Toe Biters??
Hi there,
I live in Sydney Australia and found your website when trying to identify these bugs, found in our backyard swimming pool. I think they might be what you call Toe-biters or Giant Water Bugs, but these ones have longer front appendages and long spikes at the back, at least the length of their abdomen. There is one smaller one on the back of the larger one and does not get off. Are they mating or is the little one eating the big one? Please help, my girls are too scared to go back in the pool!!!!
Janine in Oz
Hi Janine,
My Oh My we are thrilled to have received your excellent photo. We haven’t posted anything on our Bug Love page in weeks. These are actually Water Scorpions, relatives of Toe Biters that can also deliver a painful bite. They are mating. Tell your girls not to fear the water. The Water Scorpions are probably not established in your pool unless the water is stagnant. The appendages are actually breathing aparati, similar to snorkles.
whats my bug!
this bug flew in my window and sat on my computer desk i thought it was super pretty so managed to take some snaps of it but as yet my bug has no name! can you tell me what it is? your site is awesome =)
-Abby (Melbourne, AUS)
Hi Abby,
We are sorry we don’t know your species, but this is a Scarab. We have heard of Christmas Beetles, most in the genus Anoplognathus, and we suspect this might be one of the unpictured species. We also wrote to Eric Eaton who responded: “I would tentatively agree with your ID of the Australian scarab. Certainly something in the same subfamily (Rutelinae).”
¶ Posted 04 November 2005 § Beetles ‡ ° Also tagged: What’s that bug?
I was just websurfing with a ‘cool site finder’ when I found that one. I never thought of searching a website to identify a bug before… And I think it’s pretty cool. I would be glad if you could help me identify this insect, which I found not too far from my home. Please see the attached files.
Bye,
Stephane
Hi Stephane,
We knew this was exotic for us here in southen California, but your letter gave us no hint as to where your home is. Luckily, the pod caused us to search Australian insect sites and we located your Cotton Harlequin Bug, Tectocoris diophthalmus. They are also called Hibiscus Harlequin Bugs. The patterns vary between individuals. You other photo shows a cluster of nymphs.
¶ Posted 23 October 2005 § True Bugs ‡ ° Also tagged: Leafhopper?
Hi Bugman,
I’ve looked through the sections on your site, and the closest things I found were the Buffalo Tree Hopper and perhaps the shape of the Red Banded Leaf Hopper. I have quite a few of them (10-20) on my Cycad and once in a while I see them on my lime tree. The like the shade and the underside the best. They can fly but rarely do. I haven’t been able to tell if the shells on the underside are from what they are eating or from nymphs that are hatching. They are pale green in colour with the biggest being about a centimetre long. They have been on the plant for at least a few months. I seem to remember a least a couple being there for almost a year now. I live in Sydney, Australia and the pictures were taken today (it is currently spring time). Thanks for the help!
Dave
Hi Dave,
This is one of the Flatid Planthoppers in the Family Flatidae. We have a similar looking species in the states known as the Chloris, Anormenis chloris.
Help in Identifying a bug
Hi, my name is Jonathan Tindal and I need help to indentify an insect. I live in Australia (Adelaide) and Iv’e never seen an insect like this before. I got lots of Photos (5 mega pixel) but a lot turned out a bit blurry; but I will send you the best one attached below. It has the back of a wasp with 2 stingers, 2 antennas, ant nippers, little claws like a crab and small wings. I checked Austrlaia’s csiro but can’t find it. Your help would be appreciated Thank you
Regards
Jonathan Tindal
Hi Jonathan,
Nice to know there are Mole Crickets down under. These subterranean dwellers are also capable of flight, and they are excellent diggers.
What’s this bug….please?
Hi Bugman,
We (my son) have found a heap of bugs roaming around the property. We would like to know what they are and what they are doing? They appeared after a large storm event and are just walking around everywhere. My dog also ate some. I will let you know if the dog dies 
Thanks for any info…
Regards
Anthony (and Daemon)
Hi Anthony and Daemon,
These are some species of Roach, but we didn’t recognize them. We found a matching photo on BugGuide, but with no information. We wrote to Eric Eaton, and here is his response: “Depends on where they are. If this image is from Florida, it is probably of the broad Keys roach, Hemiblabera tenebricosa. If they smelled really bad, then maybe they are the stinking cockroach, Eurycotis floridana, found from Mississippi to Florida and Georgia. Without examining the specimens I can’t rule out other possibilities, including nymphs of other roaches, but if they were over 30 mm, then the above two possibilities are best. Eric” We wish you had included a location which is one of the things we request.
Correction (06/11/2006)
mystery roaches
The Mystery roaches on your page are most likely the heaviest roaches in the world. The photographer is almost certainly from Australia if he got these in the wild. These beauties are Macropanesthia rhinoceros, or the Rhinoceros cockroach, in the family Blaberidae. I’ll send you a picture of some specimens I photographed in the LA County Museum (as well as a photo of a specimen of the longest roach Megaloblatta longipennis). These guys are monsters in real life, but live a pretty calm 10 years or more eating Eucalyptus litter.
Paul Lenhart
University of Texas at El Paso
¶ Posted 04 September 2005 § Cockroaches ‡ ° Also tagged: Unidentified Southern California Spider
Hi,
My name is Susan, and I have been unsuccessful in determining if the spider in my back yard (see attached photo) has a name or is poisonous. It seems very healthy and well fed, and I’d really rather not kill it, though it scares me and I’m not to thrilled about it multiplying…… Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Susan Castang
Torrance, CA
Hi Susan,
If it wasn’t for that distinctive white stripe, I would have just said you had a harmless generic Orb Weaver, but I thought I would do some web research. I found a site that pictures your spider, and that site originates in Australia. The spider is identified as Eriophora transmarina and was originally Araneus transmarinus. It is still a Garden Orb-Weaver. The site goes on to say that there are many color variations in the species and the white stripe is just one of them. We also have many spiders from this genus in California, as well as related genus Neoscona. They are sometimes very difficult to distinguish from one another. Here are a few possible scenarios for your spider. It is Eriophora transmarina which was introduced from Australia like the Eucalyptus Tree Borer, or it is a native Araneus that also happen to have color variations. Either way, it poses no threat to you and you should let it proliferate in your yard. It will help control flying pests like mosquitos carrying West Nile Virus.
beautiful tennessee spider
Hello,
This is actually a re-posting* so I can provide more information in hopes that you’ll be able to identify this beauty. Picture was taken June 11, 2005, in Crossville, TN (Cumberland Plateau area) in a wooded area. The spider’s body is very shiny black, hairless and a little smaller than dime. I’ve looked everywhere on the web and can’t seem to find it. The Australian Red-back comes close, but what would that be doing in Tennessee?? Hopefully, you can solve this mystery.
Thanks,
Melinda Z
*I showed the picture at a friendly gathering last night and in the heat of the moment, my friend sent you the picture without much info. We all really want to know what kind of spider this is!
Hi Melinda,
Over the years we have gotten letter describing a spider that looked like a Black Widow but with hearts on its back. Yours is the first photo we have received substantiating this. Of course, it does look exactly like a Black Widow, but we could find no information on the Heart shaped markings. So, when in doubt, we wrote to Eric Eaton. Here is his response: “This is indeed a black widow, the Southern Black Widow, Latrodectus mactans. Many females have red markings on the top of the abdomen like this. The hourglass mark is on the UNDERSIDE, so apparently the folks who say there is no hourglass hadn’t looked at the belly of the beast:-) Additionally, Northern Black Widows, L. variolus, have a broken hourglass on the belly, and often red stripes and spots on the back. They are generally smaller than other widow species. Lastly, widows begin as WHITE spiderlings with various darker markings. As they age they darken, but may retain several red markings. Older individuals may have few if any markings other than the hourglass. Female widows may easily live two or more years in the wild. Hope this clarifies. Eric”
Thanks for the quick response. It’s a black widow after all: southern bell!!
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