an aquatic lawn shrimp?
Wed, May 6, 2009 at 3:11 PM
hi, i have found these swimmers in a stray cat’s drinking bowl that someone has set up in the woods, not far from a busy road. ill take it as the bowl is never dumped out if these lived in them. fortunately i had a big ziploc bag and collected the specimen, and was kind enough to wash their bowl and poured bottled water in it, and was greeted by two grateful beautiful longhaired cats. i was able to collect 11 of them but some died in transit, i placed the little guys in my fishtank and its been a few hours and theyre still okay. i took pictures and a couple videos with my fujifilm camera aided with a 10x triplet magnifier with the intent to send in the photos here, i am actually surprised that on the frontpage was a photo of dead lawn shrimps and they looked very similar to what i have found, except i found my little guys a live and swimming in a kitty bowl.
dogafin
pensacola, fl
Freshwater Shrimp
Dear dogafin,
Your observation that your specimens resembled the Lawn Shrimp was quite astute. We are certain that your specimens are also Crustaceans, quite possibly Freshwater Shrimp in the genus Gammarus. Gammarus and Lawn Shrimp are both in the order Amphipoda. We located a fishing website that has information on Gammarus which are also known as Scuds. The The Backyard Arthropod Project A Field Guide to the North Side of Old Mill Hill, Atlantic Mine, MI also has some good information. We might be way off base here with the genus ID because the location was so odd. We can only guess that at one point the cat bowl was filled with water from a pond inhabited by the Crustaceans. We gladly welcome a professional identification on this somewhat odd sighting.
Freshwater Shrimp
Fri, May 8, 2009 at 6:34 AM
Dear WTB,
I’ve worked on benthos of the Great Lakes and inland lakes in Michigan for close to ten years now and have seen a few amphipods in that time. From these pictures its difficult to say much more than an amphipod. If there’s a pond or lake near by its possible that these could, at the very least, be in the family gammaridae but the could also be Hyallela. The way to determine this is to see if there are accessory flagella (small segmented appendage) on the 4th segment of the first (top pair) of antennae. If there’s no flagellum its Hyallela; if there is a flagellum its more likely to be Gammarus or at least in the family gammaridae.
carterg,
Ann Arbor, MI
Angola Bug
Mon, May 4, 2009 at 4:54 AM
Please can you help identify this bug. As someone who has an allergy to wasp stings I would very much like to know if it can sting. Photos taken 3rd May 2009 in a garden in Luanda, Angola
Andy Mac
Luanda, Angola, West Africa
True Bug from Angola
Dear Andy Mac,
This is a True Bug in the order Hemiptera. While many True Bugs will bite humans, including Assassin Bugs, Giant Water Bugs, Bed Bugs and others, and some are even vectors for disease like Cone-Nosed Bugs or Kissing Bugs that can carry Chagas’ Disease, your Hemipteran is a benign plant feeding species, possibly in the Seed Bug Family Lygaeidae, or maybe the Red Bug Family Pyrrhocoridae.
Dear Daniel
Many thanks for your rapid and informative response. I have always been led to believe that creatures with black and yellow colouring are usually not friendly.
Thanks again
Andy
Hi again Andy,
Warning coloration is often indicative of danger, but more often it is indicative of “don’t eat me because I don’t taste too good.” Milkweed Bugs, which your specimen resembles, feed on milkweed and the compounds in milkweed result in a foul taste to many predators. Your specimen may be a type of Milkweed Bug in the Seed Bug family Lygaeidae.
Update: Wed, 6 May 2009 17:36:40 -0700 (PDT)
Daniel:
I think the “true bug from Angola” is likely some kind of milkweed bug in the Lygaeidae, though I can’t be absolutely certain.
Eric
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Posted 05 May 2009
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True Bugs
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Also tagged:
Caterpillar (6 legs?), Brown, Spikey, Gum forest, Australia
Sun, May 3, 2009 at 5:07 AM
Hi There, we found this squad of unknown bugs when walking in a Gum (Eucalyptus) forest (Dandenong Ranges National Park) at Fern Tree Gully in Victoria, Australia. They were moving uphill as a unit, flicking their tails up when approached. They were on a gravel path and are about 60mm long. We’d love to know what they were. Thanks!
Nick and Kathryn
Fern Tree Gully, Victoria , Australia
Sawfly Larvae
Hi Nick and Kathryn,
Though they look like caterpillars, these are actually the larvae of Sawflies. Sawflies are Hymenopterans, the order that includes ants, bees and wasps. Often Sawfly Larvae feed in groups. We are uncertain of your exact species, and perhaps a reader will provide that answer. We are linking to the Brisbane Insect Sawfly page as well.
Sawfly Larvae
Hi Daniel,
Thanks so much for your prompt reply. We’ll keep checking back in case someone can identify their exact species so we could find what the adult would look like. In the mean time, once we knew they were sawflies we were able to find other references, and the alternative name of ’spitfires’. This site has what looks to be the same/similar species: http://australian-insects.com/lepidoptera/none/sawfly.html
Thanks again for running the site,
Nick and Kathryn
Tiny spider with jeweled green abdomen
Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 6:51 AM
I was taking pictures of two mating moths on my front door this morning when I saw this beautiful but tiny spider. The body can’t be more than 1/4″ with it’s legs it still wouldn’t be an inch. It was small and delicate but had such a great green color on its abdomen. Can you help me identify it?
Resa
Atlanta, GA
Unknown Spider
Hi Resa,
What a beautiful spider, but sadly, we don’t know what species it is. We suspect this is a hunting spider that does not spin a web. It has certain similarities to both Lynx Spiders in the family Oxyopidae and Jumping Spiders in the family Salticidae. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide an identification.
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Posted 29 April 2009
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Spiders
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Also tagged:
3 horns, red and black beetle
Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 6:11 PM
This bug is in the Dominican Republic, the picture was taken in March or April. He hangs out on the balcony at my boyfriend’s apartment.
GH
Dominican Republic
Ox Beetle
Dear GH,
This appears to us to be an Ox Beetle in the genus Strategus. There are several similar looking species in the U.S. and they are pictured on BugGuide, but we haven’t had much luck locating a photo online of any Caribbean species. We did find mention of two species in the Dominican Republic, Strategus atlanticus and Strategus verrilli, but alas, no photos. We can tell you that this is a male beetle as evidenced by the horns. We will contact Eric Eaton to see if he can confirm, deny or elaborate.
Ox Beetle
Is this a Bogan moth?
Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 5:27 AM
Came home tonight during the rain, found this little bird shaking its wings in the corner. It was very dark, and I initially thought it was a bit of plastic shaking in the wind, except there was no wind.
I’ve seen many big moths, we are in a bogan migration path apparently (Canberra Australia) but I’ve never anything this big before, and its tail seemed fatter than Im used to seeing. Just wanted to know if its size was unusual, and what type of moth it is.
Feel free to keep/use the pics if they’re interesting. I have a short movie clip of it shaking its wings, but its very dark.
Ken
Canberra Australia
Unknown Moth
Hi Ken,
While it looks vaguely Sphinxlike, we do not believe your moth is a Hawkmoth in the family Sphingidae. We did a cursory search on the Csiro Australian Moth site, but had no luck. We have found references to Bogan Moths being eaten in Australia, but the photos seem to be of widely differing species. We haven’t the time to more fully research your question right now, and it is our hope that some reader will provide an answer.
Unknown Moth
Comment: Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 6:50 PM
Try Hepialidae, a lot of Australian ones look like chubby awkward sphinx moths, maybe Abantiades sp.
We researched this on Csiro Entomology page and found a likely Abantiades hydrographus and Abantiades marcidus.
hitchhiker on a crane fly
Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 11:10 AM
I was taking pictures of the moths and bugs surrounding our outside light last night and after enlarging this shot of a crane fly I noticed this little white guy waving from a rear leg while hanging on for dear life. I know crane flies don’t carry their young around so I was wondering what it is. I sent you a larger file so you can enlarge it enough to see the critter.
Larry
Sonoma County, California
Crane Fly with Hitchhiker
Hi Larry,
When we saw your subject line, we thought the hitchhiker must be either a mite or a pseudoscorpion, the two common phoretic organisms that are frequent subjects of our identifications. Phoresy is a nice scientific name for opportunistic hitchhiking. Your creature appears to be an insect, though we are uncertain of its identity, and we wonder if the hitchhiking may have been accidental. We will check with Eric Eaton to see if he has an opinion on this.
Phoretic Insect? or Accidental Hitchhiker???
Update: Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Daniel:
LOL! I’m sorry, I just had to laugh. The “hitchhiker” is a shed exoskeleton, most likely from an aphid that might have used the crane fly’s leg as a place to perch while molting. I laugh out of empathy because I’ve made the same kind of assumption myself, many times, when presented with unfamiliar circumstances.
Eric
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Posted 22 April 2009
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Crane Fly
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Also tagged:
Bronze Mite from Vasquez Rocks
Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 4:07 PM
While hiking in the Vasquez Rocks north of Los Angeles, I saw an absolutely remarkable flash of bronze scurry over a rock. The image does not do it justice by any stretch of the imagination. Although very small, the totally metallic sheen on this guy made him stand out quite conspicuously in the bright sun. Would you happen to know what this one is? Velvet mites were everywhere but this one was much bigger; about 2.5mm in diameter. Thanks in advance!
Adriano
Vasquez Rocks, California
Unknown Mite
Hi Adriano,
While it looks different from the Velvet Mites or Angelitos we often get photos of, we suspect your unidentified Mite is closely related. Perhaps an acarologist will write in with a proper identification.
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Posted 21 April 2009
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Mites
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Also tagged:
Unknown caterpillar
Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 6:40 AM
My son found this caterpillar on the grass. He was quite a compliant fellow and I placed him on a plectranthus leaf in order to get a better shot. He was quite a chunky caterpillar and when he did move about, his body extended to about 8cm. I’d love to know a bit more about him.
Tami Roos
South of Johannesburg in South Africa
Unknown Caterpillar
Dear Tami,
We did not have any luck identifying your caterpillar on the South African page of the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site. We searched there because we believe your caterpillar is in the family Saturniidae, the Giant Silk Moths. We will try to contact Bill Oehlke to see if he can identify your caterpillar.
Daniel,
I do not think it is a Saturniidae caterpillar. I have nothing that is a good match.
Thanks for thinking of me.
Bill Oehlke
Saturday 18 April 2009, 10 PM
We went to the grocery store to buy a steak to eat with the four edible morels that sprouted under our carob tree between the Digitalis. We we went out to pick the morels, we noticed the silhouette of a large beetle on the screen door. We have never seen such a large beautiful black Click Beetle before in Los Angeles. We captured the beetle and measured it at a whopping 1 1/8 inches, and we tried unsuccessfully to photograph it.
Click Beetle
It is dark and we have to manually focus, and the beetle was moving fast. Furthermore, the batteries are low and we didn’t buy more at the market. After taking four blurry images, we put the Click Beetle in the refrigerator to cool down and hopefully slow its metabolism. We tried to identify this beauty on BugGuide, and we believe it may be in the genus Lanelater. It looks startlingly like Lanelater sallei, but that species is from the Gulf States. A pdf on the genus Lanelater that we located online mentions another species from Arizona, Lanelater schottii, and BugGuide has an image of that species as well. Can our beetle be Lanelater schottii? We plan to buy new batteries tomorrow and taking some better images by daylight. While photographing this Click Beetle on the kitchen table, we turned it on its back several times. It can right itself in one or two tries. It only flips about 2 inches in the air.
Click Beetle
We chilled the Click Beetle and got a clearer image, but we hope to get new batteries and shoot it again tomorrow morning.
Click Beetle
Update: Sunday 19 April 2009, 2:04 PM
We kept the Unknown Click Beetle in the refrigerator overnight, and it paid off. We managed to get numerous images before the beetle became too active.
Unknown Click Beetle
We have decent shots of both the dorsal and ventral view.
Unknown Click Beetle
The spines at the tips of the thorax are quite prominent. The heat has set in in LA and we are expecting highs of 95º today and tomorrow. There were countless beetles and moths at the porch light.
Unknown Click Beetle
This Click Beetle is large and very black. Now that we are certain we have good photo documentation, we are releasing our pretty Click Beetle and waiting for Eric Eaton or another reader to assist us in the proper identification.
Unknown Click Beetle
Bug identification (New Delhi, India)
Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 1:53 PM
I saw this really weird and unusual bug in my room about an hour ago.
I stay on the outskirts of the city, quite a few open fields here.
What do you call this bug? Is it harmful in any way?
regards
Mohit
hun? By hand I guess.
New Delhi, India
Unknown Longicorn from India
Hello Mohit,
This is a Longhorned Borer Beetle or Longicorn in the family Cerambycidae. We haven’t the time to try to research the species at the moment, but perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide a species identification.
A fly with a blue, elongated nose and green wings with yellow polka dots.
Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 2:04 PM
Found in the rainforest in Borneo.
Vin
Sandakan, Borneo
Lanternflies from Borneo
Hi Vin,
In April 2008, we posted an image of this spectacular Lanternfly in the family Fulgoridae, also from Borneo, but we were never able to identify the species. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to supply us with a species identification.
