Molting Creature Haunting My Dreams
Location: Upstate New York
June 17, 2011 9:48 pm
This molting insect was found in my garden (June 16) buried in the soil. I accidentally unearthed it, and I must say that it totally freaked me out! It literally haunted my dream that night. Unfortunately, although I tried to cover it back up, when I revisited it the next day, it had died. I’m just curious about what it could be? It looks like a dragonfly nymph to me, but it was definitely in the dirt. Not sure if this is a good enough picture for identification, but I would rest more easily knowing that it was not actually the creature from the Alien movies!
Signature: Molly
What's That Bug??? Dobsonfly maybe
Hi Molly,
We really wish you had more detail in your photo. We seem to be getting more requests than usual this morning that we cannot identify. How large is it? The mandibles are the only really discernible feature, indicating that this is not a moth. Sphinx Moths are often found pupating in gardens. It is not a dragonfly either. They undergo incomplete metamorphosis. Though beetles have mandibles, we don’t believe this is a beetle. Our best guess is that perhaps this is a female Dobsonfly. See this photo on BugGuide of a female Dobsonfly.
Thanks for your reply. I wish I’d gotten a better picture of the poor guy (gal?). It was approximately 3 – 3 1/2 inches long – big! And it may not be clear in the picture, but it had double wings. The molted skin had two sets of small (1 1/2 cm?) wings, and the new ones appeared larger. When I found it, it was just under the surface of the soil. Not sure if that helps.
I love your site – thanks for the good work!
Molly
Hi again Molly,
Thanks for the compliment. All that you have added supports our belief that this is a female Dobsonfly.
Hi Daniel,
So, guess what?!? I was doing some more gardening this afternoon and found what looks to be another one of these creatures, but at a less mature stage. I was able to get more photos of it (attached).
Definitely a Dobsonfly?
Molly
Pupa of a Dobsonfly
Hi Molly,
This is definitely the pupa of a Dobsonfly.
Family Mystery
Location: Sand Dunes, Southeast Idaho, Fremont County, east of Saint Anthony
June 7, 2011 11:08 pm
This photo was taken in 1984 at the Sand Dunes in Southeast Idaho, Fremont County. I watched for 15-20 minutes while this . . . thing made this pattern in the sand. It would scoop up a pile of sand, push it out in the fan/petal shape, scoop up a pile of sand, push it out . . . I have recently re-engaged in my quest to find out what I was watching.
Any ideas what it is?
Signature: Bug Lover’s Cousin
Sand Dune Mystery from Idaho
Dear Bug Lover’s Cousin,
We have no idea what this creature is and we would love to help you solve this more than 25 year old mystery. We do not believe this is an insect. You did not indicate the size of the creature. We are more inclined to believe it is reptilian than one of the arthropods, but that is pure speculation. We are boarding a plane in a few hours and we will be out of the office for a week, and during that time we will not be checking emails, so we will not be able to provide any further assistance until we return. Our regular readership will be able to post updates to this posting, however, any new readers will need to wait until next week to have their comments approved. We hope we are eventually able to provide you with an identification.
Going on my 25 year old memory of this thing I will venture – it was:
maybe 2-4 inches long (not positive I EVER saw the end of it but I think I did)
about 2-2.5 inches circumference
entirely black except for the tip (head?) which was reddish
I saw no legs or mouth
it moved like a worm or caterpillar (a larvae?)
didn’t seem to be ingesting anything, just kept making the pattern
My brother was with me at the time and agrees with this description
Enjoy your time out of the office, I look forward to any info/guesses you might have.
Thank you.
Karl provides an alternate possibility: White Lined Sphinx
October 26, 2011
Hi Daniel and Bug Lover’s Cousin:
It is a little hard to tell from the photo but based on what is visible and your description I suspect that this is a large caterpillar. There are a number of species that burrow into soft soil or sand to pupate. I suggest that a good candidate would be a White-Lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata). Caterpillars of the species show considerable color variation but are generally striped or mottled green and black, and orange or reddish caudal horns and/or head capsules are quite common (to me it looks like it may be showing a horn). You could check out this interesting video to see if the behavior looks familiar. Here is another image from the Bugguide site. Regards. Karl
Thanks Karl for your alternative possibility.
100s of stag beetles
Location: Wayne Michigan
June 5, 2011 12:01 am
i have hundreds of stag beetles in my yard. i can step foot in my yard. with out one pinching me. i do not live by woods im actually in the middle of a neighborhood. We have also found 100s in others neighbors yards. i know they are a vital part of mother nature but is there a way to get them to move other then trying to catch them. we have alot of young kids in our neighborhood and they seem to like there toes as well as our curious animals.
Signature: Please Help Me. Sincerly Vanessa
Stag Beetle
Hi Vanessa,
Your email has us most curious. We cannot imagine why you have such an incredible population explosion of Stag Beetles. There must have been a bounteous food source for the larvae which take several years to develop. Stag Beetle Larvae feed on rotting wood. Are there numerous fallen or dead trees in your yard or in the neighborhood? Perhaps you have a large wood pile nearby. While we sympathize with your dilemma, we don’t really have any advice for you. Stag Beetles are not dangerous to humans or pets, and if they do happen to nip at skin, there should not be any lasting effects or any health concern for either you, your children or your pets. We don’t believe your Stag Beetle is the Reddish Brown Stag Beetle, Lucanus capreolus, but rather, we believe that based on BugGuide it is Lucanus placidus which is described as “Similar to L. capreolus, but much darker, elytra more punctate. Legs dark reddish brown, no light brown patches as in capreolus. Several small teeth on inside of mandibles of male–capreolus has only one.” According to BugGuide, the definition is: “punctate – marked by spots, dots, points, depressions, or punctures.” We have used the levels control in PhotoShop to lighten your image to better reveal the texture of the elytra, which appears to be punctate. Your beetle has two distinguishing features for Lucanus placidus, that as well as the toothed mandibles. We wish you could send us a photo of a large group of these Stag Beetles, possibly even a mating pair.
Stag Beetle image lightened to show punctate surface on elytra
Blister Beetle + sore?
Location: Southern Missouri
May 18, 2011 10:44 pm
Daniel, I live in Southern Missouri and have recently been waking to nocturnal ”bites” that produce an intense burning sensation but no sign of an actual bite until a day or so later, when a sore appears (2nd photo). This beetle may be the culprit because it has recently shown up in our home. I can’t find it in your blister beetle archives, however. Can you help? Thanks, Bob
Signature: Robert
False Bombardier Beetle
Hi Robert,
The beetle you submitted is not a Blister Beetle, but a False Bombardier Beetle in the genus Galerita, and it is a Ground Beetle. You may read more about it on BugGuide, including the warning that “Caution: These beetles have chemical defenses (see Rossini et al. 1997)”. Following that link to the Proceedings of the National Sciences of the United States (PNAS), we learned that the spray contains formic acid and that “Formic acid is a potent irritant, deterrent to vertebrates and invertebrates alike.” Your letter specifically states you are waking to nocturnal “bites” but since bites is in quotes, it seems you have some doubt that they might actually be bites. We don’t believe the False Bombardier Beetle to be responsible for your sores, though we might be wrong. We can’t imagine that a beetle that has chemical defenses that need to be replenished would actually expend those chemicals unless it really felt threatened. False Bombardier Beetles are beneficial predators and one should avoid handling them. We are going to tag this posting as a mystery and we truly hope the False Bombardier Beetle is not the culprit, but that would mean something else is lurking between the sheets.
What Caused the Sore???
What the heck?
Location: South Dakota kitchen floor
May 18, 2011 8:34 am
I found this on the floor. At first I thought it was something off a sunflower but found this worm looking thing inside.
Signature: Please help
Unknown Thing
We are baffled as to how to even categorize this thing. There are not enough visible characteristics except to say that it resembles a grub or maggot, but being in that casing is quite curious. Furthermore, why are there two of them? The casing looks fibrous and hemplike, or possibly like fur. Do you perhaps have a house pet with similar looking hair? We are going to feature your photo in the hopes that our readership is able to provide some information.
Karl solves the Mystery
Mysterious Encased Grublike Thing – May 18, 2011
Hi Daniel and Please help:
Your mysterious objects look to me like the mature, presumably overwintered, seedheads of burdock (Arctium sp.). If so, the little grubs are likely the larvae of the Burdock Seedhead Moth (Metzneria lappella), a variety of microlepidoptera in the family Gelechiidae. The larvae feed on the developing seedheads, then overwinter as larvae and pupate within the seedhead in the spring. Burdock is very common here in southern Manitoba and in the fall the seedheads are typically very heavily infested with these little guys. Perhaps they hitched a ride into your home on someone’s clothing, or maybe a dog. Burdocks were originally Eurasian species but they have been naturalized in North America for a very long time. I suspect the same goes for the Burdock Seedhead Moth. Regards. Karl
Wow Karl, that was an impressive identification.
Black bug orange legs
Location: Bisley, Glos
May 16, 2011 12:44 pm
100,000s of these on my chicken shed all over the place have been there for a couple of weeks wandering around not sure what they are doing or where they have come from have got a common xmas tree next to it have they hatched in it? what do I do with them the chickens don’t like them and have stopped laying
Signature: olivia
Aphids and a Mystery
Dear Olivia,
In our haste to respond to as many identification requests as possible so that we can get back to formatting the powerpoint presentation we are giving at the Theodore Payne Foundation in two weeks, we are firing off single word identifications. We continued to read your letter as we hit send and we halted at the comment you made about the chickens having stopped laying. Since Daniel had a bad experience with chickens last year and he plans to get three more hens in mid June, your comment seemed to warrant further exploration. These are Aphids, and the presence of the conifer tree nearby might indicate that they are Giant Conifer Aphids in the genus Cinara, but your photos are not that sharp and accurate species identification might not be possible. It is intriguing to us that chickens, which are known to love insects, are shunning these Aphids. We don’t have an answer, but perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide insight. We wonder if the appearance of the Aphids might be related to the egg laying moratorium. Again, we don’t know, so we pose this as a Mystery. We are also going to feature your posting in our banner of changing features in the hope of getting you an answer. If you supply a comment to the posting, then you will be notified if there is an additional comment in the distant future as we delete answered emails and we do not maintain contact information.
Giant Bug
Location: Greenville,SC
April 27, 2011 1:55 am
I found a giant bug(?) today that looks almost exactly like a root you would find in a garden. Can you identify it?
Signature: Lydia
Bug Root???
Hi Lydia,
We love your photo of a root that resembles an insect.
Root or Bug???
It was a bug, it crawls and everything. You think it’s just a root?
We have no further comment, but we would love to invite our readership to comment.
Root Bug???
¶ Posted 27 April 2011 § Other ‡ ° Also tagged: Strange small bug
Location: Girona, Spain
April 27, 2011 7:05 am
Hi,
I found this bug in my garden.
I have never seen anything like it before, could you let me know what it is & if it’s poisonous?
Signature: Alix
Unknown Insect from Spain
Hi Alix,
We just returned from a holiday and despite our posting a notice that we would not be responding to emails, we are positively swamped with identification requests. We decided to look at the most recent requests and found yours, and this one is a bit of a puzzle for us. We have confessed on numerous occasions that we do not have a background in entomology, and we need to use the internet for much of our research. Judging by the antennae, this sure appears to be a beetle, but we are not sure if it is larval since it doesn’t have wings, or if it is a wingless adult, or if it is something else entirely. Alas, we are also quite busy with our day job and we haven’t the time to research this, but we want to post it in the hopes that one of our readers with more knowledge can provide a comment. We also wrote to our longtime contributor Eric Eaton to see if he can email us an answer.
Unknown Insect from Spain
Eric Eaton Responds
Daniel:
… The bug in the images is probably some kind of mealybug-type thing that has lost much of its usual waxy coating. Pretty big for a scale insect, but I don’t think it can be anything else. Try looking up Pseudococcidae for Spain and see what turns up. …
Eric
I like This
