Spider
I live in South Jersey and found this beauty next to my shop. He is about 2" big and was going to eat his dinner, ( cicada) a bug as big he is. I will send a couple of pictures. Thanks.
Frank
Hi Frank
We get so many Golden Argiope images in that we don’t even bother posting them anymore. Yours, however, is quite special. thanks.
Southern Ontario Canada Bug
Bugman,
Photograph was taken at the end of August, 2005 in my backyard. Bug on the right in the photograph was ‘eating’ the bug on the left. What is the bug on the right?
Thanks,
David
Hi David,
This is a Jagged Ambush Bug, Phymata erosa. They are True Bugs in the family Phymatidae. They often sit and wait on flowers where they are camouflaged. When a bee, butterfly, or flower visiting fly like the one in your photo, comes to the flower to feed, the Ambush Bug earns its name, often capturing insects far greater in size.
praying mantis / wasps photograph
Hi Bugman,
Came across your site a few weeks ago while trying to identify an American Dagger moth caterpillar that I found crawling across my driveway – and found it to be a wonderful means of procrastination! 
Anyway, I snapped off this shot of a praying mantis stalking some wasps at my uncle’s house this weekend, and I thought I’d share it with you – if it’s good enough for your site, you’re welcome to post it. You could caption it: "pray before you prey", perhaps. Or "grace before meals". Just as the mantis pounced, though, my batteries ran out, so I couldn’t get any pics of the 20-second battle that ensued, most unfortunately. (The wasps "won", but the mantis didn’t seem much worse for the wear.)
Jason
Hi Jason,
We would love to post your image of an immature Mantis stalking a colony of Paper Wasps.
Wasp Attack
Here are two wasps that do not appear to be of the same species. The guy underneath is slowly spitting out drops of clear liquid. The guy on top is attached to the lower one’s rear end.
Bart Hansen
central VA
Hi Bart,
Your subject heading would more correctly read Wasp Attacked. The attacker is a Robber Fly. These swift predators swoop down on unsuspecting wasps, bees and flies. Flies do not chew food, but inject a fluid that predigests the internal organs which are then sucked out, leaving an empty shell behind.
WHAT IS THIS?!?
Ok Bugman, I live in North Scottsdale, AZ. I was at work the other night and one of our regular customers came inside and said, "excuse me, but can you tell me if this is a spider or a bird?" Bugman, I am not squeamish around almost any insect (well, except centipedes, but I think everyone should be), but this thing is horrific. I’ve lived here all my life and have never seen anything like it. And by the pictures, you can tell it was devouring a bee. Later, it dropped the bee, which was still barely alive, and mostly hollow. What the…? Please help, I am extremely curious. Check out the few attached photos. Hope to hear from you soon.
Creeped out,
Chelsea
PS-: It had a feather like hump, short antennae, a grasshopper/segmented like body, spiny legs, and huge eyes. I’ve studied biology, and I don’t get the conglamorate parts of this creature!
Hi Chelsea,
Great photo of a Robber Fly. These are predators that will devour many types of insects. They are also capable of biting painfully.
Please tell me what this bug is
feel free to use this one too. It appears the female doesn’t really have her heart into what else is going on while she dines.
Ted
Hi Ted,
We can come up with several scenarios for this Robber Fly courtship. Perhaps he brought her a tidbit to keep her still, or maybe he moved in while she was dining. At any rate, there are future Robber Flies on the horizon which is good since they are lethal predators.
Braconid Wasp cocoons on caterpillar
I never would have know what this was if I hadn’t seen it on your site yesterday! I found this poor guy on my tomato plant, he is still alive but not for long. What does he turn into? I read that this is good because him and his friends would eat my tomato plants and some gardeners purposely release braconid wasps into their garden to control these caterpillars naturally.
Steve
Thanks for the image Steve,
Adults of Manduca sexta are large mottled brown moths with yellow spots on the abdomen. We have one pictured on our Hawkmoth page.
Hungry Dragonfly
Dear Bugman,
My brother noticed two large dragonflies zooming about his yard (in Hampden, Maine) attached to one another. He thought they were in the throes of love. When they landed in a bush he managed a closer look and found he was mistaken – it was a dining ritual as opposed to a courting ritual. Best Regards and Happy Bugging
Steve Cole
Hi Steve,
This is our second Dragonfly Cannibalism in a month. Nice green eyes there.
Spiny-back orb weaver
Hi – just wanted to add to your spiny-back orb weaver collection. Wish I had known about this site last year when I first found this guy and didn’t know what he was! Decided to feed him anyway and got some pics. Enjoy!
Gregory
Hi Gregory,
What a nice photo of the Crablike Spiny Orb Weaver.
spider/ brown anole carnage
Dear bugman-
We saw this spider kill a brown anole in a swamp in Big Cypress National Preserve. It was about 4- 4 1/2" in diameter. We couldn’t figure out exactly what species it was, we were hoping you could help. These spiders are all over this part of the preserve, would they ever bother humans? We also just thought it was a cool picture for your website, we hope you use it. Thanks bugman.
Lisa and Jimi
Hi Lisa and Jimi,
Awesome photo of one of the Dolomedes Fishing Spiders. They walk on water and dive below the surface to catch fish as well as catching lizards on trees.
Cicada killer with prey
I thought you might like more pictures of a cicada killer with its prey…I saw on your site that you had only one person send you pictures of cicada killers. I have a few. Enjoy!
Trish
Wow Trish,
Great photos. What a nice addition to our site.
What spider is this?
I found this guy or gal lounging in my garage sink. I suspect it to be a widow of some sort because of the hour glass and the messy web. What do you think?
Rus
Hi Rus,
You have an immature Black Widow. Your photos show both the immature coloration and the distinctive hourglass. Great images.
