ID request
April 23, 2010
This pic was taken in a wetlands area in Odenton, MD on 4/222/10 around 7:30pm. If you can identify it, please let me know what it is. Thanks!
Wondering999
Odenton MD
Male Non-Biting Midge
Dear Wondering999,
We believe this is a Mosquito, but we are uncertain of the species. The feathery antennae indicate that it is a male, and only female Mosquitoes bite and suck blood. Male Mosquitoes feed on nectar. Perhaps one of our readers will know the species and write in with further information.
Correction thanks to Karl
April 27, 2010
Hi Daniel and Wondering999:
It’s definitely a male, but it looks like a Non-Biting Midge (Chironomidae). They are closely related but adult non-biting midges are distinguished from mosquitoes (Culicidae) by the way the head is tucked under, the lack of scales on the wings, and the lack of elongated mouthparts (compare a male non-bighting midge to a male mosquito). Your question is “but what species???”. Although I am not prepared to go that far out on a limb, I believe it belongs to the subfamily Chironominae and tribe Chironomini, perhaps genus Chironomus. However, the Chironomids are a very difficult group and identifications really require some serious expertise. Non-biting midges are often mistaken for mosquitoes, which can sometimes be alarming because they tend to congregate in dense cloud-like mating swarms that can generate an impressive buzz. The swarms are often focused around the tops of trees or other prominent features on warm spring and summer evenings. They occur in vast numbers in most non-arid environments, in the water as larvae and in the air as adults, and they are a critical component of aquatic and terrestrial food webs. As the name suggests, they do not bite. Regards.
Karl
Unknown Bug(mebbe beetle?)
April 23, 2010
Hi Daniel. I taken a pic of a bug while Himaliyan Trek during June 2007. I tried to find the bug info on internet but failed and so I had requested BUG ID to Eric Eaton at AllExperts.com and he suggested that it might be a “Leaf Beetle” but he wasn’t sure. So he referred me to you that you or your readers might be able to properly identify it.
Mayank Raichura
Parvati Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India
Unknown Leaf Beetle
Dear Mayank,
WE agree with Eric Eaton that this looks very much like a Leaf Beetle. We will post it on our website and we hope our readership will help to identify it.
Flies under row covers every year
April 20, 2010
When I lift my row covers, I have a zillion of these flies trapped underneath in early Spring. I’ve tried to identify them to no avail. Perhaps they originate in my compost.
Robin
North Central Arkansas
Flies
Dear Robin,
Flies are often tough for us to identify and we have to confess that we often make mistakes. The behavior you describe seems like it points to Root Maggot Flies in the family Anthomyiidae. It appears to us that the two flies in your photo might even be different species. We will post you letter and images and request assistance from our readership.
Fly Head
Eric Eaton REsponds
Daniel:
Well, there are two different kinds of flies in the image. The one on the left appears to be some kind of “march fly” in the family Bibionidae. The other (on the right) is some kind of muscoid fly (“muscoids” is the term for flies that fall into several related families). Without examining the actual specimen, I can’t tell what it is.
Eric
Thanks Eric for confirming our suspicions.
¶ Posted 22 April 2010 § Flies ‡ ° Also tagged: Could you please try to ID these beetles? Thanks!
April 19, 2010
These were two of many of their kind that were scurrying all over my windshield today (April 19); some were mating. Each was maybe about an inch long. I was parked directly under a mature cherry tree. The yellow on the windshield is, I believe maple pollen. Thanks for any help in IDing them – I searched this site and a few others but didn’t manage to come across it. Love your site, I refer to it all the time and it has stopped me from being quite so much of a bug-fearer!
Karen in Seattle
Mercer Island, WA
Unknown Longhorned Borer Beetles
Hi Karen,
These are Longhorned Borer Beetles in the family Cerambycidae, but we are late for work and haven’t the time to identify the species at the moment. Perhaps one of our readers will have some free time and post a comment.
Longhorned Borer Beetle
Karl provides an answer
April 26, 2010
Hi Daniel and Karen:
It looks like Hybodera tuberculata (Cerambycinae: Hyboderini). The genus only has two species, both native to the Pacific coast. H. tuberculata looks closer than H. debilis. I couldn’t find much information foe either, but apparently H. tuberculata ranges further north (to British Columbia) and H. debilis ranges further south (to California). Regards.
Karl
Click Beetle? But what kind?
April 19, 2010
Hello,
We found this unusual looking beetle on April 19, Sierra Nevada Foothills in California. We’ve never seen anything like it in 18 years living here. It has a velvety iridescent copper color with spots and does the classic click and flip when on it’s back like a click beetle. It’s about 1/2″ long. Thanks.
The Sherman Family
37°29′06″N 119°57′59″W / 37.485°N 119.96639°W / 37.485; -119.96639
Unknown Click Beetle
Dear Sherman Family,
We decided to post one last letter before going to bed, but we are not sure we want to spend time researching this species before posting. It sure is a beauty. We will try a bit tonight and attempt more searching in the morning. Meanwhile, we always appreciate assistance from our readership.
Unknown Click Beetle
Eric Eaton provides the answer
Daniel:
I tracked it down! I’m so proud of myself:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/166340/bgimage
Prosternon mirabilis it is. Nice click beetle!
Eric
Purple beach bug
April 17, 2010
I was on the beach yesterday and noticed a lot of these little critters flopping about. I was right near the water line, and I’m not sure if these were water critters that were getting beached or if they were beach critters that were getting swamped. They are small, about 2-3mm in length. As you can see, they have long appendages, but I couldn’t tell you for sure whether they are all legs or legs and antennae. Between the wind and the water, I couldn’t get one to stay still long enough to really see. Any ideas?
Dreamybee
Windward/North shore, O’ahu, Hawaii
Possibly Water Strider
Dear Dreamybee,
Many things in the world of insects and other arthropods resemble other creatures and mimicry is often used as a survival strategy. Our first impression, before lightening your image, was that this might be a Harvester missing a few legs, but we quickly ruled that out. The creature does appear to have six legs and antennae which is consistent with it being an insect. The front legs appear to be raptoral, a characteristic of many true bugs including predatory aquatic bugs. The behavior you describe was key to our hypothesis that this is some species of Water Strider in the infraorder Gerromorpha which is represented by several families on BugGuide. The inhabitants of family Gerridae are known as the Water Striders, and according to BugGuide the habitat is the “surface of temporary or permanent ponds, and slow-moving areas of streams and rivers.“ One of the photos posted on BugGuide looks very similar to the shape of your creature. Another family in the infraorder Gerromorpha is Veliidae, and the inhabitants are called the Broad-Shouldered Water Striders. One image posted to BugGuide from Florida and it is listed as a Marine Water Strider, Trochopus plumbeus. While we do not think that either of the images on BugGuide are your species, we do feel that they are close enough in appearance and behavior to lend credence to our hypothesis. We eagerly welcome more authoritative assistance with this identification.
Eric Eaton provides information
April 19, 2010
The “unknown creature” from the Hawaiian beach is indeed a water strider, possibly of the genus Halobates, which are pelagic (“open ocean”) water striders. There are, however, at least a couple of other genera of marine water striders in Hawaii. The person who sent the image might consult the Bishop Museum in Hawaii to see what they have to say.
Eric
Rocket Bug
April 15, 2010
Photos are 2010-04-10
Three stages of the bug
Host plant is Ceanothus megacarpus
Santa Monica Mountains, CA
Bug oozes clear fluid
Bug length ~ .25 inch
Pinetar
Santa Monica Mountains, CA
Planthopper
Dear Pinetar,
This is a Planthopper in the superfamily Fulgoroidea, but we have not had much success identifying the species on BugGuide. Your photos are quite wonderful and comprehensive. They depict the winged adult as well as the nymphs, and the white individual is a newly metamorphosed adult.
newly metamorphosed Planthopper
We like when the host plant species is identified in the letter as that often helps in the identification, but in this case, our early attempts at species identification have drawn blanks. We are going to try to find some experts who can assist in this identification, but we have additional questions. Is the host plant in a garden or is it growing wild? We believe your individuals are in the family Issidae which is represented on BugGuide with this information: “Issidae usually have shorter wings than Flatidae, and lack the warty surface on the forewings where they meet over the back. Issid nymphs have straight, bundled wax filaments projecting from the rear, not bushy as in flatid nymphs.“
Immature Planthoppers
Daniel
Thank you for your speedy and accurate reply. I am impressed.
Your ID as Issid Neaethus (photo 64951) looks darn close.
My darling Rocket Bugs are from the wilds of the Santa Monica Mountains – on the Old Boney Trail at ~1,800ft.
I have attached 3 more frames that might help.
304 - rocket bug face-off
310 - another close-up of our plant hopper
299 - this frame has 2 interesting features
1 – 2 nymphs in an alternate phase, where the rocket exhaust is gone, the abdomen is greatly swollen, the eyes have darkened and the wings are enlarged and in permanent extension. Perhaps it is about to enter metamorphosis
2 – note the clear fluid on a twigglet near the bottom of the frame – this is from the plant hoppers. It caused the ground to look like it had rained and is what made me stop and investigate the source.
At first I thought the ‘rain’ was coming directly from the ceanothus – and without thinking I tasted it – now my wife says I’m beginning to resemble a rocket bug - I do have to admit that the little guys are starting to look darn right beautiful to me – and maybe I am developing a hankering for that big-pod buckbrush – so what. She hopes I enter metamorphosis and fly away.
Oh well – it’s all for science – there has to be some sacrifice.
Thanks for your continued interest in this bug.
Let me know what you scare up.
Planthopper Nymphs
Hi John,
Thanks so much for the follow up information. We will link to Neaethus on BugGuide. Many Aphids and Planhoppers exude honeydew which is sweet and sticky.
Issid Planthopper Colony
Small Floating Worms in My Warm Water Aquarium
April 13, 2010
Whats that bug please help…i have been an avid reader for at least 3 years now and have seen your both grown to what it is now…i live in Sierra Madre Ca near you if i recall in some posts…. ok to the point i have small worms in my warm water aquarium 82 – 83 degrees they are about quarter inch in length and do nothing but float around and wiggle…what are they?..and how can i get rid of them? …the tank is about 20 gallons and houses 3 algae eaters 1 peacock eel and 2 red crabs..i have another tank same size same temp. no worms only difference is the sub-straight in the tank w/ worms is sand ..please assist . P.S i have no image due to the size and resources to capture the image .. TY
Long time reader first time caller…Sean
Sierra Madre Ca
Unknown Aquarium Worms
Hi Sean,
Your aquarium is freshwater and we don’t know if it has plants. We also don’t know where the sand came from or if there are snails present. We also don’t know how long the tank has been established, when the worms first appeared, or if there have been any recent introductions to the aquarium. An aquarium is a closed system, and anything in the aquarium is introduced when things (including plants, animals, furnishings or water) are added by the aquarist, and sometimes organisms may be introduced because they are airborne. Worms are interesting creatures. They sometimes develop from encysted larvae like the Gordian Worm or Horsehair Worm. The North Dakota Department of Entomology website has a good explanation of this phenomenon. Some parasitic worms prey upon snails, and it is possible that your worms were introduced with snails. We don’t have a conclusive answer for you, but we will continue to research this topic.
We had some additional thoughts. You may want to collect a sample and try to have it identified. You can try Nathalie at Pasadena Tropical Fish on Colorado Boulevard. If that fails, the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park may be able to answer your questions. Since your email indicates that they are free-swimming, they may also be the larvae of some species of fly. They may also be Planaria. See the AquariumFish website for additional information.
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