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Tag Archives: Unidentified

Unidentified Moth: Rose Hooktip or Geometrid???

Moth species?
Location: southern indiana
September 7, 2011 9:57 pm
Any idea on this moth species? The wings are rolled up on the moth as you see in the pic . thxs
Signature: BRIAN

moth brian 300x169 Unidentified Moth: Rose Hooktip or Geometrid???

Unknown Moth

Hi Brian,
Research takes time, and we are running late for work.  We are posting this as an unidentified moth and perhaps our readership will come to our assistance while we work a 13 plus hour day.

Update:  September 9, 2011
We haven’t had much time to research this request, and we are thankful to the two readers who submitted comments.  We believe this might be one of the Geometrid Moths in the genus Pero as has been suggested by one of our readers and this example from BugGuide has the same rolled wing structure as the submitted photo.

Update:  September 9, 2011
With the newest comment to arrive, we believe this might be a Juniper Twig Geometer.  The photos posted to BugGuide are a very strong visual match.

 

 

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Posted 08 September 2011 § Geometrid Moths § Hooktips and False Owlet Moths ‡ Comments (12) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown (Moth?) Eggs on Tomato Leaf

eggs on a tomato leaf
Location: Canterbury, NH, USA
August 22, 2011 10:52 am
I live in New Hampshire in the US. Today in my greenhouse I found an array of tiny pinkish-tan eggs laid on top of a plum tomato leaf. I have never seen these before – the color is wrong for squash bug eggs and as I said, they were on the top of the leaf at the top of the plant. Anyone know what laid these? I put the leaf in a jar to see what hatches, but I garden organically and like to practice preventive care, so if I can take some preemptive action soon if they’re bad guys, I’d love to.
Signature: Hilnel

eggs tomato leaf hilnel 300x206 Unknown (Moth?) Eggs on Tomato Leaf

Whose Eggs are These???

Dear Hilnel,
We believe these are Moth Eggs, but we are not certain of the species.  The two species of Manduca typically associated with tomatoes, Tomato Hornworm and Tobacco Hornworm, lay green eggs singly on leaves.  This is something else.  We found a blurry photo on Our Engineered Garden that looks similar, but they are not identified.  We would really love to know what you have.  Would you consider allowing them to hatch in a confined location and then photographing the critters when they emerge?  We would love a followup report as we continue to research this.

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Posted 22 August 2011 § Eggs ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Flower Fly

Daniel – New Fly
Location: Hawthorne, CA
August 20, 2011 1:29 pm
Hi,
Here’s another one of the many different flies that are attracted to the Eryngium tripartitum we planted this spring (the blooms smell a lot like cat poop). Can you identify it?
Signature: Thanks, Anna Carreon

syrphid ca anna 300x189 Flower Fly

Flower Fly

Hi Again Anna,
We are nearly certain this is a Flower Fly or Hover Fly in the family Syrphidae, however, we were unable to locate a match on BugGuide late last night.   We hope to be able to identify the species for you before too long.

syrphid ca anna 2 300x222 Flower Fly

Flower Fly

 

Posted 21 August 2011 § Syrphid Flies ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Weevil from Costa Rica

Identify beetle from Costa Rican jungle
Location: Caribbean lowland rainforest, Costa Rica
August 19, 2011 8:33 am
Hello,
I photographed this beetle in caribbean rainforest (La Selva) in Costa Rica. If anyone could identify it I would be most grateful!
Signature: Adrian Hepworth

weevil costa rica adrian 300x199 Weevil from Costa Rica

Unknown Weevil

Hi Adrian,
This is some species of Weevil, though we have not been able to find a matching photo online.  Weevils are sometimes called Snout Beetles or Bill Bugs because of the shape of their heads. 

Many thanks Daniel – I had the same problem! Much appreciated anyway.
Adrian

Perhaps one of our readers will eventually provide an identification.  Sometimes this even happens years later. 

Karl provides an answer
October 27, 2011
Weevil from Costa Rica – August 19, 2011
Hi Daniel and Adrian:
I believe it is a Straight-snouted Weevil (Brentidae) in the sub-family Brentinae (tribe Arrhenodini).  The general shape, color and pattern appear to be quite common Brentids globally, but I think I can narrow this down to one of two very closely related genera; Arrhenodes or Estenorhinus. Both have representative species in Central America but online photos are difficult to find. Based on the text description and illustrations found in the Electronica Biologia Centrali-Americana (see Figure 11), I am leaning towards E. guttata. The irregular black patches on the sides of the thorax are apparently diagnostic for the species. I can’t be certain but I believe that is getting pretty close. Regards. Karl

Posted 20 August 2011 § Weevils ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Ensign Wasp and Unknown Bee on Curacao

need help identifying Bug and Bee
Location: Island of Curaçao in the Caribbean
August 19, 2011 7:08 pm
Hi, I am Garrick Marchena, from the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean and I need help identifying these two insects.
I know one of them is a bee, but i need to know what type of bee. Its certainly a type I’ve never seen or heard of before.
The other is an insect known to our island as one that brings luck. It is called ”Mamoendenge” by our local people, but i need to know the official name. It kinda looks like a Mud Dobber wasp but i don’t think it is. Its back part bobs up and down as it walks.
I really appreciate if you can help, but if you can’t maybe you might know someone who does?
thanks you very much,
wkr
Garrick Marchena.
Signature: Garrick

bee curacao garreck 300x214 Ensign Wasp and Unknown Bee on Curacao

Possibly Carpenter Bee

Hi Garrick,
Though we don’t recognize your bee, and we have been unable to locate a match online, we suspect it is some species of Carpenter Bee.  The other insect which you call Mameondenge we find very interesting because of the notion that it brings bad luck.  This is a beneficial Ensign Wasp, so named because of the bobbing of its abdomen which is thought to resemble a flag.  The Ensign Wasp parasitizes the oothica or egg cases of Cockroaches, helping to reduce their population.  We wonder if the name the locals have given it is a reference to dengue fever which is spread by mosquitoes.  You might want to educate the locals as to the importance the Ensign Wasp plays in Cockroach control.

ensign wasp curacao garreck 300x205 Ensign Wasp and Unknown Bee on Curacao

Ensign Wasp

Thanks for the fast response!!!
Locals say that the Esign Wasp (or Mamonedenge) brings GOOD luck actually! Sorri i wasn’t clear on that.
Now that i know this information I’m gonna love this bug even more!
From what I’ve searched on the internet the bee does look like a carpenters bee. Also seems to be a type of solitary type bee.
This is really awesome!
Let me know if you are going to use the pictures because i would like to add a copyright on them first if you don’t mind.
Thank you very much for your help.
Garrick.

Sorry Garrick,
We somehow inserted the word “bad” before luck in your letter.  The images are already posted live and we have cropped them, lightened them and formatted them to our site.  Your name is printed with your original email.

Posted 19 August 2011 § Ensign Wasps § Valley Carpenter Bee ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Lanternfly from Belize

New Beetle/Moth Species?
Location: Belize
August 8, 2011 9:40 pm
Hi,
I was in Central America, Belize in July 2011 and I was in the jungle of Lamanai and I spotted this beetle/moth.
While I was walking with my girlfriend, this insect flew close to her and it had beautiful blue wings while in flight with an intricate design when on the ground.
Can you help me identify this insect? Our tour guide said he’s never seen such an insect and it MAY be a undiscovered species!
I have attached a photo.
Thanks!
Michael
Signature: Danzer bug

fulgorid belize michael 300x240 Lanternfly from Belize

Lanternfly from Belize

Hi Michael,
Online information on tropical species identification can often be quite sketchy and inaccurate.  We can tell you that this is a Fulgorid Planthopper in the family Fulgoridae, and that they are commonly called Lanternflies, but we cannot commit to a species identification.  That might take hours of searching the internet and not produce anything conclusive.

Posted 09 August 2011 § Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Caterpillar Aggregation from Brazil

August 4, 2011
Location:  Cristalino River, Brazilian Amazon
Dear Daniel,
Attached are the larvae I mentioned last night. They were following each other around on the bole of the tree with long setae waving. I do have a little video of them – if your are interested. Nice to see you – have a nice time with your Mom.
Kathy

caterpillars costa rica kathy ff 225x300 Unknown Caterpillar Aggregation from Brazil

Unknown Caterpillar Aggregation

Hi Kathy,
Julian mentioned that he thought they were Saturniidae.  We don’t think they are Saturniids.  We will post them and try to do some research.  Often our readership jumps in and assists with identifications.  We are very sad they were not to be found on the Social Caterpillars web page.

caterpillars costa rica kathy 300x206 Unknown Caterpillar Aggregation from Brazil

unknown Caterpillar Aggregation

 

Posted 04 August 2011 § Caterpillars and Pupa ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

August 4, 2011
We walked back to the Milkweed Meadow in Elyria Canyon Park this morning to check on the status of the two Monarch Caterpillars, Danaus plexippus, thinking that they might have transformed into chrysalides, but I could only find one of the caterpillars.  Hopefully the other was just elsewhere, or perhaps it found a nice place to metamorphose into a chrysalis

monarch cat 20110804 300x206 Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

Monarch Caterpillar

A very wary Bumble Bee would not let me get close enough with the camera, and after several aborted attempts, we were lucky enough to get a few photos.  This is most definitely not a Yellow Faced Bumble Bee.  We were not able to get any photos of the abdominal markings until the last image.

california bumblebee 20110804 300x206 Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

Crotch's or California Bumble Bee???

Just as it was flying off it showed its signature markings, but interestingly, it doesn’t match any of the images on BugGuide for the four species that Charles Hogue, in his landmark book Insects of the Los Angeles Basis, indicates are found locally.  After a bit more searching, we determined it might be Crotch’s Bumble Bee, Bombus crotchii, based on the illustration on the North American Bumble Bees and confirmed on the third photo down on the Las Pilitas Nursery webpage, and that appears to agree with this BugGuide image as well.  The Discover Life website also has photos.  Continued research is filling us with doubts.  It seems to match what we identified as a California Bumble Bee when we found one napping on the wisteria this spring.

california bumblebee 20110804 2 300x206 Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

Crotch's or California Bumble Bee???

There appeared to be more Large Milkweed Bugs today than on Sunday, and there were several places where the Milkweed Aphids, AKA Oleander Aphids, Aphis nerii, were quite plentiful.  Read more about Milkweed Aphids on BugGuide.

milkweed aphids 20110804 300x206 Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

Milkweed Aphids

Before leaving, I made sure to pull some more Marestail or Horseweed, Conyza species (See Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide or CalFlora) and more of that prickly yellow flower that is still not properly identified that might be a Spiny Sowthistle, Sonchus asper (See Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide).

Update:  on the Bumble Bee identity
August 5, 2011
Now we aren’t certain if the Bumble Bee is a California Bumble Bee or a Crotch’s Bumble Bee.

Update:  August 7, 2011
I returned to the Milkweed Meadow in Elyria Canyon Park to search for the Monarch Chrysalis, but the only caterpillar I could find has still not metamorphosed. 

monarch cat 20110807 300x206 Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

Monarch Caterpillar in Elyria Canyon, August 7, 2011

I did get some additional photo of the Bumble Bee as well.  Here are the abdominal markings from a different angle.

bumblebee milkweed 20110807 300x206 Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

Which Bumble Bee is it? Crotch's or California???

Update:  August 11, 2011
I made a trip to the Milkweed Meadow in Elyria Canyon Park this evening about 6:30 and I was unable to find any Monarch Caterpillars.  I hope they wandered away from the milkweed to find a suitable location to transform into chrysalides.  I photographed a couple of Large Milkweed Bugs. 

large milkweed bugs 20110811 300x206 Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

Large Milkweed Bugs

The new addition to the insects that have become part of the milkweed ecosystem are Small Milkweed Bugs.  I found them  on two different milkweed plants. 

small milkweed bug 20110811 2 300x225 Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

Small Milkweed Bugs

The individual I photographed was a difficult subject, and it kept hiding among the blossoms of the milkweed inflorescence.  I needed to intervene by including my hand in the photo to get a nice angle on the unwilling subject.

small milkweed bug 20110811 300x206 Milkweed Meadow Continued: Which Bumble Bee is it?????

Small Milkweed Bug

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted 04 August 2011 § Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers § brush footed butterfly caterpillars § Bumble Bees § Mt Washington Blog ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

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