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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown Digger Wasp

Spotted in Southern California
This bug caught my roomate and boyfriend’s eye near our front door. It was about 1/2″ long, resembled a house fly and had wings and long antennae. It’s legs were orange and in the sun the body had a blueish sheen. It killed another bug possibly a cricket, grasshopper or potato bug (something much larger than it) by biting it, then dug a fairly large hole compared to the two bugs, dragged the other bug into the hole and stayed in there for several minutes. Then the unidentified bug emerged and began covering the hole (these are pics of the bug covering the hole). Once the hole was filled it flew away. When I came home my friend’s showed me where the hole was and it was pretty well-covered, almost invisible if you were not aware it was there. What the heck is it?
Tara S.
Hawaiian Gardens, Ca

Great Golden Digger Wasp

Great Golden Digger Wasp

Hi Tara,
We wish you were able to provide us with an image of this Great Golden Digger Wasp with its prey, but we will have to content ourselves with the dirt flying in your nice action shot and the description of what you witnessed. The Great Golden Digger Wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus, feeds on pollen and nectar as an adult, but a female wasp stings and paralizes crickets and katydids to provide food for her progeny.

Daniel:
The “great golden digger wasp” from southern California looks like Sphex nudus to me, but I’m not sure that species is supposed to occur there. Also, half an inch is very small for any species of Sphex, so it could be a different wasp altogether! A shot of the prey animal would have been conclusive.
Eric Eaton

Posted 28 September 2008 § Hornets and Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Caterpillars and Chrysalis from Mexico: Same species or not???

Bright Geometrid Caterpillar from Mexico
Hi Daniel and Lisa,
I’ve finally got my pictures of the geometric caterpillars and pupae clean up to submit and am anxious to see what you have to say. These are from our front yard in central Mexico in Guanajuato State. There were TONS of them on a particular woody “weed” which I’ve captured in one of the photos so you can see what they’re eating. Whatever it is must have been particularly tasty as they weren’t the only ones munching away. There were also a couple of other unidentified larvae that looked perhaps to be some type of sawfly. But I digress. These act like inch-worms, hence I figure they must be geometrid of some sort. The final instars are approx 1 1/2″ in length and the diameter of a slender pencil. They’re kind of a snake mimic with the black, red and whitish stripes since we do have coral snakes in the area. After searching your site and bugguide and the web, I’ve come up empty-handed. The pupa turns into a small black and yellow one. Any ideas?
Stefanie
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Unknown Mexican Caterpillars

Unknown Mexican Caterpillars

Hi Stephanie,
We aren’t sure what you did to “clean up” your photos, but the digital files are very tiny and it is difficult to see anything. We agree that the caterpillars resemble Geometrid Moths, but the chrysalis is definitely that of a butterfly. Are you certain these are the same species? A photo of the adult is the easiest way to identify your subjects. Sadly, we don’t know what you have, but we will post the images in the hopes that someone can provide an answer.

Unknown Chrysalis from Mexico

Unknown Chrysalis from Mexico

Hi Daniel,
Sorry about the photo sizes, I must have not sized them correctly.  And unfortunately I don’t have a macro lens so these are the best I could do.  As to whether or not the chrysalis is from the caterpillar observed I have to say I’m not 100% sure.  Besides the chrysalis pic I sent I did see some of the caterpillars form a kind of “netting,” like a cocoon.  But I didn’t see any other caterpillars crawling up the wall where these were.  Sadly, I don’t have pics of the cocoon structures.  In any case, thanks for looking at these and hopefully someone will have an idea.
Stefanie

Posted 28 September 2008 § Caterpillars and Pupa ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Blister Beetle

Help identifying purple beetle found in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada
Hello,
We would like to know what kind of beetle this is. We found him on a wild rose bush in the desert scrub near Drumheller Alberta. He is green on his underside, legs and head and has purplish wings. He is about an inch long not including his antenna.

There is a photo matching your specimen posted to Bugguide, and Eric Eaton wrote: “One of the blister beetles in the genus Lytta, possibly L. nutalli or L. cyanipennis.” Perhaps one of our readers can provide an accurate identification for this positively gorgeous Blister Beetle.

Posted 29 July 2008 § Blister Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unidentified Longhorned Borer Larva

larvae ID
Attached is a picture of a larvae caught near our cabin in Arnold Ca (Calaveras County). Can you help me identify what pest this is? We have lost one pine tree to it and may lose others given the drought conditions. Thanks.
Larry Rillera

Hi Larry,
This is some species of Long Horned Borer Beetle in the family Cerambycidae. Probably nothing short of disection and DNA analysis will get you an exact species. If your goal is an exact species, you will need to research which members of the family feed on pine in your locality and try to narrow the possibilities from there. BugGuide is a great source for information. Beetle larvae in general are much more difficult to identify than caterpillars. We will see if Eric Eaton can provide a novice’s guide to differentiating Cerambycids from Buprestids, the two main wood boring families of beetles.

Update: (06/14/2008)
Daniel:
Ok, how to tell whether it is a longhorn beetle grub (Cerambycidae) or a metallic woodborer larva (family Buprestidae). Well, in the larval stage, cerambycids are known as “roundheaded borers” while buprestids are called “flatheaded borers.” Indeed, it would appear as though the front quarter of a buprestid larva has been flattened like a pancake, greatly expanded on either side, followed behind by a much more slender body. Roundheaded borers are not flattened, though may show some depressed areas on the thorax, as the specimen in this image shows. Buprestid larvae, as they bore, leave behind them fine, tightly-packed “frass,” often in a ringed or fingerprint pattern. “Frass” is a polite name for insect poop, and it amounts to sawdust for woodborers. Roundheaded borers leave behind very coarse, fibrous frass. Apparently, a foolproof way to differentiate the two is thus: buprestid larvae have a hardened plate on the first segment behind the head, both on top and underneath. Cerambycid larvae lack the plate on the underside (per Western Forest Insects by R.L. Furniss and V.M. Carolin, 1977, U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication No. 1339). Hope that clarifies things (seems like one has to put everything under a scope to tell the difference….). Take it easy. Great work as always on everything else.
Eric

Posted 10 June 2008 § Grubs § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Caterpillar

Identifying a caterpiller
Hi. My daughter found this on the playground in Merritt Island, FL. We wondered if you could help us identify it and tell us what type of plants or trees it eats. Thank you!
Camille H.

Hi Camille,
We thought this might be a Sawfly, but Eric Eaton corrected our error. “Daniel: Actually, the sawfly larva really IS a caterpillar of some kind. Sawfly larvae have seven sets of prolegs, the “suction cups” along the length of the body, whereas larvae of Lepidoptera have five sets. Without knowing the host plant, it is really hard to know where to begin in trying to make an identification of any kind of larva. Eric”

Posted 06 March 2008 § Caterpillars and Pupa ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Weevil from Malaysia

Unidentified plant weevil
Hellooo bugman,
Found this bug whilst walking through a jungle here in Malaysia. It’s about an inch long, and was resting on a leaf. I assume it’s some sort of weevil? Thanks in advance,
Izuan

Hi Izuan,
You are correct. This is a Weevil, but we don’t know what species. It sure is a pretty specimen.

Posted 21 November 2007 § Weevils ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Two Buck Moth Caterpillars and Unknown Caterpillar

cats?
Hi Bugman,
I just found your site and I LOVE IT!! Went through your 12 pages of caterpillars trying to identify these three specimens photographed on the high plains of Wyoming. The reddish one seems to be an Echo moth (Seirarctia echo) and the blue one most closely resembles a Tetrio sphinx moth. I know of global warming but both are neotropical, how did they get in Wyoming…hitch- hike?? Red cat photographed 7/5/07 in badlands near Douglas, WY; pasture nearby, cottonwood trees 1/2 mile away. Blue cat photographed 9/28/05 north of Lance Creek, WY; sagebrush pasture, a few juniper within 1/2 mile. The black cat was photographed 6/12/07 on young sagebrush in a high plains pasture of northern Natrona county, no trees within miles. Any help with definite identifications will be most gratefully received.
Dwaine Wagoner
Casper, WY

Hi Dwaine,
We have identified your black caterpillar first. This is a Buck Moth in the genus Hemileuca. It might be the Hera Buckmoth, Hemileuca hera, which has been reported from Wyoming. It does feed on sage. If this identification is not correct (the Butterflies and Moths of North America does not have a caterpillar image but the one on BugGuide looks very similar, though not exact), it might also be Nuttall’s Sheepmoth, Hemileuca nuttalli, another western species listed in Wyoming that feeds on sage. There is only an adult moth image on the Butterflies and Moths of North America.

We agree that your red caterpillar is probably an Arctiid, though not the Echo Moth. We have not had any luck identifying it but we will try to contact Julian Donahue to see if he recognizes it.

Correction (11/18/2007)
Sorry. My guess would be a hemileucine saturniid. Check out Paul Tuskes book on the Saturniidae of North America, which I think illustrates all the larvae. Julian

Finally, we do not believe your blue specimen is a caterpillar. We think it might be a Sawfly Larva, though we cannot match it on BugGuide. Eric Eaton is not currently available, but we will email him and hope he gets back to us next week. If we are wrong about this being a Sawfly, it might be some beetle grub.

Update: (11/26/2007)
Hi, Daniel:
I ‘think’ it is a caterpillar, but I’ve not seen anything like it before. It is not a sawfly, and I’m relatively confident it is not a beetle grub, as most beetle larvae are not that colorful.
Eric

Posted 17 November 2007 § Caterpillars and Pupa § Silkworms ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Striped Caterpillar Aggregation from Mexico: Arsenura armida

Massed Larvae in Coba ruins (Coba Q.R)
The attached photo was taken in the Coba ruins near the small town of Coba on the Yucatan Peninsula the summer of 1999. I came across the transparency recently cataloging old images. These are massed larvae of some insect, I suppose butterfly or moth, on the trunk of a tree, several feet off the ground. The scale is not obvious from the photo although some idea is gotten by noting the reticulation of the tree bark but they were very large. The larvae (caterpillars) were at least 6 inches long and round about as a man’s thumb. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since. The size of the the individual larvae and the extent of the larva mass was striking. Do you have and identification?
Philip Brody
Bethesda, Maryland

Hi Philip,
This is the third request we have received over the years for the identification of this species, each time with an excellent photograph. Though we have tried for hours, we have never been able to identify this species. The more recent request arrived two weeks ago, and the original request came in August 2006. This is probably our most nagging yet unidentified species, and we hope one day to have the answer.

Update: (07/15/2007) Mystery Striped Caterpillar Aggregation from Chacchoben
Mystery Striped Caterpillar Aggregation from Chacchoben (08/04/2006) strange caterpillars Possible identification of aforementioned: Arsenura armida www.saturniidae.com www.insectcompany.com/silkmoth /kwaarmida.htm Best of luck!
PCG
PS Saw your interview in the July 2007 issue of Sunset magazine—kudos!

Dear PCG,
The links you provided did not have caterpillar images, but we did a websearch and were led to a page with many caterpllar images of Arsenura armida. Though they look similar, we are not thoroughly conviced this is the species we have received three images of thus far. Glad you saw the Sunset Magazine interview.

Update: (06/30/2008) Arsenura armida Caterpillars
With our fourth submission of Caterpillar Aggregation images, we are convinced that this species is Arsenura armida, a Neotropical Silkmoth that ranges from tropical Mexico to Bolivia and Southeastern Brazil. We just located a website with valuable information written by James T. Costa , Department of Biology Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC.

Posted 10 July 2007 § Silkworms ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Potential Hardwood Stump Borer and a Striped Caterpillar Aggregation from Mexico finally identified as Arsenura armida

beetle and caterpillar from Mexico
Hi there,
I know you are specialized in the bugs of North America but while browsing your great site I noticed you sometimes have exotics as well, so I thought I might give it a try. Since August last year we live in Quintana Roo, Southern Mexican Caribbean and just love the wide variety of animals especially the insects here. We always try to find out what we have seen, but there are some we couldn´t identify so far. Any ideas about this huge beetle or the big caterpillars that all gathered at this tree. The cute yellow and black one was quiet small. Thanks a lot!
Jacqueline

Hi Jacquiline,
Your beetle is a Cerambycid, one of the Longhorn Borers. It looks suspiciously like the Hardwood Stump Borer, Mallodon dasystomus, which is the only species of the genus found in North America. We could not locate any images online of Central American species, and perhaps one of our readers can provide an answer. Regarding the Striped Caterpillar Aggregation, we received another photo of this caterpillar in August 2006 and it is still unidentified.

Update: (06/30/2008) Arsenura armida Caterpillars
With our fourth submission of Caterpillar Aggregation images, we are convinced that this species is Arsenura armida, a Neotropical Silkmoth that ranges from tropical Mexico to Bolivia and Southeastern Brazil. We just located a website with valuable information written by James T. Costa , Department of Biology Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC.
Ed. Note:
July 8, 2009
Back in November 2007, Eric Eaton wrote in to identify another image of this beetle as Callipogon barbatus.  According to an online website, the species if found in Guatemala and Panama though our submissions hail from Mexico.

Posted 30 June 2007 § Longhorn Beetles § Silkworms ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Buck Moth Caterpillar

Really BIG caterpillar
Dear Bugman,
I live in Appomattox, VA, and we saw this caterpillar on the trunk of an oak tree. We don’t see it at night, but we have seen it every morning in the same place. It is very large–about 3 1/2 inches in length, and about 1/2 inch in diameter. I looked through your 9 pages of caterpillars, but nothing looked like it. It looks like it would sting. I love your site!!! Best regards,
Nina Eagle

Hi Nina,
We found your caterpillar on BugGuide. It is an unidentified Buck Moth Caterpillar in the genus Hemileuca. It was found in Texas, also on an oak tree.

Posted 28 June 2007 § Silkworms ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Fishfly

Unidentified critter
Hi,
I was just introduced to your great site by my son: until now he has been my resource for these things, based on one course back in high school. I have been getting into macrophotography over the past year, and have become amazed at the diversity of insects and spiders the right here in suburban Boston area. At my son’s suggestion, I have started using a blacklight to bring out more in the evening. This fellow had a body length of 1.5 to 2 inches (4-5 cm), was a weak flyer, just sort of fluttering around. … Thanks for any help!
Mike

Hi Mike,
This is a Fishfly. Fishflies from the genus Chauliodes can be distinguised from their close relatives, the Dobsonflies, because Fishflies have feathered antennae. BugGuide has much information on Fishflies.

Posted 23 June 2007 § Dobsonflies and Fishflies ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Truncated True Katydid from Texas

What’s this bug?
Sorry about the 1st email. I’ll send the pic this
time! I know this is in the katydid family but I haven’t seen any on your web page of this color. I live in New Braunfels, Texas out in the country and we always have these every year. Both green and pinkesh. We have soooo many of the pinkesh ones this year. It’s terrible! Are all these females??? I hope not! This – Hide quoted text – year they seem to be worse than usual. There even all over my house (like 30+) it’s horrible!! Thanks for your time and info.
Wendy

Hi Wendy,
We now know that this is a Truncated True Katydid, thanks to the efforts of Eric Eaton, who got a response from Mike Quinn who forwarded information provided by Bill Carr and Dr. John Oswald. This normally green Katydid has other color variations including this red coloration. Mike Quinn also provided this link: “Dan, Feel free to link/refer to this page: Central Texas Leaf Katydid http://www.texasento.net/robustus.htm Mike Quinn, Austin”

Update: (07/03/2008) Katydid IDs from Piotr Naskrecki
Hi, I have been looking at the page with unidentified katydids (Katydids 2), and thought I could help with some ID’s. From top to bottom they are: Truncated True Katydid – Paracyrtophyllus robustus

Posted 07 June 2007 § Katydids ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

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