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Tag Archives: unnecessary carnage

Carrion Beetles Accidentally Trapped

Unintended Carnage

carrion beetle canned craig 300x206 Carrion Beetles Accidentally Trapped

Carrion Beetles trapped in Cat Food Can

Unintended Carnage
Location: San Luis Obispo County, CA
July 8, 2011 1:33 am
Dear Bugman,
I have enjoyed your site and for many years. I am a wildlife biologist in San Luis Obispo County, California. For the last 2 years I have been using camera traps to take images of various carnivores that inhabit state lands. Pierced catfood cans are sometimes used to entice critters to come to the cameras. When I recently checked a camera, I found that a couple of beetles committed suicide trying to get at the rotting catfood inside. I think they are black carrion beetles (Nicrophorus nigrita). Sorry for the poor pictures. They were long dead and it was hard to get the dried catfood off of them. I guess the holes I made in the can were just slightly too small… I will make the holes bigger next time.
Signature: Craig Fiehler

carrion beetle canned craig 2 300x206 Carrion Beetles Accidentally Trapped

Carrion Beetles trapped in Cat Food Can

Dear Craig,
At your suggestion, we will tag this as Unnecessary Carnage, though since this accident occurred in the interest of science, we consider it unfortunate, but excusable.  Your photos are positively surreal.  Thanks for your submission.  We are intrigued with your wildlife camera set up.

carrion beetle craig 300x226 Carrion Beetles Accidentally Trapped

Carrion Beetle Corpse

Dear Daniel,
We have been camera trapping the Chimineas Ranch in San Luis Obispo county for almost 2 years now.  Much of our exploits have been described on Dr. Chris Wemmer’s blog, Camera Trap Codger.
http://cameratrapcodger.blogspot.com/
I hope you enjoy some of the wildlife shots.
I also want to say “thank you!” for your tireless efforts to educate the public about arthropods.  I have been enlightened by your website and your book was a joy to read.  I have been trying to educate myself about insects and arachnids that inhabit the areas where I work.   Needless to say, I have much to learn.  But I can honestly say, I learn something new from you site every week.  Keep up the great work!
Best wishes,
Craig Fiehler

Thanks for the update Craig.  We are linking to Dr. Chris Wemmer’s blog and we are thrilled you enjoyed reading The Curious World of Bugs.

Posted 08 July 2011 § Carrion Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Masked Hunter Imago

Kill number 4
Location: South East Michigan
July 2, 2011 3:30 am
I’ve been finding these in my base ment and they seem to have come with the warm weather..what’s this bug?!
Signature: Carl

masked hunter imago carl 300x206 Masked Hunter Imago

Adult Masked Hunter

Hi Carl,
A major part of our mission is to educate the public regarding the lower beasts in order to promote knowledge and tolerance.  This is an adult Masked Hunter, a species of Assassin Bug.  They are important predators that are frequently found near dwellings.  They are also called Bed Bug Hunters, no doubt because they feed upon those thirsty bloodsuckers that prevent so many folks from getting a good night’s sleep.  Immature Masked Hunters have a sticky body surface that attracts all manner of dust and debris which effectively camouflages them or masks them in their surroundings.  Interestingly, adults are not sticky, perhaps because debris would prevent them from flying effectively.  If you have a thriving population of Masked Hunters in your basement, they must have a plentiful food source, and eliminating the predators may cause the prey to overrun your home.  Caution should be exercised in handling Masked Hunters as well as other Assassin Bugs as they are capable of producing a painful bite.

Posted 02 July 2011 § Assassin Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Female California Root Borer Carnage

Giant beetle thing
Location: Southern California, summer
July 1, 2011 2:18 pm
This bug was flying around at night and you could hear it in the distance and getting closer, it landed and it had a dark, black striated shell and a reddish orange underbelly. It was over an inch long easily and after I threw boiling water on it and a glass of bleach it was still alive. It looks kind of like the broad necked root boarer on here but I would like to know for sure. Because it was the grossest thing I have ever seen and am hoping to not see another one.
Signature: Sara

california prionus carnage sara 300x184 Female California Root Borer Carnage

California Root Borer Carnage

Hi Sara,
Your dead beetle is related to the Broad Necked Root Borer.  It is the California Root Borer and your individual is a female.  Grossness should not be considered a criterion for killing a creature, so we have to consider this posting as an example of Unnecessary Carnage and today is turning out to be a carnage heavy day.

Posted 01 July 2011 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Cicada Killer Carnage

Wasp-like Insect
Location: Rural area of southern Mississippi
July 1, 2011 4:25 am
I’m not sure exactly what this is, although, I think it might be a hornet, but I’m not entirely sure. It flew in from my back porch, and it was about the length of my index finger when it is curled slightly.
Signature: Destinee

cicada killer carnage destinee 300x248 Cicada Killer Carnage

Cicada Killer Carnage

Hi Destinee,
This is not a good day for Cicada Killers which we consider to be beneficial predators that occupy a very interesting niche in the food chain.  We suspect this Cicada Killer did not die a natural death and we are tagging this as Unnecessary Carnage.

Posted 01 July 2011 § Cicada Killer Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Cicada Killer Carnage

wasp found burrowing in yard
Location: oklahoma city, ok
June 30, 2011 10:42 pm
My wife and I came home yesterday to find a dime sized hole in the dirt just a foot or so from our front door. A pile of dirt was found maybe 6-8 inches from the hole with a very straight path leading to the pile from the hole. Tonight, as we were opening the front door, I mentioned to my wife that I was curious what insect was burrowing but had not yet seen anything exiting or entering. I assumed it was some sort of beetle. Not 10 seconds after I spoke those words, this wasp-looking insect crawls out! We ran inside and grabbed the insect spray, soaked it icon smile Cicada Killer Carnage , collected it, and have been attempting to identify for the last 2 hours. Please help!
Signature: ryan davenport

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Cicada Killer Carnage

Dear Ryan,
While we understand that fear creates irrational behavior, it is not really necessary to kill things that are unfamiliar to you.  This is a (relatively) harmless female Cicada Killer and she was building an underground nest that she would have provisioned with paralyzed Cicadas to feed her brood.  The reason we stated that she is relatively harmless is that she is not an aggressive wasp and in all the years we have written this column, we have never received a verified report of a person being stung by a Cicada Killer, though that could always be a possibility.  Male Cicada Killers often act aggressively when defending territory, however, though they may dive bomb at you or your pets, they are perfectly harmless as male Cicada Killers lack stingers and they are incapable of doing any damage.

Posted 01 July 2011 § Cicada Killer Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Stag Beetle Carnage

What Kind of Beetle Is This?
Location: Charlotte, NC
June 23, 2011 10:25 am
Found this already stepped on in front of my gym. I brought it home and my girls wanted to know more about it. I have seen large Single Horned ”Rhino” beetles before, but never one with two big horns/pincers like this. It is about 2 in long and 3/4 in wide.
Signature: Daniel

stag beetle carnage daniel 300x219 Stag Beetle Carnage

Stag Beetle Carnage

Hi Daniel,
It troubles us immensely to learn about this senseless slaughter.  This magnificent beetle is a Giant Stag Beetle, Lucanus elaphus.

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Posted 24 June 2011 § Stag Beetles ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Larviform Beetle, but what family??? Female Click Beetle

Queen something?
Location: Pasadena, California
June 20, 2011 11:24 am
Found this crawling across the floor of my kitchen this morning, sort of trundling along dragging its long rear end behind it. About 3” long. Photos taken after it was thoroughly drowned in RAID….
Signature: Creeped Out

larviform beetle carnage pasadena 300x195 Larviform Beetle, but what family??? Female Click Beetle

Female Click Beetle

Dear Creeped Out,
While we are not certain of the exact identity of this unfortunate creature, we are relatively certain of two things.  First, it appears to be a beetle in the order Coleoptera, and second, it is probably predatory and drowning it with Raid constitutes Unnecessary Carnage.  We are not certain if this is a larva.  We feel more confident that it is a larviform adult.  Females of some beetles resemble larvae.  This might be a Rove Beetle in the family Staphylinidae, or perhaps it is a female Glowworm in the family Phengodidae, or perhaps it is something we are not considering.  We are going to try to get a second opinion on this creature.

Several of my friends suggested termite queen… so, glad it’s not that, at least. icon smile Larviform Beetle, but what family??? Female Click Beetle
Sorry about the unnecessary carnage. I’ll try to have my husband take some better pictures when he gets home tonight (I left the bug under a plastic cup in case the RAID didn’t actally kill it.  Yes, I’m that squeamish about bugs.)  ;P

Hmmm.  Termite Queen might actually be correct in which case we would retract the Unnecessary Carnage tag.  The antennae don’t seem correct for a Termite.  Again, we are waiting for a second opinion.

Yeah, the head seems kinda pointy.  I’ll get Jeff to photo it with a real camera/lens tonight, that should help.

Eric Eaton Responds
Daniel:
Ah, that is that wingless female click beetle!  Wait a sec….Euthysanius lautus is the species, looking at Art Evans’ book, A Field Guide to Beetles of California.  Here’s a link:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/27029
Ok, so I am not sure if E. lautus is the only species with a wingless female….
Thanks!
Eric

Ed. Note:
Interestingly, we have posted images of the male of the species both in our archives and on BugGuide.

Yup!  Here’s one that looks very similar:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/27029/bgimage
Thank you!  Relieved it’s not the world’s largest termite. And they’re slow-moving enough that if I see another one I will hopefully have the guts to trap and release rather than nuking from a safe distance.
However, I’m kind of hoping they stay outside to start with…

euthysanius lautus female 300x224 Larviform Beetle, but what family??? Female Click Beetle

Female Click Beetle

Please don’t post this link directly on the website, since it isn’t permanent, but we took some better photos last night in case you or the bugguide could use them at all:
Thanks again for your help!
(I don’t suppose you know what the juveniles look like?  I woke up this morning with a tiny beetle on my pillow.  Probably unrelated, but then again perhaps the invasion has begun!)

euthysanius lautus female 2 300x165 Larviform Beetle, but what family??? Female Click Beetle

Female Click Beetle

Hi again,
Thanks for the additional photos.  Immature Click Beetles are known as Wireworms, and they do not resemble beetles.

euthysanius lautus female 3 300x189 Larviform Beetle, but what family??? Female Click Beetle

Female Click Beetle

 

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Posted 20 June 2011 § Click Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Giant Crab Spider

Tarantula or spider??
Location: Yucca Valley, CA
June 1, 2011 12:53 am
Hi, I live in Yucca Valley, CA, in the desert. I see these guys all the time around my house. They are never in webs, so I assume that they are either hunting for food or a mate. They are typically up high, sometimes in cupboards, once in the chimney, I even had one run across my dashboard while driving! I’m extremely afraid of them.
I used to keep several pet tarantulas when I was younger, and I think that knowing what I’m dealing with would ease my fears a bit.
The pics aren’t great, and this wasn’t the largest one I’ve encountered, but hopefully it’s good enough. Thanks!
Signature: Andrea

olios andrea 300x191 Giant Crab Spider

Giant Crab Spider

Hi Andrea,
This is a Giant Crab Spider in the genus Olios.  You are correct in that they are hunting spiders and they do not build a web to ensnare prey.  They are generally shy, nocturnal hunters and they are considered harmless to humans.

Daniel,
Thank you so much for the reply. I feel a little more comfortable now taking them outside (or asking my boyfriend to move them for me). I felt bad killing them.
Andrea

Andrea,
Killing them would definitely be unnecessary carnage.  We had hoped this magnificent Giant Crab Spider posed agreeably for that series of photos on a quarter, but we have come to fear that this spider might be a corpse.  We believe this Giant Crab Spider is Olios giganteus, based on this photo on BugGuide.  The description on BugGuide “dark chelicerae, prominent heart mark” fits your individual.

That looks like the one. He was dead, but now I will avoid killing them. Someone told me they were really aggressive, so I haven’t given them a chance.

Hi again Andrea,
We are happy to hear that.

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Posted 02 June 2011 § Huntsman Spiders ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

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