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Tag Archives: Unidentified

What’s That Fly???? possibly Flower Fly

What’s that bug, lol?

fly p holland 300x244 Whats That Fly???? possibly Flower Fly

Unknown Fly

Subject: What’s that bug, lol?
Location: Northeast Ms.
May 21, 2011 10:42 am
What a neat site! I am fascinated by insects, so I will be here often, lol! I found this bug in my house last night. I live in NE Ms.
After moving him/her outside, I took these photos. I thought it was a lightening bug, my husband thinks Wasp, and I have friends on FB that think it’s a Cicada. I don’t think it’s any of these. I figure this is a pretty basic insect that I should know, and feel rather dumb that I don’t, lol! I have been all over the internet looking at images and have had no luck identifying it so far.
Thank you for your time! icon wink Whats That Fly???? possibly Flower Fly
Signature: PHolland

fly p holland 2 300x251 Whats That Fly???? possibly Flower Fly

Unknown Fly

Dear P Holland,
We are having a terrible time trying to identify this insect.  Here is what we are certain of:  It is a Fly.  Beyond that, we suspect it is a Flower Fly in the family Syrphidae.  The closest match we are able to locate on BugGuide is Monoceromyia floridensis, but sadly, the details of the antennae are not clearly visible in your photos.  BugGuide indicates that species if found in Florida, but Mississippi isn’t that far from Florida.  Perhaps it is a close relative.  The positioning of the wings has allowed us to eliminate any of the Thick Headed Flies found on BugGuide which also have some similar looking species.  It is evident that this fly is a wasp mimic because of the narrow waist and coloration.  Many Flower Flies mimic bees.  We hope one of our readers will write in to confirm or refute this identification.

fly p holland 3 300x199 Whats That Fly???? possibly Flower Fly

Unknown Fly

Thank you for the quick reply!!!  I had 2 more folks insist earlier today that it’s a wasp. Ha… they were wrong!!!!

Posted 21 May 2011 § Flies ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

What’s That Bug???? Ship-Timber Beetle

Can’t even class this to Order!
Location: Caribbean coast, Costa Rica
May 12, 2011 12:25 pm
Hi bugman!
I just stumbled upon your page while trying to identify this insect that was buzzing around my room last night. It’s really bugging me (pardon the pun) that I, a biologist with basic Entomology skills, can’t even figure out what order this insect belongs to!
The insect is approximately 3cm in length. It has hardened forewings like a beetle, and chewing mouthparts as well, but the forewings are minuscule and don’t cover the hindwings at all. The eyes take up nearly the entire head. The antenna that remains (one is missing) may be damaged, so I can’t use them to help. And the abdomen is very long, roughly 9 segments, about one-third of which extend beyond the wings. It has no cerci or abdominal appendages.
Help!
P.S.
I’m sorry I don’t have better images, the only macro capabilities I have are with a zoom lens. If you need more detail regarding a specific body part, I’d be happy to describe it for you.
Signature: Jennifer

unidentified costa rica jennifer 300x221 Whats That Bug???? Ship Timber Beetle

Unknown Insect

Dear Jennifer,
Trying to identify North American species can often be quite difficult despite the comprehensive archives on BugGuide, however, once the unknown entity hails from the tropics, all bets are off since there are numerous families there that are not represented in temperate zones.  We agree that the mouth parts and they elytra-like forewings seem to indicate that this may be some type of beetle, but we haven’t a clue as to its identity.  The legs are not inconsistent with those of the beetles either  We will try to contact Eric Eaton, but he is currently away, having traveled here to Los Angeles for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County for the annual Bug Fair.  We may see him tomorrow and we can direct him to this posting to see if he has any ideas.  Meanwhile, our posting might lure some expert to weigh in with an identification.

unidentified costa rica jennifer 2 300x177 Whats That Bug???? Ship Timber Beetle

Unknown Insect

Hi Daniel,
It is truly a mystery. I’ve been living here for 4 years and have never seen one of these, and now I had another in my house last night, and it was nearly a centimeter larger. I am anxious to hear the verdict!
Thanks,
Jennifer

Karl’s identification supports mardikavana’s comment
Hi Daniel and Jennifer:
Your bizarre creature is indeed a beetle.  It is a Ship-Timber Beetle (Lymexylidae) in the genus Atractocerus. This one appears to have an ovipositor which would make it a female. Here is one more image from flickr.  Regards. Karl

Ed. Note:  Here is one more link from the Museo Virtual de la Ciencia.

Thank you both so much! I am glad to hear that my hunch was correct!


Posted 13 May 2011 § Ship-Timber Beetles ‡ Comments (6) ° Also tagged:

Tarantula Hawk and unidentified Wasps from Joshua Tree National Park

Pepsis colleagues
Location: Joshua Tree, CA
May 1, 2011 2:02 pm
Speaking of tarantula wasps, took this photo in Joshua Tree. What are the smaller pollinators on the same plant? Thanks!
Signature: Tracy

tarantula hawk wasps joshua tree 300x225 Tarantula Hawk and unidentified Wasps from Joshua Tree National Park

Tarantula Hawk and other Wasps on Milkweed

Dear Tracy,
Thanks for supplying us with another image of a magnificent Tarantula Hawk on Milkweed.

tarantula hawk wasps joshua tree cu 300x220 Tarantula Hawk and unidentified Wasps from Joshua Tree National Park

Tarantula Hawk

The other Wasps remind us of Tiphiid Wasps, but we cannot find a match.  When we blow up the image to a detail of the smaller pollinators, it is difficult to make out details.  We have requested assistance from Eric Eaton.

tarantula hawk wasps joshua tree cu 2 300x223 Tarantula Hawk and unidentified Wasps from Joshua Tree National Park

Unknown Wasps

Eric Eaton Responds.
Daniel:
Wow, those are not familiar to me….Maybe something in the Philanthinae subfamily of Crabronidae (i.e. “beewolves,” “weevil wasps,” etc).  No doubt that most, if not all, specimens in the image  are males.
Send a link to the image and I’ll post it to the Entomo-l listserv (they don’t want you to attach images to e-mails broadcast to the group).
Eric

Doug Yanega provides a theory
Friends:
Hoping someone recognizes these.  Thank you in advance for the assistance.
We just did a Bioblitz at JTNP this weekend, and the only wasps similar to those in the photo were Aphilanthops subfrigidus (see BugGuide). When were those pictures taken?
Doug Yanega
Dept. of Entomology
Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA

Hi again Tracy.  When was this photo taken?
Thanks

Hi Daniel.  It’s an old photo… I’d say circa 2000.  Yikes, that’s dated — I hope that doesn’t pose a problem.  I pulled it up when I saw the recent tarantula wasp posting.  Love your site.  It was spring.  I remember the Ocotillo blooming.  Am guessing March, as June is too hot and Jan/Feb nights there can be really cold.

Posted 01 May 2011 § spider wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month May 2011: Unknown Black Click Beetle

April 29, 2011
Last night while posting to the website, Daniel felt something crawling on his neck, and it was this gorgeous large black Click Beetle.  This is the second time this beetle has been found in our Mt Washington, Los Angeles offices, and the first sighting was almost exactly two years ago.   Recently while planting walnuts in nearby Elyria Canyon Park, a large Wireworm was uncovered in the dirt.  Sadly, there does not seem to be a match on BugGuide.  Species in the genus Lanelater are not listed in California on BugGuide, and we thought we might have an identification with the California species Melanectes densus, but that species seems broader with different antennae than our little beauty.  It seems a bit tragic that we are unable to identify our own species of Click Beetle, but perhaps Mardikavana or one of our other beetle aficionados will be able to provide an identification.

click beetle 20110429 300x216 Bug of the Month May 2011: Unknown Black Click Beetle

Unknown Click Beetle

We kept this beauty on the kitchen table under a glass until there was natural morning light for an indoor portrait and we later release it after taking some outdoor images as well.

click beetle 20110429 2 300x206 Bug of the Month May 2011: Unknown Black Click Beetle

Unknown Click Beetle

Posted 29 April 2011 § Click Beetles ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

Wasp Moth from Mexico

Whats this bug
Location: Cancun Mexico
April 27, 2011 4:01 pm
Took this picture in January in Mexico South ofCancun in 2007
Looks like a fly?, Antennae like a butterfly, and weird fuzzy legs….
Very cool though
Signature: Sean

sesiid mexico sean 300x219 Wasp Moth from Mexico

Clearwing Moth from Mexico

Hi Sean,
What a positively gorgeous Clearwing (we know it seems like a misnomer) Wasp Mimic Moth in the family Sesiidae, an interesting group nicely represented on BugGuide. We will try to correctly identify the species for you.  Perhaps Karl will give it a shot.

Correction Courtesy of Karl
Hi Daniel and Sean:
Wasp Moth is a somewhat generic term used to describe wasp mimicking moths from several families. This one is actually an Arctiid moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae), Horama plumipes, which ranges throughout Central America and as far north as southern Texas. Regards.  Karl

Posted 28 April 2011 § Tiger Moths and Arctiids ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Unknown Spanish Insect may be Mealybug

Strange small bug
Location: Girona, Spain
April 27, 2011 7:05 am
Hi,
I found this bug in my garden.
I have never seen anything like it before, could you let me know what it is & if it’s poisonous?
Signature: Alix

spanish insect alix 300x222 Unknown Spanish Insect may be Mealybug

Unknown Insect from Spain

Hi Alix,
We just returned from a holiday and despite our posting a notice that we would not be responding to emails, we are positively swamped with identification requests.  We decided to look at the most recent requests and found yours, and this one is a bit of a puzzle for us.  We have confessed on numerous occasions that we do not have a background in entomology, and we need to use the internet for much of our research.  Judging by the antennae, this sure appears to be a beetle, but we are not sure if it is larval since it doesn’t have wings, or if it is a wingless adult, or if it is something else entirely.  Alas, we are also quite busy with our day job and we haven’t the time to research this, but we want to post it in the hopes that one of our readers with more knowledge can provide a comment.  We also wrote to our longtime contributor Eric Eaton to see if he can email us an answer.

spanish insect alix 2 Unknown Spanish Insect may be Mealybug

Unknown Insect from Spain

Eric Eaton Responds
Daniel:
… The bug in the images is probably some kind of mealybug-type thing that has lost much of its usual waxy coating.  Pretty big for a scale insect, but I don’t think it can be anything else.  Try looking up Pseudococcidae for Spain and see what turns up.  …
Eric

Posted 27 April 2011 § Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Longhorned Borer Beetle from Sweden

Unidentified bug!
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
April 18, 2011 11:32 am
Hi!
This little bug appeared in the back of my house. I have never seen a bug like this before and would be very thankful if you could identify it for me.
The bug was about 15 mm long, from head to toe.
Thanks!
Signature: Daniel from sweden

cerambycidae sweden daniel 300x188 Longhorned Borer Beetle from Sweden

Longhorned Borer Beetle

Hi Daniel,
This is one of the Longhorned Borer Beetles in the family Cerambycidae, though our initial search could not find any possibilities for a species identification.  We will set your letter to post while we are out of the office for the holiday.

Posted 25 April 2011 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

What’s That Arizona Caterpillar??? Hooded Owlet Moth perhaps?

Second Unknown Caterpillar in AZ
Location: Tucson, AZ
April 17, 2011 10:13 pm
Hi there, My daughter found two of what appear to be the same caterpillars as your reader in Gilbert, AZ. We found them on a snapdragon vine in our back yard in Tucson. I have done exhaustive research and have been unable to identify the caterpillar. Just thought you would like another example of the same critter in the same general geographic area.
PS We are keeping them in a quart mason jar with fresh clippings of the plant on which we found them, and hope to observe them through their metamorphosis. Perhaps then we will be able to identify them.
Signature: Alicia & Sadie

unidentified caterpillar arizona alicia 254x300 Whats That Arizona Caterpillar??? Hooded Owlet Moth perhaps?

Unidentified Caterpillar

Dear Alicia & Sadie,
We looked through so many Caterpillar images on BugGuide when we received that previous letter that we were seeing cross eyed.  We are no closer than our original guess that it might be a member of the genus Cuculia, the Hooded Owlet Moths, though we couldn’t find any examples on BugGuide that had those markings.  Also the heads on the Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillars were not pink like the head on the Gilbert, Arizona Caterpillar.  Your caterpillar, on the other hand, looks very much like this Hooded Owlet Moth Caterpillar in the genus Cuculia that is posted to BugGuide.  Though we may be wrong, we believe we may have your identification correct.

unidentified caterpillar arizona alicia 2 300x252 Whats That Arizona Caterpillar??? Hooded Owlet Moth perhaps?

Unidentified Caterpillar

Excellent! I too am seeing cross-eyed after searching in every Arizona caterpillar database I could find online, as well as several for northern Mexico. Thanks so much for being such an awesome resource.
All the best,
Alicia in Tucson

Posted 18 April 2011 § Cutworms and Owlet Caterpillars ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

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