! Vicki found this at her boyfriends house, which is 2 miles west of our house, more in the farm lands as we live in the little town. Their house is surrounded by Timothy Hay fields. She is not as fuzzy underneath but there is hair there.
Jo
Elbert, Colorado
Hi Jo,
That female is sure a behemoth. We have been very busy preparing for our Getty lecture and have not had time to check emails. We are curious about the size difference between the males and the female. Did Bob or Eric write back with any comments?
We would love to hear from an expert on this. Since we were totally unaware of this unusual Prionid before your original letter, we wonder if this degree of sexual dimorphism is typical, or if this is a female of anther species in the genus.
Hi Daniel,
Actually they both answered back. I have also sent this beetle and a few males to Bob as requested so he will be able to confirm as far as a novice could tell she were mating with the two males for about an hour. Eric Said: “Holy cow! That is the most incredible sexual dimorphism I have ever seen in that genus! I had no idea….” Bob Said: “COOL!!!! I’ve never seen a female of that species
Identification please
Hi,
I found 6 or 7 of these ‘bug’s flying around our yard in South Texas ( 20 miles South of San Antonio ) I think they are a Mydas fly but my Wife thinks they are some kind of bee please identify. We think they were attempting to mate. A humming bird flew by and was dwarfed by the size of these ‘ bugs’ . The images attached are compressed if needed I can send full size files. Weather 85 degrees, South east wind approx 5 Mph. Time 10:09 AM. Many thanks in advance
Nigel & Veronica Hutchings
Hi Nigel and Veronica,
Thank you so much for including the wind speed and direction. We don’t know what to do with that information, but we are tremendously amused because of the number of requests we receive where “my back yard” constitutes a location. These are Robber Flies, more specifically, Bee Killers in the genus Mallophora. There are five representatives of the genus posted on BugGuide, and your specimen appears to be Mallophora leschenaulti. All the individuals on BugGuide of Mallophora leschenaulti, which was given the common name Belzebul Bee Eater, hailed from Texas and the species is also reported from Mexico. We wonder, perhaps, if Belzebul is a misspelling of Beelzebub or Beelzebul. The outstretched forelegs on the suitor reminds us a bit of Harpo Marx chasing the girls in his signature comedy routine. Your photos are awesome.
What is this bug?
I am typically pretty brave around bugs, but for some reason this one scared me. The first time I saw it I thought it might be a wasp, but after some research I believe it is some kind of fly. I am used to the various bettles and garden pests that come with growing a garden, but this is the first year I remember seeing these. I think it is also a fine addition to your “Bug Love” page. Please help with the identification.
Jamie
Hi Jamie,
Your mating Squash Vine Borers, Melittia cucurbitae, are wasp mimic moths.
¶ Posted 13 July 2008 § Moths ‡ ° Also tagged: what are these bugs?
Hi!
My name is Sarah. Attached are pictures of some moths that I found mating on my husband’s car. I’m in Jacksonville, Florida the beaches area. Any idea as to what they may be? Thanks!
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
When we first sent you the rather truncated response with just the Polyphemus Moth identification, we had every intention of formatting your lovely photos and posting them. We especially like that your photos demonstrate a change in position and open and closed wing views. Thanks for your lovely addition to our archives.
Pink Striped Oakworm Moths “Bug Love”
Species: Anisota virginiensis
Location: Gainesville State College, Oakwood, Hall County, GA, USA
Date/Time: 8 JUL 2008/1210 hrs
The last things I expected to see after my math test were these lovely pink striped oakworm moths “in flagrante delicto” about five feet up a large tree-trunk. According to www.butterfliesandmoths.org , they usually mate in the morning, but I guess these guys were late risers (or long maters!). Unfortunately, I didn’t have my digital camera with me at the time, so a friend took the picture on his phone. With the reduced image quality, the almost impossible fuzziness of the moths is lost, as well as the amazing luster of their colors. The male’s body was not dark brown, as the aforementioned site suggests, but was instead a deep red-purple and orange. Finding these moths made my day, test and all!
Jon-Jacob Deal
Photo by Brian Edgar
Hi Jon-Jacob and Edgar,
Thanks for sending us this romantic image of mating Pink Striped Oakworm Moths.
Hi, we found these bugs in the road, we think they are privit hawks but arent 100% We moved them out of the road because they would have been squashed and are now in our garden. We live in the south of england.
Danny
Hi Danny,
Your identification of the Privet Hawk-Moth, Sphinx ligustri, is correct.
milkweed beetle soap opera
Hello,
This series of photos might be fun for your bug love page. I found these mating red milkweed beetles in a milkweed patch near my house in Danielsville, PA. A third milkweed beetle came along and climbed on the back of the bottom bug, pushing off the top bug. They then stood there headbutting for a couple minutes, and then all three went their separate ways. I guess you could call the third one a homewrecker. 
The “homewrecker” arrives and tries to push the top beetle back off the one on the bottom. There’s a standoff of sorts as the one on top from the couple refuses to back off for a few moments. But the “homewrecker” persists. The beetle on the top relents and backs off. The top beetle continues to back away from the new couple, just before the “homewrecker” decides to walk away too. … BTW, I love your site and use it all the time. I recently was able to identify a swamp milkweed leaf beetle and your site was also where I discovered the little reddish spider like creatures I had seen were wheel bug nymphs. Thanks!
Johanna
Hi Johanna,
We love your account of this sexual melodrama between Red Milkweed Beetles. We do wonder though why the victor decided to relinquish his conquest.
Boxelder bugs.
Hi folks!
Two pictures, one of Boxelder Bugs (Boisea trivittata) mating for your Bug love page, and one of a box elder nymph. Sending you the full sized pics so you may crop as needed. They’re also called Garage Bugs, and oddly enough, these bugs were on my garage door!
Cheryl-Anne Miller
Hi Cheryl-Anne,
Thanks for contributing to our Boxelder Bug archive.
Comment: (07/02/2008) THANK YOU..
hahah im so glad you guys answered the boxelder bug question 9078787697867657956 times. i spent all day trying to figure out what they were to see if they were harmful and your site is the only one that helped me.
p.s. im also glad you don’t offer extermination advice. i love bugs. keep up the good work guys.
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