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Tag Archives: Unidentified

What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown Treehopper

Unknown hunch-backed insect
Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 6:02 AM
This picture was taken on 7/7/09 on a pontoon rail while boating on Medicine Lake in Minnesota (near Minneapolis). My niece is visiting from Belgium (she’s 7) and she would like to know what kind of bug this is.
Doug
Near Minneapolis, MN

Unknown Treehopper

Unknown Treehopper

Dear Doug,
We sifted through hundreds of images on BugGuide, but we had no luck identifying what species of Treehopper in the family Membracidae you have submitted.  We could find no matches with both the body contour and the coloration of your specimen.  The contour seems closest to the genus Smilia, but the coloration does seem different.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck with a more definitive identification.

Posted 09 July 2009 § Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Pine Sphinx

Coneheaded Caterpillar
Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 6:25 AM
Hi there! I found this little caterpillar at Newport News Park in Newport News, Virginia on July 6, 2009… He must have fallen out of a tree as I found him on my shoulder… I’ve searched and searched for an ID on the internet but to no avail – the cone-shaped head seems to be unique as the majority I’ve looked at that come close to the rest of his appearance are round headed… I posted his pic on our newspaper’s website and now have a ton of folks wondering what he is – it was one of them that pointed me your way ;o) Any help you can provided would be greatly appreciated!!
Anna
Newport News, VA

Unknown Caterpillar

Unknown Caterpillar

Dear Anna,
We have spent well over a fruitless hour trying to identify your caterpillar.  Alas, we have given up and we hope one of our readers will have better luck than we have had.  Our best guess on this is that it is a butterfly caterpillar in the family Nymphalidae, possibly the Subfamily Satyrinae which includes the Wood Nymphs and Satyrs, or perhaps the subfamily Apaturinae, the Emperors.  Our second guess would be that it is some type of Skipper in the family Hesperidae.  Sadly, these families are not really well represented on the internet with regards to caterpillars.

Unidentified Caterpillar

Unidentified Caterpillar

Update:
Sun July 12, 2009
Greetings Anna and Daniel,
While this caterpillar may resemble something in the Satyrinae or Apaturinae, it’s actually a young MOTH.  Please compare your photo to these images of larvae from those two butterfly subfamilies:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trombamarina/218855622/ (Satyrodes sp.)
http://bugguide.net/node/view/231428 (Asterocampa celtis)
Let me send an e-mail to Dave Wagner at the University of Connecticut, who’s the leading authority on US moth caterpillars.
Best wishes,
Keith Wolfe

Update from Keith Wolfe:
Monday, July 13, 2009
Hi Anna,
According to Prof. Dave Wagner, and Ryan’s brief comment, this caterpillar will metamorphose into a Pine Sphinx moth (one of four species in the Lapara genus of the Sphingidae family).  The green and white striping is an effective camouflage apparently shared by a number of butterfly and moth larvae that feed on pine needles.
Best wishes,
Keith

Ed. Note:
We are linking to Bill Oehlke’s posting of a Northern Pine Sphinx, Lapara bombycoides.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Thank you so very much for your time, effort, and energy in searching out the identity of this little guy!!  Please also pass along my thanks to Keith Wolfe, Prof Dave Wagner, and Ryan who spent their time researching this too!  Y’all are just GREAT – I’m going to let our folks on the newspaper website know right this sec and will use the link to your page to share…
THANK YOU – THANK YOU – THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anna

Posted 08 July 2009 § Hornworms ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Ichneumon

Beautiful Ichneumon
Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 6:48 PM
Hello! I found this incredible creature flying around in the grass on a warm June night in Western Massachusetts. I think it is an ichneumon, but I just can’t seem to find out much more. Can you tell me its species? Thanks so much!
Jamie
Sheffield, MA

Unknown Ichneumon

Unknown Ichneumon

hi Jamie,
We agree that it is an Ichenumon, and we agree that it is beautiful, but we are uncertain of the exact species. We will contact Eric Eaton to see if he can provide any additional information. We will also post your letter in the hope that one of our readers knows more than we do. We would recommend that you either keep checking the posting to see if there has been a comment, or better yet, supply an additional comment to the posting with any additional information that may be helpful. Then if a reader provides a comment with an identification, you will automatically be notified.

Update
Daniel:
Yes, it is an ichneumon, but no telling what subfamily, let alone genus or species, without the specimen in hand.
Take care, enjoy the holiday weekend….
Eric

Posted 03 July 2009 § Ichneumons ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown Flag Footed Bug from Brazil

What’s That Bug? found this beautiful insect never seen anything like it!!
Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 5:32 AM
found this insect in sao paulo Brazil in the garden of the house had never seen something
would you identify the species!!?!
thanks
William Martins
SÃO PAULO -BRASIL

Flag Footed Bug from Brazil

Flag Footed Bug from Brazil

Dear William,
In North America, members of the family Coreidae are known as Big Legged Bugs or Leaf Footed Bugs. There is one Central American species, Anisocelis flavolineata, that is called the Flag Footed Bug. Several years ago, we posted a wonderful image of a mating pair of Flag Footed Bugs. Then, in November 2008, we received an awesome image of an insect from Costa Rica that appears to be closely related to Anisocelis flavolineata, but is distinctively different in coloration. That insect matches your insect. It is still unidentified, but we are calling it a Flag Footed Bug as well. We hope this time, one of our readers will be able to give us an exact species identification. Your letter is the only one we will be posting this morning. We are busy trying to save the planet one California Black Walnut studded hillside at a time. We have a local Land Issue appeal to prepare for and though we do not have the temerity to compare our couple of acres of natural wilderness in the middle of Los Angeles, in view of the Griffith Observatory and Downtown, to the ravaging of the rain forest in either Brazil or Costa Rica, we are doing what we can to preserve diversity of habitat and open spaces in our own front yard on Mount Washington.

Flag Footed Bug from Brazil

Flag Footed Bug from Brazil

Update: Submitted on 2009/06/19 at 12:05pm
Hi! I believe Williams´s insect is Diactor bilineatus (Fabricius, 1803). In Brazil is called percevejo do maracujá, because is usually found on passion vines (maracujá: Passiflora)
Kind regards from San Antonio Oeste, in Patagonia, Argentina
Mirta

Hi Mirta,
The photo of Diactor bilineatus on TrekNature identified by Annette Aiello Staff Scientist
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute looks related to the insect posted, but definitely a different species or at least a completely different color variation. There is one posted on FlickR that looks closer, but the coloration is still different.

Posted 19 June 2009 § Leaf Footed Bugs ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

Nuttail’s Blister Beetle and Plant Bug

Nuttall’s blister beetle and true bugs
Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 6:33 AM
Hi Lisa Anne and Daniel, when I took this photo I was focused on the blister beetle. But I am now intrigued by the true bugs which I am unable to identify. Can you?
Thanks so much.
Dwaine
Pine Mtn, west of Casper, WY

P.S. Nuttall’s
Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 6:58 AM
Sorry, I know better. They are on Golden Banner (Thermopsis rhombifolia).
Dwaine
Pine Mtn

Nuttail's Blister Beetle and unknown Plant Bug

Nuttail's Blister Beetle and unknown Plant Bug

Hi Dwaine,
Thanks so much for sending us your photo of Nuttail’s Blister Beetle. Lytta nuttalli. We believe the Hemipteran in the photo is a Plant Bug in the family Miridae. We looked through many photos on BugGuide, and we believe your bug most closely matches a posting of the genus Hadronema. Interestingly, there is a photo posted to BugGuide of a Plant Bug in the same subfamily, Orthotylinae, Aoplonema nigrum, that is associated with a Blister Beetle. We will contact Eric Eaton to see if he agrees with our identification. Perhaps the plant bugs gather the blistering agent, cantharidin, as a defense mechanism.

Update: from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
The swamp milkweed beetle ID is right on.  I don’t have the time at the moment to research the plant bug beyond family level, and that is also correct (Miridae).
Eric

Posted 18 June 2009 § Blister Beetles § Plant Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Weevil from Costa Rica

Beetle in Costa Rica
Sat, Jun 13, 2009 at 9:49 PM
Hi,
I was walking my dog today in the mountains above the central valley of San Jose, Costa Rica when I came across this beautiful beetle. Can’t tell you too much about it other than it was about 1.5 inches in length and that the ends of its legs were beautiful. I’ve been scouring the internet to find out more about this thing (is it some sort of weevil?) but having limited knowledge in entomology I think I’ll leave this to an expert.
Thomas W.
Bebedero (Escazu), Costa Rica

Unidentified Weevil from Costa Rica

Unidentified Weevil from Costa Rica

Hi Thomas,
We are still sifting through our backlog for our week away from posting, hence the delay in responding.  This is a beautiful Weevil, but we haven’t the time at the moment to try for a species identification.  Weevils are in the family Curculionidae, and according to BugGuide, it is the:  “Largest family of beetles in the world with more than 40,000 species worldwide, and 2,500 species in North America.”  We hope one of our readers had an opportunity to identify your Weevil and can supply us with an answer.

Update from Karl
August 6, 2009
Catching up on weevils (3 in 1 – sorry about that)
Hi Daniel:
The first part of this is just FYI – a great internet resource. I found a little time to go back and catch up on some wonderful weevils that caught my attention as they were posted.  One of my favorite resources for this sort of thing is the digitized version of the Biologia Centrali-Americana (58 volumes!). It is a little difficult to navigate through, but what an incredible storehouse of information! The volumes on insects were originally produced between 1879-1915, but they still stand up as an incredible body of work. The two Costa Rican weevils were identified from this site. Cheers.  K
Daniel:
Re: Unknown Weevil from Costa Rica (Beetle in Costa Rica) – Jun 13, 2009
This weevil is in the genus Cratosomus (Curculionidae: Conoderinae [=Zygopinae]), probably C. punctulatus. The species is quite wide spread; particularly common in Mexico, but ranging south to Peru, and east to Trinidad. The species is apparent highly variable in appearance and ranges from 13-23 mm in length (i.e., big). Regards.
Karl

Posted 17 June 2009 § Weevils ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Possibly male Marbled Orbweaver (or Cobweb Weaver or Sheetweb Weaver

Spider beauty
Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 4:46 PM
I found this beautiful spider today (June 15th) walking in my garden, across goldenrod, lily leaves, and onto a dead stump. It moved quickly but gracefully. I have been all through my three field guides and Bug Guide, and I can’t find anything close. I live in Newton, New Jersey, up in the northwest corner of the state. Thank you!
Jeannie
Newton, New Jersey

Male Orbweaver, we believe

Male Orbweaver, we believe

Hi Jeannie,
This is a wonderful image. Based on the presence of the well developed pedipalps, the appendages closest to the mouth, we would say that this is a male spider. Male Orbweavers tend to be very reclusive, and they are not often photographed. The considerably larger females often spin large webs in the same location for long periods of time. The females are more sedentary, preferring to stay home in the web and capture insects while the diminutive male travels in search of a mate. We would venture a guess that this may be a male Marbled Orbweaver, Araneus marmoreus, though we have not seen a photograph of one. We are basing that possible identification on the similarity of the markings on the legs and abdomen of your specimen to the images posted on BugGuide of female Marbled Orbweavers. There is much variability in the markings and coloration of many of the Araneus species, and it is possible that your specimen is another member of the genus or even one of the other genera of Orbweavers. We gladly welcome our readership to assist in this identification.

Thank you so much! Your website is wonderful. Isn’t it funny, the ways we can brighten people’s lives!
Jeannie LeBlanc

Update from Eric Eaton:
Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:47:16 -0700 (PDT)
Daniel:
I can’t even tell what family that spider belongs in, and not sure if I know anyone else who can, either.  I’d be leaning toward a cobweb weaver (Theridiidae) or sheetweb weaver (Linyphiidae), though….
Eric

Posted 16 June 2009 § Orb Weavers ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Butterfly Chrysalis

Green Swallowtail Chrysalis??
Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Dear Bugman,
Thanks so much for your amazing site!! Yours is a favorite around here!
My husband accidentally washed this Chrysalis off of one of our children’s outdoor toys today. After visiting your site it looked like a some sort of swallowtail, but I haven’t seen such a beautiful green one before. He didn’t see it until after it was washed off so I don’t know if it was right side up , held with a girdle or upside down.
Also is there any way we can save it? It was undamaged and I have been very gentle in my handling of it.
It’s June st today, we live in southern central Washington State in a wooded area at about 200 ft. As you can see the chrysalis is about 1.5 inches long.
Thank you so much, Heidi
cental southern Washington state

Mystery Chrysalis, probably Swallowtail

Mystery Chrysalis, probably Swallowtail

Dear Heidi,
The main distinguishing feature of a Swallowtail Chrysalis is the silken girdle that keeps the pupa upright. Since this Chrysalis has been dislodged, it if impossible for us to be certain if the girdle was present. That said, we are not certain that this is a Swallowtail Chrysalis, but it is definitely a butterfly and not a moth. If the Chrysalis is undamaged, it may “hatch” and regarding color, the color of a Chrysalis changes as the metamorphosis occurs. We would love to hear back if and when this Chrysalis hatches , especially if you can provide images of the butterfly.

Update:
Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 8:15 PM
Hi Daniel,
Sometimes when I log in, type a comment, and then click “Post”, a message states that my words are awaiting approval.  More often, like today, I see no such affirmation, which leads me to suspect that my two comments went into a black hole.  Thus, I’m also sending them to you directly – hope that’s OK.
Cheers,
Keith

Hi Heidi,
Your beautiful chrysalis is most likely that of the Pale Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) – please see http://www.utahlepsociety.org/peurymedon.html – though Western (P. rutulus) and Two-tailed (P. multicaudata) tiger swallowtails have very similar pupae and are thus possibilities.  According to Bob Pyle’s The Butterflies of Cascadia, 2002: “In the northwest, the hostplants are chiefly species of Ceanothus (buckbrush, mountain balm, mountain lilac) east of the Cascades, red alder and cascara on the west side;  ocean spray, serviceberry, and bittercherry are also used, and we observed oviposition and reared it on hardhack (Douglas spiraea).”  Do any of these shrubs/trees grow on your property?  I hope the butterfly emerges OK . . . even better if your family can watch it do so (typically in the morning).  Good luck!
Best wishes,
Keith Wolfe

Posted 02 June 2009 § swallowtail caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Jumping Spider eats Robber Fly in Australia

Salticid kills Asilidae Foodchain
Sat, May 23, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Hi guys,
Got this picture today of a Jumping Spider catching a tiny Robberfly. The spider is one I have been trying to identify with the help of the University of Southern Queensland but there are over 500 species most of which have never been photographed so it is proving quite difficult. Hope you like the shot
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia

Jumping Spider eats Robber Fly

Jumping Spider eats Robber Fly

Hi Trevor,
We cannot believe how far we had to go back in our email inbox to retrieve your letter which we were too busy to post when we first noticed it.  Summer is approaching in the northern hemisphere and our mail is increasing to the point that we must virtually ignore much of it.  Thanks for sending us your awesome image of a Jumping Spider feeding upon a Robber Fly.

Posted 29 May 2009 § Jumping Spiders § Robber Flies ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

Possibly Glowworm (or maybe Cicada Parasite Beetle)

Interesting Antennae
Mon, May 25, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Hello, Bugman,
A long time ago I spotted this interesting insect in my laundry room. It is dark brown, with black wings, thin, has a relatively small head and, maybe most importantly, has curled, feathery antennae. It is approximately 1.5 to 2 centimeters long. The bug was found in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in January (summer). The weather was quite hot on that night (about 30° Celsius).
Thanks in advance! Keep up with the great site!
Ricardo
Sao Paulo, Brazil

possibly Glowworm

possibly Glowworm

Hi Ricardo,
Often with exotica, we are totally clueless as to identity. That said, we believe this is a beetle, possibly a male Glowworm in the family Phengodidae, or maybe a Fire Colored Beetle in the family Pyrochroidae. We would favor a Glowworm. Hopefully, a reader will be able to assist in a more accurate identification.

possibly Glowworm

possibly Glowworm

Update: A Differing Opinion
Hi Daniel:
Since the antennal appendages are lined up along one side only (bilaterally asymmetrical), I think this guy might be in the family Rhipiceridae (=Rhipiceratidae). It is difficult to find much useful information or photos for this relatively obscure group, but I believe it may be a species of the genus Rhipicera (=Rhipidocera) which occurs in Brazil (31_rhipiceratidae) and Australia . In Australia they are called feather-horn beetles. Another candidate genus could be Callirhipis (=Callirrhipis), another Old and New World genus. As you may have gathered, the taxonomy for this group is rather confusing. There is agreement that both of the above genera belong to the Suborder Polyphaga, along with the North and South American genus Sandalus, but there is little agreement regarding their placement in the same family, or even superfamily. Most “Rhipicerid” larvae are parasites on cicada larvae; the Bugguide refers to the Rhipiceridae as cicada parasite beetles (alternatively cedar beetles). Or I could be on the wrong track altogether. Regards.
Karl

Posted 26 May 2009 § Glowworms ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Costa Rican Moth is Acraga coa

orange moth in costa rica
Fri, May 15, 2009 at 5:07 PM
I found this moth in costa rica on the eastern coast near panama, what kind is it?
jes
gandoca, costa rica

Unknown Moth

Acraga coa

Dear Jes,
We are relatively certain we posted this species or a very similar species in the past, but alas, we have not been able to locate an image in our vast archives. We suspect this may be an individual in the family Lasiocampidae that includes the Tent Caterpillar MOths and Lappet Moths. Hopefully, one of our readers will write in with a correct identification.

Unknown Moth

Acraga coa

Update: Sun, May 17, 2009 at 9:04 AM
Hi Bugman:
It’s a beautiful shot, but a little hard to identify because of the head-on view. I believe it is in the family Dalceridae (Dalcerid moths), a relatively small family of neotropical moths. Orange coloration and very fuzzy legs are typical for the group. The Dalcerids are related to the Megalopygidae and Limacodidae, and the three families are sometimes collectively known as “slug caterpillars”. Whereas many of the Megalopygidae and Limacodidae possess stinging hairs, Dalcerid larvae are covered in gelatinous tubercles which probably deter attacks from predators. I think Jes’s moth may be in the genus Acraga , possibly A. coa . Regards.
Karl

Hi Daniel:
I just found the previous post of this moth on WTB (I should have checked first). Excellent photos and an identification by Dr. Scott Miller at the Smithsonian Institution.
Karl

Thanks Karl,
It is a little sad that we could not quickly locate this identification in our own archives.

Posted 17 May 2009 § Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Cicada

Cicada
Mon, May 11, 2009 at 11:40 AM
What kind of cicada is this? I found it today in my garden. I live in Pinetop, Arizona, which is around 7000 ft. elevation.
Thank you,
Diana Jeanne
Pinetop, Arizona

Unidentified Cicada

Unidentified Cicada

Hi Diana,
We are posting your wonderful photo of a Cicada in the hopes that one of our readers will be able to identify the species properly.

Identification: Wed, 13 May 2009 00:16:25 -0700
Daniel:
Oh, the unidentified cicada from Pinetop, Arizona is likely in the genus Platypedia, or a related genus. Males lack the tympanal organs of the more familiar cicadas. Instead, they tap their wings against whatever they are perched on.
Keep up the great work!
Eric Eaton

Posted 12 May 2009 § Cicadas ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

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