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Toe-Biter from Canada

On April 26, 2013 · Category: Toe Biters and other Aquatic True Bugs Tagged With: Top 10 · Add Comment

Subject: Palmetto beetle
Location: Central Canada
April 26, 2013 5:02 am
Please help me identify the creature found in springtime in Quebec, Canada (not a hot climate)…it’s about 2” in length…
Signature: Marie

Toe-Biter

Dear Marie,
A Palmetto Bug is a common name for the large American Cockroaches found in the south. This is a Giant Water Bug, a common name for a predatory aquatic True Bug. Giant Water Bugs are sometimes called Toe-Biters because of the painful bite they can inflict on unwary swimmers and waders.

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Varied Carpet Beetles

On April 5, 2013 · Category: Pantry Beetles, Grain Weevils, Spider Beetles, Meal Worms and Carpet Beetles Tagged With: Household Pests, Top 10 · Add Comment

Subject: What bug is this?
Location: Los Angeles
April 4, 2013 10:23 am
Started seeing these little bugs in my carpet last night. I am a clean person, indoor only cat, I am distraught and couldn’t sleep last night knowing what I found. I inspected my cat but could not see anything in her fur and these don’t look like fleas anyway.
May you please tell me?

Varied Carpet Beetles

1) What they are?
2) How they got in my house?
3) How do I get rid of them?
4) How do I prevent this in the future?
Thanks!
Signature: Distraught

Varied Carpet Beetles, but are they mating???

Dear Distraught,
1) You have Varied Carpet Beetles, Anthrenus verbasci.
2) They are very tiny and they might have entered the home through any small crack, crevice or gap that they found, either in the foundation, around a window or even when you were entering or leaving. The adults feed on pollen and they might have gained entry into the house by you when you brought yourself or a loved one a bouquet of posies and didn’t notice them among the petals. According to BugGuide, the larvae of Varied Carpet Beetles “feed [on] keratine and chitine, and may cause considerable damage on wool, fur, feathers, and natural history collections.“
3) You need to find the larval food supply in your home. They may even be feeding on items in the pantry. Pet hair that accumulates might also be a larval food source.
4) Most likely you cannot as they are a cosmopolitan household pest that is found in even the cleanest of homes. Vacuum more frequently and that might help.
Two of you photos appear to be a mating pair, though that might be an illusion of the camera.

Varied Carpet Beetles

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Toe-Biter

On April 4, 2013 · Category: Toe Biters and other Aquatic True Bugs Tagged With: Top 10 · 1 Comment

Subject: Large insect found
Location: Arcata, CA
April 3, 2013 11:22 pm
I found this in a parking lot at 11:00PM. Its body is 2.5” from head to tip of abdomen. It has one hell of a grip, but with some gentle coaxing it came on to my sleeve.
Signature: Brandon

On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 11:22 PM, Whats That Bug? <bugman@whatsthatbug.com> wrote:
Thank you for submitting your identification request.
Please understand that we have a very small staff that does this as a labor of love. We cannot answer all submissions (not by a long shot). But we’ll do the best we can!

Nevermind, it’s a Giant Water Bug! I’m really glad it didn’t bite me now that I’ve read about them.

Toe-Biter

Hi Brandon,
We are happy you identified your Giant Water Bug without our assistance. We like the common name Toe-Biter. Giant Water Bugs are found in many places thoughout the world, including Bolivia, Costa Rica, India, Namibia and Australia where they are called Fish Killers.

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Potato Bug is NOT a hideous monster!!!

On November 9, 2012 · Category: Potato Bugs, Wetas and Parktown Prawns Tagged With: Top 10 · Add Comment

Subject: Hideous Monster Bug
Location: Sacramento CA
November 8, 2012 1:28 pm
I have found two of these hideous monster bugs in my apartment. They walk like a pit bull on steroids. They rustle paper so loudly it sounds like a mouse. They’re enormous and disgusting.
Found in a hideous carpeted apartment in Sacramento California in October.
Signature: matthewjschneider

Jerusalem Cricket

Dear Matthew,
Where is the “hideous monster” of which you speak? This subterranean Orthopteran is at the center of a myriad of local lore. Called a Potato Bug, Jerusalem Cricket, Niña de la Tierra, Mestizo or Cara de Niño, these harmless creatures are often feared unnecessarily. Indeed, the are often the victims of Unnecessary Carnage.

Thanks for your assistance. Everything I read online indicates they’re rarely found in homes, yet I’ve only seen them in my apartment but never out back. Any ideas why that might be happening? Is it due to changing of seasons?
Thanks
M

Hi again Matthew,
Rain causes Potato Bugs to emerge from their underground dwellings. We are not sure why they are entering your apartment, but perhaps they are just wandering in accidentally while searching for food, mates or water.

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Democrat Bug

On October 17, 2012 · Category: Box Elder Bugs Tagged With: Top 10 · Add Comment

Subject: What is this bug?
Location: Dayton Ohio
October 16, 2012 11:46 am
Dayton Ohio….these showed up about a week to 10 days ago and are all over the front of the house when the sun is on it.
Signature: dayton-dave

Democrat Bug

Dear dayton-dave,
Just in time for the 2012 debate season, identification requests for Eastern Boxelder Bugs, or Democrat Bugs, Boisea trivittata, have been pouring in to our offices. Most of the photos we have posted lately are of the large aggregations that Eastern Boxelder Bugs form in sunny locations in the autumn, but your photo of an individual Eastern Boxelder Bug is quite exceptional and it will provide our viewers with an easy comparison for identification purposes. Because of the large aggregations they form, Eastern Boxelder Bugs are frequently called Populist Bugs or Politician Bugs as well as Democrat Bugs. Swing state voters seem to be especially inundated with Eastern Boxelder Bugs this year. Though they can become a nuisance when they are plentiful, Eastern Boxelder Bugs are benign creatures that will not harm your home, garden or pets.

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Democrat Bugs

On October 13, 2012 · Category: Box Elder Bugs Tagged With: Top 10 · Add Comment

Subject: Wtb?
Location: Lexington, Kentucky, USA
October 13, 2012 2:24 pm
These bugs cover the outside of our house and occasionally get inside, and have infiltrated our screened in porch. They’ve become more prevalent as the weather’s cooled down. We live in central Kentucky. They fly, they’re black and red, about 3/8 inch long.
Signature: Sara

Democrat Bugs

Hi Sara,
You have Eastern Boxelder Bugs, also called Democrat Bugs, especially during election years.

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Western Conifer Seed Bug

On October 7, 2012 · Category: Leaf Footed Bugs Tagged With: Top 10 · Add Comment

Subject: Martha’s Vineyard bug
Location: Martha’s Vineyard, MA
October 7, 2012 1:17 pm
I photographed this on Martha’s Vineyard on Oct. 6, 2012. It was a sunny day, about 70 degrees F.
Signature: Gary

Western Conifer Seed Bug

Hi Gary,
This is a Western Conifer Seed Bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis, and we have been getting at least one identification request per day despite not posting any new images lately. Your photo is exceptional, so we are creating a new posting. The Western Conifer Seed Bug is native to the Pacific northwest, but beginning in the early 1970s, it began to increase its range, most likely through accidental human intervention. The Western Conifer Seed Bug is now found across the northern portion of North America in Canada and the northern states. In the early 2000s, it also was introduced to Europe where it is spreading. This is one of our most common identification requests when the weather cools as the Western Conifer Seed Bug will enter homes to hibernate. It is not considered a threat to people, pets or homes, and it feeds on fluids from the seeds of conifers, so it doesn’t do any harm to the trees themselves either. It is considered a nuisance when there are high population densities of Western Conifer Seed Bugs.

Thanks for the quick response and the kind words about the photo.

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Eastern Boxelder Bugs

On August 20, 2012 · Category: Box Elder Bugs Tagged With: Top 10 · Add Comment

Subject: Red Beetle type of bug
Location: Holland NY
August 20, 2012 5:32 pm
We have an infestation on some of our trees with this bug. What is it and how do we get rid of it.
Signature: Thank You B. K Holland NY

Eastern Boxelder Bugs

Dear B. K Holland NY,
You have Eastern Boxelder Bugs, Boisea trivittata, which are sometimes called Democrat Bugs in the midwestern states. They are benign creatures that might become a nuisance if they are numerous as they sometimes enter homes to hibernate. They are one of our most frequent identification requests, so we often tag them with Top 10, but we have not posted a good aggregation image in some time. We do not give extermination advice.

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Toe-Biter from Canada

Varied Carpet Beetles

Toe-Biter

Potato Bug is NOT a hideous monster!!!

Democrat Bug

Democrat Bugs

Western Conifer Seed Bug

Eastern Boxelder Bugs

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