Apartment dweller
Location: East central Illinois
February 21, 2011 1:31 am
Hello,
I have noticed a few of these bugs in my Charleston, IL apartment. I noticed them mostly in the warm summer/fall months, and then hadn’t seen one until today when the weather got warm again. I have been trying to figure out what they are for a while with no luck.
Thanks,
Signature: CGB
Silverfish
Dear CGB,
This is a Silverfish, a common household pest. It seems they are getting even more common if the number of identification requests we have received recently is any indication.
2
Subject: What’s my bug?!
Location: Irvine, California 92612
February 17, 2011 6:34 pm
Hi,
Living in Southern California. Have searched and searched and can’t find anything resembling there. They have a papery outer shell, and the head protrudes by only a couple of mm.. These pictures are of them feeding off a dog biscuit – when I’ve left one they turn up within an hour from under the baseboard. This is the most so far (16). They are mobile but very slow as the head / thorax comes out and drags the rest of the papery shell along.
Signature: Many thanks, Toby
Case Bearing Moth Larvae
Hi Toby,
Your image of an infestation of Case Bearing Moth Larvae has us aghast. We have never seen documentation of so many in one place at one time. Most identification quests for this cosmopolitan Household Intruder are of single individuals. They feed on organic debris including shed pet hair.
Case Bearing Moth Larvae
Hi Daniel, thank you so much for getting back to me. This is very interesting.
From what I can gather from the internet they’re pretty harmless, so I’ll leave them be for now. Incidentally I tried them on a Lucky Charm but they seem to prefer the dog biscuit.. I think I’ve seen a maximum of 20 at one time, there are 16 in the pic I sent you. Note also in the pic that there’s one emerging from the baseboard at the top, as well as a juvenile in the lower left. Right now there are also a couple more making their way towards the biscuit across the bathroom floor, but they still have a yard or so to go.
Interesting also that they are _very_ alert – any motion around them and they go hide in their casings for a good 10 minutes.
Many thanks again, Toby.
Thanks for the update Toby. We really enjoyed your observational account of the behavior of Case Bearing Moth Larvae.
tiny spotted flying bug!
Location: Columbus Ohio
February 12, 2011 1:19 am
i have had these tiny black/brown/beige spotted bugs for about a year now. They used to only hang out in my living room window sill during the spring when we would have our windows open (we have screens, not sure how they got in). Recently, they’re abundant in my bedroom. On my walls, bedposts (metal bed) and crawling on my pillows (what a delight to wake up to!). They tend to hang around by my cats food on the carpet, but they have never been IN his food or on my cat. I have no bites. I thought they were harmless until lately I see them flying with their hidden wings around my room. But mostly they crawl. Haven’t noticed any holes in bedsheets, even checked my cats ears but they’re not in there either! Haven’t seen any in my closet either. They seem to be less than a cm large…Please Help!
Signature: Nikki Ater
Carpet Beetle
Hi Nikki,
This ia a Carpet Beetle in the genus Anthrenus, which you may confirm on BugGuide. This is a common household pest that is also responsible for doing major damage to museum collections. Your photo that includes the orange carpet amuses us.
Is this bug a plague?
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
February 9, 2011 9:30 am
Since I moved to Prague, I have seen very few bugs, but this one is new to me at all. I have seen only a few, but I was told that if I saw one, it means my place is probably infested and I should do something about it. It is a few milimeters long only,and have a lot of tiny legs around. What is this bug?
Signature: Javier Gonzalez
Silverfish
Hello Javier,
While this Silverfish does not indicate that you have a plague, they are considered to be household pests and we understand they are quite difficult to eradicate.
1
moth, fly, or moth fly
Location: Washington State
February 3, 2011 2:23 pm
Found these larvae in my toilet bowl. I flushed and more appeared. I looked in the tank and found that the tank had been retrofitted with a plastic eco insert. In the main tank there was about 1/4” of stagnant water because the water was being diverted into the insert. I think that a fly or moth laid eggs in the stagnant water and then somehow the larvae moved into the plastic insert and with every flush some get sucked from the insert into the bowl. Because I don’t know how the retrofit works, I haven’t taken it apart to check.
Signature: Amsuncow
Moth Fly Pupa
Dear Amsuncow,
We actually believe this is a pupa and not a larva, and your supposition that it might be a Moth Fly in the subfamily Psychodinae is probably correct, though your images look different from the stages of the Filter Fly, Clogmia albipunctata, that are pictured on BugGuide. Your individual is more elongated than the this image of a Filter Fly Pupa from BugGuide, however, there are other members of the subfamily that have a similar habitat. BugGuide also provides this information on the subfamily: “Larva: eyeless and legless; head darker and narrower than body; each segment with one or more dark rectangular bands dorsally; terminal segment narrows, forming dark-colored breathing tube Pupa: resembles minute grain of brown rice” and “Adults often found around sewage installations, in public washrooms, and bathrooms in homes, and are attracted to light; larvae live in organic sludge that forms on inner surfaces of drains and sewage pipes; pupae occur on the surface of the organic film that the larvae have been living in.“ Finally, BugGuide has this information on the life cycle of Moth Flies: “In the home, females lay irregular masses of 30-200 eggs in the organic gelatinous film lining drains, particularly in bathtubs and showers; eggs hatch 32-48 hours after being laid, when ambient temperatures are 70ºF (about 20ºC), and larvae pupate 9-15 days later; pupa stage lasts 20-40 hours; development time from egg to adult is 7-28 days, depending on temperature and food availability; adults live for about two weeks.“ Since the Moth Fly Pupa are on the surface, they are easily transferred from the eco insert to the tank and bowl during the flushing process. The appearance of Moth Flies in otherwise sanitary bathrooms might be due to poorly engineered, but well intentioned methods for water conservation. Thank you so much for sending your letter and excellent photographs.
Moth Fly Pupa
Small beetle
Location: Montreal, Quebec
January 29, 2011 7:06 pm
Dear Bugman!
With the bedbug craze currently going on I am very worried because I found this tiny bug on my living room sofa. Please let me know what it is!
Thanks
Signature: Itchy and Scratchy
Probably Carpet Beetle
Hi Itchy and Scratchy,
Rest assured that this is not a Bed Bug. It appears to be one of the Carpet Beetles in the family Dermestidae. You can view examples of Carpet Beetles on BugGuide. Carpet Beetles are considered to be unwanted household pests and many species, because they feed on natural fibers like wool and feathers, can do considerable damage to museum collections as well as household items.
2
Strange cocoon
Location: Finland
January 25, 2011 5:15 pm
Hi there,
I found this strange bug cocoon underneath my fridge and am a bit worried that we’re about to be infested with an alien species. Can you tell me what it is?
Signature: Freaked Out
Mealworm Pupa
Dear Freaked Out,
This is a Beetle pupa, but we are uncertain of the species.
Hiya,
Thanks for replying so quickly. Once you wrote beetle I had a thought.. mealworms. I have baby newts here at the moment and was trying to feed them mealworms, and I reckon the cat got one and dragged it off and now it’s changing into it’s beetle state. Weird looking thing though isn’t it? Thanks for replying, much appreciated!
Thanks,
Lisa
pantry pest
Location: Maryland, January, in kitchen cabinet
January 22, 2011 4:38 pm
I just found these in some rice and other long stored grains that were in plastic bags in one of my kitchenm cabinets. It looked like a mouse had eaten through the bags, but there have been no signs of mice. I have cats so I would have known. The photo of the messed up food is what was inside the bag looked like. It smelled almost like cat urine, but there had been no cats in there. The beetles are just over 1/16 inch long. I couldn’t even tell they had segments or legs until I took the photos. Nothing seemed to be moving until I looked at one with a magnifying glass and it wiggled a little. I haven’t checked the rest of my cupboards yet. Sorry the photos aren’t great.
Signature: Maryland
Infestation in the Pantry
Dear Maryland,
It is difficult to be certain, but it appears that your Pantry Beetles are Flour Beetles in the genus Tribolium. You may compare your photos to images posted to BugGuide. A more detailed closeup image that shows the antennae would be helpful for a more certain identification.
Thanks for your help. I do believe you’re right. As I continue to go through my cabinets if I find any more with antennae intact I will definitely look closely at the antennae.
I love your site.
Mary Sue
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