What IS it??
Location: Polokwane, South Africa
December 21, 2011 3:29 pm
This was in our house. Ran quickly. Looks like a huge ant but has 8 legs like a spider.
Signature: DJ
Solifugid appears to be victim of Unnecessary Carnage
Dear DJ,
This is a species of Solifugid, a member of the Arachnid order Solifugae. Though they are related to both Spiders and Scorpions, Solifugids do not have venom and they are not considered dangerous to humans. Solifugids are sometimes called Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions. Solifugids are generally found in arid climates and species from the Middle East which are known as Camel Spiders can grow quite large. It appears that your Solifugid might have been smashed as evidenced by what appears to be bodily fluids at the end of the abdomen. If this is the case, we would like to educate you regarding the benefits of this harmless, nocturnal hunter. Though they appear to be frightening, Solifugids are not harmful to human or pets, unless you keep small arthropods as pets. It is possible that a Solifugid might bite a human if they are carelessly handled, but since there is no venom involved, the bite is harmless. If they are present in or near your home, Solifugids will help to control the population of Cockroaches and other creatures that you might find undesirable.
What is this?
Location: Northeastern Colorado
December 8, 2011 12:20 am
Hi Bugman! I am having an issue with this bug around my house. I find them maybe every other day and they are almost impossible to kill. I step on them and they seem to just spring back to life. I finally killed it by drowning it in Windex (This was the only thing I had close to me). Please help! I am new to this area of the country and have never seen this bug before. I haven’t seen them except in the colder months after it has started to snow outside.
Signature: Tricia M.
Small Milkweed Bug carnage
Dear Tricia,
If you find these benign Small Milkweed Bugs “almost impossible to kill”, then perhaps you should just stop trying to kill them. They will not harm you, your home nor your pets. You may read more about Small Milkweed Bugs, Lygaeus kalmii, on BugGuide.
¶ Posted 09 December 2011 § Seed Bugs ‡ ° Also tagged: what is this
Location: maryland
October 24, 2011 5:04 pm
we have tons of these spiders all over our house some with the leg span mind you can get up to the size of a soft ball, they are all in our garage and now finding them in the house. can you please help? are the venomous? i have little kids. so just wondering
Signature: mary shoemaker
Wolf Spider, Hogna baltimoriana we believe
Dear Mary,
Wolf Spiders like your specimen are not considered to be harmful spiders. Nearly all spiders have venom, but very few spiders have venom that is dangerous to humans. We believe we have identified your spider as Hogna baltimoriana based on photos posted to BugGuide, though we would not rule out that it is another member of the genus. We hope we can convince you to allow these spiders to cohabitate with you because the advantages they provide as predators that will keep undesireable creatures from prowling around your home far outweigh your arachnophobia about them. Perhaps if we name them the Baltimore Wolf Spider after the scientific name might convince you to see them in a more positive light.
The "Baltimore" Wolf Spider
1
Weird stinging bug
Location: San Antonio, TX
October 15, 2011 5:24 pm
Hi,
This little bug was hanging out in one of the throw pillows on our sofa. It stung my wife about a week ago, but we never saw it. A few days ago, it stung me and I caught it in the act. I managed to kill it without squishing it and got some pretty good close-up photos of it. I couldn’t find anything like it on the Internet. It appears to have 6 lets, good sized pincers on its head, and some kind of stinger on its abdomen. It’s mostly bright green, with some brownish markings on it’s top side. Any idea what this thing is??
Signature: Thanks! Steph & Mike
Lacewing Larva Carnage
Dear Steph and Mike,
This is an Aphid Wolf. Lacewings and their larvae, which are known as Aphid Wolves, are beneficial predators in the garden that consume vast quantities of Aphids and other plant pests. We have received numerous reports of people being bitten by Lacewings as well as by Aphid Wolves, but the effects of the bite do not last long and they do not do any permanent harm. The advantages these insects bring to the garden far outweigh the annoyance of an occasional bite, and they should be tolerated.
What is this bug?
Location: Sacramento, California
October 1, 2011 4:16 pm
I saw this in my yard. I smashed it because it had what looked like a stinger.
As it died the stinger was going in and out. Ick. What is it?
Signature: Moorea
Robber Fly
Dear Moorea,
Robber Flies are harmless, beneficial predators, and smashing them constitutes Unnecessary Carnage in our minds. We believe this may be a member of the genus Andrenosoma based on photos posted to BugGuide. What you have mistaken for a stinger is probably the ovipositor, the organ the female uses to lay eggs.
1
big orange wasp?
Location: St. Charles, Missouri
September 29, 2011 4:34 pm
I saw this on the sidewalk today. It was about an inch and a half long. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take the picture until after my mom stepped on it! Please help!?
Signature: Steve
Pigeon Horntail
Dear Steve,
We hope the reason your mom stepped on this harmless Pigeon Horntail is because she didn’t see it while she was walking, but we suspect otherwise, so we are tagging this as Unnecessary Carnage. Pigeon Horntails are Wood Wasps and they do not sting. The Pigeon Horntail was selected as our Bug of the Month for September 2011.
1
Bug that makes a cricket soun
Location: San Francisco, CA
September 28, 2011 11:00 pm
Evidently this critter kept my wife up most of the night last night with a cricket like sound, until she tracked it down and whacked it. The body’s about 5/8” long. It kind of looks like a caddis fly, which I know from flyfishing. but I’ve never seen this exact bug before- it doesn’t fit into any of the categories of typical house pests. She said the sound was pretty loud. We’ve had a lot of very warm weather here lately, which is unusual.Any ideas?
Signature: Clifton Lemon
Tree Cricket
Hi Clifton,
In our opinion, whacking a harmless Tree Cricket for calling out to attract a mate constitutes Unnecessary Carnage.
Tree cricket huh? Wow. Agreed about the unnecesssariness of the whacking. Thanks! I was stumped.
We believe it may be a Snowy Tree Cricket, Oecanthus fultoni. The Snowy Tree Cricket is also called a Thermometer Cricket because, according to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, you can tell the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit “if one counts the number of chirps in 13 seconds and adds 40.” According to BugGuide: “These are the crickets you hear in movies and on TV when they want to show that it’s out in nature and very quiet.”
P.S. Perhaps it was a hot evening and your wife was having a bad night.
Cool, thanks so much for your excellent work. I am edified,
Clifton
1
Bug dentification Please! Weird!!
Location: Greece – Athens
September 10, 2011 11:30 am
I found thi Bug in my bathtub!I have never seen anything like it. It has One huge antenna ( maybe it had two once i couldnt tell, but when i found it it had one)and was slighlty bigger than a penny.
Hope i get a reply!
Thanks in Advance
Alexia
Signature: Alexia
Tailless Whipscorpion
Hi Alexia,
Even though it is related to venomous Arachnids like spiders and scorpions, the Tailless Whipscorpion does not have venom, so it is harmless. They are shy nocturnal predators that will feed on Cockroaches and spiders and other creatures you might not want in the home. Though Tailless Whipscorpions are frightening in their appearance, we hope you will learn to tolerate them should you ever encounter another.
1
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