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Tag Archives: bug of the month

What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month: January 2007 – Potato Bug

Please tell me what It is.
Hi Bugman,
I hope you could tell me what this is too. I found this in Los Angeles, California near DownTown Los Angeles on December 14, 2006. It didn’t move even if I threw a quarter or a penny. It’s more than 2"x1"x1". I believe it doesn’t have any wings and the shape might look like a bee w/o wings, or a giant ant. Hope to hear from you soon. Best Regards,
Tak S.

Hi Tak,
This is probably our most common insect query subject from southern California. This is a Potato Bug or Jerusalem Cricket. They are subterranean dwellers that are often discovered in gardens, especially in the winter and spring during rainy season. Potato Bugs are in the family Stenopelmatidae, and in the genus Stenopelmatus. They eat roots and tubers. Because of their unusual appearance, there are many myths and superstitions about these fascinating creatures.

Posted 29 December 2006 § Potato Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Bug of the Month: December 2006 – Western Conifer Seed Bug

Winter migration of these into my house
What is this? It seems they come into my house located in Cumberland, Maine every winter. We also have them in Dover, NH but fewer. They seem to be some sort of harmless bug, maybe a form of grasshopper? Picture attached. Thanks
Russell

Hi Russell,
This is a Western Conifer Seed Bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis. It is native to the Pacific Northwest, but has migrated east over the last century. They often enter homes in the fall. We have decided to make this our featured Bug of the Month for December.

Posted 02 December 2006 § True Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Bug of the Month: November 2006 – Boxelder Bug

Bug on House — Please Help Identify
Bugs like the attached are all over my house. They can fly. Please help me identify them.
Thank you!

This is an Eastern Boxelder Bug, Boisea trivittata. We get so many identification requests in the fall that we have decided to make it the bug of the month for November. Boxelder Bugs are True Bugs with incomplete metamorphosis. The immature nymphs are wingless replicas of the adults, but appear more red as the wings are not covering the coloration on the abdomen. Boxelder Bugs are noteworthy in that they form large aggregations of nymphs and adults, and they seek shelter indoors as the weather cools. Turn to BugGuide for additional information. We have numerous advertisers who guarantee to exterminate them, but there are also several home remedies that have reported success rates.

Soap against Boxelder Bugs
(02/03/2005) A WAY TO ELIMINATE BOX ELDER
HELLO, I AM FROM NEW YORK STATE AND WE HAVE A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE BOX ELDER BEETLES. THEY ARE ALL OVER OUR TREES, OUR POOL DECK AND OUR HOME. OUR NEIGHBOR ONE DAY WAS DOING HER LAUNDRY AND SAW ONE IN THE BASEMENT SO SHE SPRAYED IT WITH A DETERGENT SOLUTION SHE HAD IN A BOTTLE. THE BEETLE DIED IN NO TIME. AFTER THAT WE WOULD FILL UP OUR 2 GALLON SPRAYERS AND PUT A CAP OR TWO OF LAUNDRY SOAP IN IT AND SPRAY THESE BEETLES. THEY DO DIE FROM THIS SOLUTION. THIS IS A CHEAP SOLUTION AND A NON TOXIC SOLUTION.
DEBBIE FENCLAU

Posted 30 October 2006 § Box Elder Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month: October 2006 – Black Witch Moth

Ed. Note: (09/30/2006) Though this letter came to us last year, the abundance of identification requests in late September and October influenced our decision to make the Black Witch Moth the Bug of the Month. It also has a great common name for the Halloween season.
(10/06/2005) What kind of moth is this?
Joe Greco

Hi there Joe,
The Black Witch Moth is very common in the tropical regions of Central and South America, and can also be found occasionally in Florida and the Gulf states. Occasionally specimens, usually females, are found in the North. In the Fall, they are even reported from as far north as Canada. When they fly around lights at night, they look like enormous bats. When we stayed in a country home in Puebla Mexico, they commonly flew into the house and rested on the walls near the ceiling until nightfall, when they would fly away. Thank you for a great photo.

Update:
(10/15/2005) Black Witch
Hola Bugman,
You seem to be relying on some outdated sources of information about the black witch moth, namely: Covell, C.V. 1984. Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. Powell, J.A. & C.L. Hogue. 1979. California Insects. University of California Press, Berkeley. 388 pp. Current taxonomy is: Ascalapha odorata. Both males and females (in equal proportions) migrate north starting at the end of May, not late summer. They regularly (probably annually) reach Canada, as I know of some 30 Canadian records. They are actually most common across the Southwest, not in the Gulf coast states of LA, MISS, Alabama… They do breed in the US as larvae have been found in Southmost Texas and due to their abundance in Florida, they much breed there as well. More BWM info here: North American Black Witch Records http://www.texasento.net/witchna.htm
Natural History of the Black Witch http://www.texasento.net/witch.htm
Black Witch – Storm Information www.texasento.net/witch_storm.htm
Early Northern 2005 BWM Records www.TexasEnto.net/witch_north.htm
Hope this helps…
Mike
Texas Entomology
www.TexasEnto.net

Posted 24 August 2006 § Black Witch ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Bug of the Month: September 2006 – Hickory Horned Devil

hickory horned devils
Hi, Daniel and Lisa Anne,
Today at ~ 6:30 PM I took some pictures of the hickory horned devils (HHDs), three days after the last ones. I acquired a number of images, and am sending ten of them**. In a few of these pictures, a katydid (or so it appears) decided to have a chat with the hickory horned devils, but who knows what they said to each other. In one picture, I framed all three at once. They are still 4.5 ” long, and it surprises me that none of the three have been eaten by anything. Here they are: … Is it usual to see this many survive to adulthood from one batch of eggs? All I can say in defense of me sending y’all this many pictures is that you challenged me to do better! It would be interesting to me to see which ones you like, and don’t like. I enjoy nature photography and want to do it better. Best Regards,
Glenn

Hi Again Glenn,
We went for a classic pose that is, in our minds, a definitive Hickory Horned Devil, Citheronia regalis, image. We are pleased to use your excellent photograph as the Bug of the Month for September, the month we get the most letters requesting the identification of this impressive caterpillar.

Posted 24 August 2006 § Silkworms ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Bug of the Month: September 2006 – Hickory Horned Devil: first of the season!!!

hickory horned devls
Dear Bugman,
I have three awesome, fearsome-looking hickory horned devils devouring a small sumac tree on my property. My best friend in town is actually an honest-to-goodness entomologist, and he showed me what the adult royal walnut moth looks like too. It would be a privilege to see the lovely adult morph next spring. The caterpillars are probably 5 inches long now-I’ve been watching them for a week or so now. My kids, and especially my two girls, think they are the coolest bugs what ever were. I’ve attached two pictures of them to this email. Enjoy them or post them as you see fit.
Cheers,
Glenn A. Marsch
Physics guy, Grove City College
P.S. When do the moths leave the pupa, and is there any way I might attract the adult moth, or know better how to find them?
P.S.S. Great website! Thank you!

Hi Glenn,
We are so excited to get the first Hickory Horned Devil photos of the season. We usually get the final caterpillar instar images in September when they turn green and leave the trees to pupate. We have been considering the Hickory Horned Devil for the bug of the month for September and would like to request an additional photo once your tenants turn green. BugGuide has an excellent documentation of the caterpillar from egg through several molts. The adults emerge in June and July judging by the identification requests we receive at that time. You probably don’t have much of a problem attracting the adult moths since you have caterpillars on your sumac. Adults do not eat, and the only way to attract them is with pheromones from the female and with food plants. Thanks again for the wonderful contribution.

(08/22/2006)
Dear Bugman,
Now you’ve gone and done it. My scientist mode has kicked in and I thought I’d take pics of the hickory horned devils every other day to see how they morph. The caterpillars are 4.5 inches long, not 5.0–I had my daughter Betsy measure the one stretched lengthwise on the sumac leaf rib (”hickory horned devil 8-21 B”). They do seem to be greener. They have moved from leaf to leaf and if they don’t pupate for a few weeks, they might denude the whole branch of that small sumac sapling. I have noticed that they are frequently found hanging halfway off the rib of the composite sumac leaf, as you can see in the second photo, “hickory horned devil 8-21 d.” If it bugs you (pun sorta intended) for me to send you too many photographs, I’ll stop, I promise. I do think these things are wonderful. We’re trying to observe without disturbing them, which so far seems to be working, because they’re getting as fat as Heimlich in A Bug’s Life–we sure aren’t putting them off their feed. Again, feel free to use any of these photographs. If you do post them on your website, and if you credit them (I really don’t care), could you please credit them to Steve Jenkins and Glenn Marsch. Steve is the entomologist at Grove City College who identified them for me. We’ve had a great time watching them. Cheers,
Glenn

Hi again Glenn,
Your new photo is gorgeous, and there has been a molt between now and the previous image. Both of us are photography instructors and your photos are quite excellent. As we already said, we are contemplating the Hickory Horned Devil as the Bug of the Month for September. If you do not get us a better photo, and we expect you will (we are notorious for pushing our students to the limits of their potential) then we will use your most recent photo as the Bug of the Month image, but will need to edit your letters slightly. Thanks so much

(08/24/2006)
Hi, Daniel and Lisa Anne,
Thanks very much indeed for your kind comments regarding my photographs. I appreciate you adding one of my photos to your caterpillar page. I’m not a trained photographer and I don’t have fancy equipment, but I do try to compose my photos as best I can. Beauty is sometimes a rare thing in this world, but I try to see it where I can, and even mathematical physicists use standards of beauty in their theories: a spare, severe kind of beauty, perhaps, but beauty nonetheless to those trained to see it. (I’m not a mathematical physicist!) It’s raining here today but I’m going to try to get a few more pictures of the hickory horned devils this afternoon. I will do my best to up the ante and take better photos than the last ones!

Posted 21 August 2006 § Silkworms ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Bug of the Month: August 2006 – Golden Orb Weaver

Argiope aurantia
what a great site you have, though it’s late here, and I think I may have dreams of creepy crawlies all night long. I found this pider which I believe is an Argiope aurantia in my front garden this evening while weeding. I was digging into the middle of the Daylilies when a movement caught my eye….very close movement. This beauty was hanging about 2" from my nose as I turned toward the movement. Just reminds us that no matter how much we think we control our flower patches, nature is just waiting to jump out and give us the heebie jeebies…. thanks
Mike Kunnick
Minneapolis. Minnesotbra

Hi Mike,
With August rapidly approaching, it is time to choose a new Bug of the Month. We have been considering the Golden Orb Weaver, Argiope aurantia as a perfect candidate, and your photo arrived just in time to be prominently featured at the top of our homepage throughout the month of August. This gorgeous female is a textbook example of the species, and your photo also shows the stabilimentum, the zigzag pattern she weaves into her web to help camoflauge her.

Posted 25 July 2006 § Spiders ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Bug of the Month: July 2006 – Polyphemus Moth

What kind of moth is this?
This moth is clinging to my front screendoor. Can you tell me what it is? Thank you,
Elaine K. Goldsberry

Hi Elaine,
This is a female Polyphemus Moth, Antheraea polyphemus. The Audubon Guide lists it as east of the Rocky Mountains, but according to Hogue, it is sometimes found in the Los Angeles Basin. The Polyphemus Moth is one of our Giant Silk Moths or Saturnid Moths. Adults do not eat and live just to mate. Since the Audubon Guide lists the flight of the adult moth in July, and since we get many questions regarding this moth in the summer, we have chosen it as our Bug of the Month for July 2006. We are currently experiencing and internet dilema, and are being forced back to dial-up. We will post and answer very very few letters in the next week, but we felt we needed a new Bug of the Month. Thanks for your worthy submission.

Update: (07/03/2008) polyphemous moth correction?
hi guys i love your site thank you!
the reason im writing is to let you know that the polyphemous moth is and has been in josephine county oregon my entire life and im older than dirt! we find them on storefronts in grants pass every year at about this time. i live on the north county line and had one on my door just a week ago (it is shown in oregon by the big sky moths website too.) no need to publish this just thought u would like to know..
Edna

Posted 30 June 2006 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Bug of the Month: June 2006 – Male Dobsonfly

Dobson fly
Based on other photos on you site I believe this is a photo of a Dobson fly. Am I correct? This Insect was photographed near the Hiawasse river in Murphy NC.
Thanks.
Richard

Hi Richard,
Yes, this is a male Dobsonfly. Despite those formidible looking jaws, he is harmless. Now that summer is arriving, we expect to get many queries targeting the Dobsonfly. Fishermen use the equally fearsome appearing larvae, known as Hellgrammites, as bait. Your photo is marvelous, and we have decided to feature it near the top of our webpage for the entire month.

Posted 14 June 2006 § Dobsonflies and Fishflies ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

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