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Spiny Hornworm Caterpillar from South Africa: Lophostethus dumolinii

On January 29, 2011 · Category: Hornworms Tagged With: Unidentified · Add Comment

Green caterpillar south africa
Location: Mpumalanga, South Africa
January 29, 2011 7:14 am
We found this green caterpillar on our tree outside. It is approx. 100mm long x 25mm thick. ictures are with a large bic lighter to illustrate size. We would really like to know what kind of caterpillar it is.
Signature: Green caterpillar

Spined Hornworm from South Africa

Dear Green caterpillar,
We have not had any luck identifying your caterpillar on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site. Though we are confident that this is a Silkmoth Caterpillar in the family Saturniidae, the species identification is proving elusive

Sphingidae Caterpillar: Lophostethus dumolinii

We hope that our email to Bill Oehlke will provide an identification. Can you provide the name of the tree upon which this caterpillar was discovered?

Spiny HornwormCaterpillar from South Africa

Bill Oehlke provides a surprising revelation
Daniel,
I think it is not one of the Saturniidae. I remember being very surprised one time to learn that some of the South African Sphingidae have spines. I am pretty sure it is one of the Sphingidae, but I cannot remember which one.
Bill Oehlke

Ed. Note: We will begin searching this new possibility.

Bill Oehlke finds the ID
Hi Daniel,
The larva is one of the Sphingidae. It is Lophostethus dumolinii. Can you get me a larger image of the larva and the photographer’s email
Bill Oehlke

Thanks so much Bill. We can provide you with the contact information of the person who submitted the images. They may have higher resolution files, but we do not.

Ed. Note: We have not had any luck finding images of the caterpillar online, but Biodiversity Explorer identifies Lophostethus umolinii as the Arrow Sphinx Hawkmoth and has an image of the adult moth.

Arrow Sphinx

Dear Daniel,
Thank you for all the trouble you have gone to to find the species of the caterpillar I really appreciate it. Attached are larger images of the caterpillar as found in the tree. I am not too sure what the tree is but will try to look it up in the indigenous south African directory as it is an indigenous plant. I had to move it to another tree as it was near our animals which would disturb it – I have just checked and it has made a home in the new tree and looks like it is getting ready to cocoon (if that is what you call it). Hopefully I can follow its progress and we can see the end result.
Thanks
Jeni

Arrow Sphinx

Hi again Jeni,
Thanks so much for sending the higher resolution images of the Arrow Sphinx. By clicking on the images to enlarge them, our readership can compare the difference in quality. The caudal horn is much more apparent in these higher resolution images.

Arrow Sphinx

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Unknown Moth from Costa Rica

On January 25, 2011 · Category: Geometrid Moths Tagged With: Unidentified · 4 Comments

Costa Rican Geometrid/Bad-wing? Moth by La Paz Waterfall Garden
Location: Costa Rica
January 23, 2011 12:54 am
Hi. I shot a photo of a moth last May (May 10, 2010) of a moth which reminded me of a geometrid in shape,or very similar to a Dyspteris but with metallic Blue/Green forewing and black hindwing. The trailing edge of all 4 wings is cream colored. The body is ”fuzzy” and orange and the antennae are whiplike, not feathery. It was located on a railing near a light close to where I was eating breakfast on the ”Orchid Terrace” Restaurant. The surrounding environs were open field and secondary cloud forest with an altitude of about 1400-1600 meters above sea level. I was at La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Their Lat and Long are:Latitude 10.12.6.28 N
Longitude 84.9.41.23 W
Signature: Joyous C, Long Island, NY

Unknown Moth from Costa Rica

Dear Joyous,
We haven’t the time to research this at the moment, but perhaps one of our readers will provide an answer and comment while we are at work today.

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Grasshopper and Spider interaction in Australia

On January 22, 2011 · Category: Grasshoppers, Spiders Tagged With: Unidentified, WTB? Down Under · 2 Comments

The Grasshopper and the spider
Location: Healesville, Victoria Australia
January 21, 2011 3:55 pm
I had this cute little drama played out the other day and thought you might like to see. I tiny spider annoying a big grasshopper, I dont know what kind. Several times it swiped the spider off and each time the spider crawled back up by its web. Eventually the grasshopper lowered it down and they went their separate ways.
Signature: Linda in Healesville Australia

Unknown Grasshopper interacts with Spiderling

Hi Linda,
Your photo is quite amusing, however, we are having a difficult time trying to identify this somewhat distinctive Grasshopper. We cannot find a match on the Brisbane Insect website nor on the LifeUnseen website. The spider, which we believe may be a newly hatched spiderling, is well beyond our ability to identify, however, we do have a theory to explain the activity you witnessed. Newly hatched spiderlings often disperse by ballooning on the wind. They will climb to a high point and release a strand of silk that catches the wind and then carries the spiderling to a distant location, hopefully one that will result in a rich food supply. This will ensure that the young spiderling will not have to compete with siblings to survive. We believe the spiderling in your photo has mistaken the Grasshopper’s antenna for a twig and that is the highest elevation point it is able to reach at the moment the photo was taken. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to assist in the Grasshopper identification.

Unknown Grasshopper with Spiderling Hitchhiker

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Unknown Weevil from South Africa

On January 21, 2011 · Category: Weevils Tagged With: Unidentified · Add Comment

I need my bug identified
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
January 21, 2011 11:39 am
Dear Bugman
I found this bug today, the 21st of January, in my garden. I would like to know what bug this is and what it eats, please.
We are experiencing summer here in South Africa and I live on the highveld in Johannesburg.
I have included three of my best photos of my bug.
Thanks very much
Signature: MAP

Weevil

Dear MAP,
This is some species of Weevil, but we are uncertain of its exact identity. Weevils belong to a large family of Beetles and many of them are characterized by a long snout which gives them a comical appearance. Many Weevils are considered agricultural pests of various crops and other Weevils will infest stored foods. We will continue to try to identify this species.

Weevil

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Unknown Mantis from Kenya

On January 17, 2011 · Category: Preying Mantis Tagged With: Unidentified · Add Comment

Mantis
Location: Masai Mara, Kenya
January 17, 2011 1:03 am
Hi Daniel,
I found this little mantis inside my tent one evening here in the Mara (within the past 2 weeks). It was only about 3cm long (at the most)
Obviously, it has great camouflage for lichen and bark, but it stood out like a sore thumb on my khaki canvas.
Any ideas what family/genus it might be?
Signature: Zarek

Unknown Mantis

Hi Zarek,
We are posting your photo and letter and we will try to identify this pretty little Mantis.

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Unknown Caterpillar from Botswana, possibly an Inchworm

On January 16, 2011 · Category: Inchworms Tagged With: Unidentified · Add Comment

Very abundant inch worm in Kasane, Botswana
Location: Kasane, Botswana
January 14, 2011 4:58 pm
I have seen this inch worm several times around my home in Kasane, Botswana. Right now it is the rainy season and is the only time I have seen this worm. It is very colorful and has almost feather like spikes. I did handle it and it was not poisonous. Do you know what this bug is or what it will become. It is very beautiful.
Signature: Laura Marchitto Massie

Unknown Caterpillar

Dear Laura,
We are not entirely convinced that this is an Inchworm, a name along with Spanworm given to the caterpillars of moths in the family Geometridae because of the way that they crawl. According to Bugguide: “larvae generally have only two pairs of prolegs (at the hind end) rather than the usual five pairs in most lepidoptera; the lack of prolegs in the middle of the body necessitates the peculiar method of locomtion, drawing the hind end up to the thoracic legs to form a loop, and then extending the body forward.“ The caterpillar in your photo has three pairs of prolegs, which is fewer than the five possessed by most caterpillars, hence its method of locomotion. BugGuide only indicates that “larvae generally have only two pairs of prolegs” which might mean that some individuals have three pairs. Your caterpillar also reminds us of that of the North American Funerary Dagger Moth which is depicted on BugGuide. We will attempt to get you a species identification, and until we determine otherwise, we will archive your letter with the Inchworms. Perhaps we can enlist assistance from our readership towards a conclusive identification of this interesting caterpillar.

Unknown Caterpillar

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Unknown Hemipteran from Borneo, we believe

On January 13, 2011 · Category: Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers Tagged With: Unidentified · Add Comment

Strange Giraffe Bug

Possibly a Leaf Hopper

Strange Giraffe Bug
Location: Madai, Kunak, Sabah, Malaysia, Borneo
January 13, 2011 2:54 am
Hi Mr. Bugman,
I found this strange looking bug with long neck in a rain forest reserve in Malaysia called Pusat Sejadi Hutan Simpan Baturong Kunak. I found it near the waterfall. Can you help me out with this bug?
Signature: C.X Wong

Possibly a Leaf Hopper

Dear C.X. Wong,
We believe this is some species of Leafhopper, or at least a member of the order Hemiptera. We are tagging it as Unidentified and we hope our readership will assist in providing additional information.

Possibly a Leafhopper

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Dream of a Worm

On January 10, 2011 · Category: Worms Tagged With: Unidentified · Add Comment

description of worm, have dreams of them
January 7, 2011 10:23 pm
I keep having this same dream over and over. In it there is a worm with either a red or orange head, four white segments behind, and on the first and last white segments, there are two black legs. They come burrowing out of the person’s body, and they come out singly, but there is a lot of them. What could these worms be?
Signature: Daniel

Is the Tetrio Sphinx the source of the Red Headed Dream Worm?

Dear Daniel,
WE are not in the business of dream interpretation, but we do have enough knowledge to know that dreams are a combination of many real life experiences and sensory data that are modified by psychological impulses including fears and desires. Perhaps you have a fear of parasites. There are numerous worms that can be found inside humans, including Tapeworms. There are also some internal parasites that are insects like the Human Bot Fly. There are also many somewhat wormlike insects with red heads that we have in our archives including the Tetrio Sphinx Caterpillar, a Walkingstick from Ecuador, the Red Headed Centipede, the Red Headed Pine Sawfly Larva and the Azalea Caterpillar. We cannot say for certain that your dream worm does not exist, but since you are unable to send us an image of what is going on inside your head, we are going to have to leave it as unidentified.

Might the Red Headed Centipede cause Nightmares?

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Spiny Hornworm Caterpillar from South Africa: Lophostethus dumolinii

Unknown Moth from Costa Rica

Grasshopper and Spider interaction in Australia

Unknown Weevil from South Africa

Unknown Mantis from Kenya

Unknown Caterpillar from Botswana, possibly an Inchworm

Unknown Hemipteran from Borneo, we believe

Dream of a Worm

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