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Tag Archives: Unidentified

Tip Wilter from South Africa

wtb
Location: Johannesburg South Africa
December 9, 2010 8:08 pm
found this little guy in my garden in Johannesburg South Africa and wondered what it was……please help
Signature: dryzie

coreid south africa dryzie 300x168 Tip Wilter from South Africa

Tip Wilter

Dear dryzie,
This is a Big Legged Bug in the family Coreidae, but we are not certain of the species.  Because of their enlarged tibiae, insects in the family Coreidae are also known as Leaf Footed Bugs or Flag Footed Bugs.  We are not certain of the genus or species.  Most if not all members of the family feed upon plants.  The Biodiversity Explorer website of the web of life in Southern Africa indicates that insects in the family Coreidae are known as Tip Wilters, but your species is not represented on the site.

Posted 10 December 2010 § Leaf Footed Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown Caterpillar from Tanzania

Tanzanian Uber Caterpillar
Location: Tanzania, East Africa
December 9, 2010 10:34 pm
In 2008, I walked across Tanzania. Whilst there I ran into all sorts of fun bugs -a stickbug as long as my forearm, mantids and locusts, and even a horde of hungry siafu that overran our camp in the middle of the night (not to mention ants that can jump). After all the adventure, I took a few days on the beach, whereupon I ran into this beastie. He was big (as long as my hand), bright, beautiful and, years later, I still have no clue what he was. Help?
Signature: Corvus

caterpillar tanzania corvus 300x225 Unknown Caterpillar from Tanzania

Unknown Caterpillar

Dear Corvus,
This is just about the most unusual Caterpillar photo we have ever received.  We are going to try to search the World’s Largest Saturniidae Website, though we are not even certain that it is the caterpillar of a Saturniid Moth.  We will also try to contact Bill Oehlke to see if he recognizes your caterpillar.  Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide some assistance.    Often knowing the food plant can be of some assistance.  Many tropical insects, especially in their earlier stages, are not well documented.  Even if we are not able to eventually provide you with an identification, we are thrilled to be able to post your incredible photos.

caterpillar tanzania corvus cu 300x225 Unknown Caterpillar from Tanzania

Unknown Caterpillar

Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have any better picture of the tree it was on- all I can tell you, after a few years, was that said tree didn’t have any problem growing in sand maybe ten feet from the beach.  It was also in a relatively populated area – less than 10km south of Dar es Saalam which has been an active port city since the 1800s- so hopefully someone has managed to document this particular insect by now.
Funny enough, the beach it was by is named Kipepeo, which is Swahili for “Butterfly”.
I tried to do some googling on my own, but (obviously) no luck.  Hopefully your resources can turn up an answer! Thank you.
Corvus
http://corvustristis.wordpress.com

Hi again Corvus,
We are blown away by your website and we wonder if you are familiar with Lisa Anne Auerbach’s Steal This Sweater website.  What’s That Bug began its life as a column on Lisa Anne’s now defunct American Homebody website and we have a long history of artistic collaboration together.

Update on Food Plant:  SeaGrape
Unknown Caterpillar from Tanzania Comment
December 13, 2010 1:21 am
If it might be of help in making an ID, I believe the tree this caterpillar was on, is possibly Seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera), native to Florida and tropical America. I lived on Hawaii for some years, where it is a popular, introduced landscaping/parking lot plant, particularly thriving in seaside locations; apparently this is true in other warm locales, as well.
Signature: Dee Warnock

Posted 10 December 2010 § moth caterpillars ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

Weta from Australia, we believe

Strange bug in NSW Australia
Location: Central NSW, Australia
December 7, 2010 7:22 pm
i found this weird burrowing insect in central NSW, i think its some kind of Weta but cant find any useful information.
please help me identify it
Signature: Australian Weta’s??

weta australia 300x255 Weta from Australia, we believe

Weta, we believe

We are inclined to agree with you on both counts.  We also believe this is probably some species of Weta, a group of insects endemic to New Zealand, but with close relatives in South Africa as well as Australia whose closest North American relatives are the Potato Bugs of the west, especially the arid southwest.  We also agree that it is quite difficult to find out information on the Australian relatives and that New Zealand promotes these endangered insects like the Royal Society of Biological Sciences website.  The long ovipositor indicates she is a female.  We will contact Piotr Naskrecki, who specializes in Katydids, to see if he can provide any information.

weta australia cu 300x224 Weta from Australia, we believe

Weta, we believe

I actually have another question about the bug that i was hoping you could help me with, being a Ground Weta would the hole i found the bug in be its home or could the weta actually be laying eggs?.
thanks for the help i found it to be very useful, now that i have a better idea of what the bug is it will be interesting to keep an eye on it and see how it lives in its environment. The area i found the Weta in is a popular place for New Zealand workers and their families so it is possible that the Weta could have come over to Australia from New Zealand.

Hi again,
We would hazard a guess that this is a burrow that might be used to house a clutch of eggs as well.  We are still waiting for a response from Piotr Naskrecki regarding the creature’s identity.

3

Posted 08 December 2010 § Potato Bugs, Wetas and Parktown Prawns ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Ground Beetle

Small metallic green beetle – Agonum sp?
Location: North Carolina
December 4, 2010 10:51 pm
Hi there,
I caught this fellow in a Berlese funnel for my entomology class – it’s pretty small, probably 8 mm long. I’m thinking it’s a Agonum sp., but is there a more accurate ID?
Thanks!
Signature: Beginner entomologist

ground beetle agonum 300x232 Ground Beetle

Ground Beetle

Dear Beginner entomologist,
We find Ground Beetles to be particularly challenging to identify, but we will give this a try.  In the meantime, perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide an answer.

Ed. Note: We do not believe this is Agonum based on BugGuide’s images.

Posted 04 December 2010 § Ground Beetles ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

Parasitoid Wasp and Cutworm Moth host

wasp that emerged from caterpillar chrysalis
Location: San Francisco
December 4, 2010 10:19 pm
This wasp-like insect hatched out of the caterpillar we were raising at my school in San Francisco. Very exciting! Just not sure what kind of wasp it is, if it is indeed one. In the sun, the black had a bluish sheen, kind of like a raven’s feathers.
Thanks!
Signature: Ayesha

wasp caterpillarparasitoid ayesha 300x225 Parasitoid Wasp and Cutworm Moth host

Parasitoid Wasp

Hi Ayesha,
We can’t wait to begin to research this Parasitoid Wasp.  We wish you could tell us more about the caterpillar.  We will begin with Ichneumons.
P.S.  In our search on BugGuide we encountered this positively gorgeous Ichneumon.  We wish someone would send us a photograph of Trogus pennator.

wasp caterpillarparasitoid ayesha cu 300x236 Parasitoid Wasp and Cutworm Moth host

Parasitoid Wasp

Well, the caterpillar was eating bean leaves. It was curled up in a cutworm shape when we found it. The chrysalid had lots of webbing around it and the other chyrsalid actually turned into a moth. I will go ahead and attach the picture of the moth to this email – I didn’t want to overload you guys with ID requests but of course am wondering about the moth as well! And maybe it will help you with the parasitoid wasp.
Glad you are as intrigued! I don’t know enough about Ichneumon wasps to go there myself!
Ayesha

cutworm moth hostofwasp ayesha 300x231 Parasitoid Wasp and Cutworm Moth host

Cutworm Moth: Host to Parasitoid Wasp

Thanks for this awesome update Ayesha,
We do enjoy this type of research and we expect it to take some time.  We have several unidentified postings from today, and we are also trying to download our own photos of a Hemipteran California Black Walnut pest.

okay, cool. I am in no rush. Just glad someone else is interested, besides me!
I just checked my old emails and it was you who identified my bilobed looper moth as well. Thank you.
Ayesha

Posted 04 December 2010 § Parasitic Hymenopterans ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Possibly Seed Bug from Australia

Possible Mirid bug
Location: Sydney, Australia
December 1, 2010 3:12 am
About 10mm long. On, I think, an hibiscus leaf in downtown Sydney, Australia.
What do you think?
Signature: Mike Gordon

seed bug nymph australia 300x264 Possibly Seed Bug from Australia

Seed Bug Nymph we believe

Hi Mike,
We are more inclined toward a tentative identification of your insect being an immature Seed Bug in the family Lygaeidae.  We looked through the family page on the Brisbane Insect Website and did not locate any matches, but several of the nymphs pictures look similar to your specimen, though without the distinctive coloration.

seed bug nymph australia mike 2 300x244 Possibly Seed Bug from Australia

Seed Bug Nymph, we believe

Posted 01 December 2010 § Seed Bugs ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

Conehead from Pakistan

A very pretty pink insect
Location: Lahore, Pakistan
November 28, 2010 12:08 pm
Hi
I recently saw this insect on a window sill sitting perfectly still. I have never seen something like this before. Can you please help me identify this?
Thanks
Signature: Mansoor

pink conehead pakistan mansoor 300x249 Conehead from Pakistan

Pink Conehead from Pakistan

Dear Mansoor,
We believe this is a Conehead in the Katydid tribe Copiphorini, commonly called the Coneheads (See BugGuide).  The pink coloration may be an anomaly.  Often typically green Katydids exhibit this pink coloration, but it is not common.  We will contact a Katydid expert, Piotr Naskrecki, to see if he is able to provide a species identification.

Hi Daniel,
I cannot tell for sure from this photo, but it is a female of either Ruspolia sp. or Pseudorhynchus sp. (Conocephalinae).
Cheers,
Piotr

Thanks Piotr,
Is pink the typical color, or is it an anomaly like in certain North American species?
Daniel

Hi Daniel,
It is not an anomaly in this katydid, and it is not an anomaly in North American species either. Pink color morphs are common in katydids, although more so in some species than others (especially in Phaneropterinae and Conocehalinae), and of course there are groups that do not have pink morphs at all. The fact that pink katydids are not seen often is only testament to the effectiveness of this cryptic coloration.
Cheers,
Piotr

Posted 28 November 2010 § Katydids ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Correction: Feather Legged Assassin Bug from Australia

what is it
Location: Perth Western Australia
November 24, 2010 7:51 pm
Found this bug in the office. none of us know what it is. It was about 1.5cm long and about 1cm wide. it was tapping its fury back things. Can you tell us what bug it is?
Signature: Victoria

coreid unknown australia victoria 300x239 Correction: Feather Legged Assassin Bug from Australia

Feather Legged Assassin Bug

Dear Victoria,
We believe it is a Leaf Footed Bug, but it has several features that are unlike any Leaf Footed Bug in the family Coreidae that we are familiar with.  First off, it has antennae that can be described as plumose (see BugGuide on Antennae Forms) and the BugGuide page on Plumose Antennae pictures some examples, but no True Bugs.  The enlarged portions of the tibiae also appear to be fringed.  We had no luck locating anything even remotely similar on the Brisbane Insect Coreid Page.  Meanwhile we are posting and featuring your unusual insect in the hope that either we or one of our readers will be able to provide an identification for you.

Correction: November 27, 2010
Thanks to a comment by lttlechkn, this fascinating anomaly has been identified as a Feather Legged Assassin Bug or Ant Assassin, Ptilocnemus lemur.  Our observations about the unusual morphology of this creature remain because the antennae and tibiae are highly unusual for Assassin Bugs as well as Coreid Bugs.  We apologize profusely to lttlechkn for falsely identifying this as a Leaf Footed Bug which prolonged the actual identification.

Posted 26 November 2010 § Assassin Bugs ‡ Comments (3) ° Also tagged:

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