What bug is this?
Location: Metro, Sydney.
March 31, 2011 11:59 pm
Dear Bugman,
Can you please help identify what this bug is.
I live in metropolitan Sydney and I took a photo of this in my back yard. Its approximatly 1cm in length, shiny black with features that resemble a cicada, fly and a grasshopper. Can you help me know who my neighbour is. Thank you!
Signature: Damian
Ensign Wasp
Hi Damian,
This is an Ensign Wasp, and it really needs to be recognized as it performs a significant function. Ensign Wasps parasitize the oothica or egg cases of Cockroaches, though to the best of our knowledge, there have not been any studies on how effective Ensign Wasps are in controlling Cockroach populations.
Shiny beetle, Australia.
Location: Camp Hill, Brisbane, AUS
March 26, 2011 3:55 pm
Hi there. I was sitting on my balcony on a sunny afternoon at the end of March in Brisbane, Australia when I discovered this beetle clinging to my window screen. I can’t seem to find a picture of this exact beetle anywhere and I would really like to know what it is. Thanks very much for your help!
Signature: Heather, Brisbane AUS
Common Assassin Bug
Hi Heather,
This is an Assassin Bug, not a Beetle. The Brisbane Insect Website identifies your insect as a Common Assassin Bug, Pristhesancus plagipennis.
What is this bug?
Location: Sydney, Australia
March 24, 2011 8:06 pm
Hi, I found this bug in the grass near Hyde Park in Sydney in 2003. Can you please tell me what it is?
Signature: Carey
Cotton Harlequin Bug
Hi Carey,
This little beauty is an immature Cotton Harlequin Bug, Tectocoris diophthalmus, one of the Jewel Bugs in the family Scutelleridae. You may read about it as see images of the adult insect on the Brisbane Insect Website.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you so much for the fast response! I’ve been wondering about this for years and it’s great to finally know.
Thanks again,
Carey
Little sucker, immature bug?
Location: Melbourne, Victoria. Australia
March 20, 2011 12:22 am
G’day bugman.
I felt something biting my ankle earlier today, so I had a look at found this little fella having a nibble. I thought it may be a springtail at first, but honestly I’m stumped.
He has interesting orange, yellow and black markings. I would say he’s about 4-5mm long, he has 6 legs that I can see, and pincers up the front.
He uses his rear end to help inch himself forward as well as stick to objects. He also appears to have some grey dust/lint attached to his back.
Unfortunately my camera isn’t suited for taking macro images but these are the best two I could get from above/below, and one included for scale.
Cheers, Erin.
Signature: EW
Lacewing Larva
Hi Erin,
You were bitten by a harmless Lacewing Larva. Larval Lacewings are important predators that help keep down the population of other insects, especially Aphids and related plant feeders that can do major damage in the garden. Some Lacewing Larvae adhere debris, including the remains of their prey, to their bodies as a form of camouflage, and that might explain the dust you mentioned. Thankfully, there is a significant scale difference between humans and Lacewing Larvae because otherwise we wouldn’t stand a chance against this fierce predator.
Lacewing Larva
Thanks for that, we actually have a pretty severe aphid problem in the garden right now, so I made sure to release him back outside where he can be of some benefit. I had heard lacewings were beneficial but had never seen one before, now I know what to look out for and I can make sure they don’t get squashed along with any nearby aphids. 
What is this strange creature
Location: Nowra NSW, Australia
March 17, 2011 7:16 am
This funny looking bug was found on the wall of our dining room. It’s only about 1cm in leangth & curled up like a slater as soon as it was touched. not a great photo but I can tell you that the fragmented looking parts on it back fall away quite easily. 6 legs hide underneath the body.
Signature: Ricky
Neuropteran Larva
Hi Ricky,
If there was no letter attached to this image, we would identify this as the larva of an Antlion, often called a Doodlebug, which buries itself in the sand at the bottom of a pit with just the jaws exposed. It eats ants and other creatures that fall into the pit. Some Antlions may have larvae that are more mobile. Your letter indicates it was crawling on a wall, which inclines us to speculate that it might be a Lacewing Larva as many Lacewing Larvae camouflage themselves with bits of debris. At any rate, both Antlions and Lacewings are in the insect order Neuroptera. The Brisbane Insect website has a great photo of an Antlion Larva.
Tiny White Insect
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
March 14, 2011 4:21 am
Hi, found this relaxing on a succulent plant on a hot day here in Melbourne, Australia… season is Autumn, would you happen to know what this is?
Thank you.
Signature: A.L
Green Planthopper Nymph
Dear A.L.,
We tried browsing through all the postings of Leafhoppers, Treehoppers and Planthoppers in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha that are available on the Brisbane Insect website, but alas, we have not had any luck identifying your immature Hemipteran nymph. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide a more specific identification.
Hi Daniel and A.L.:
I believe this is a Flatid Planthopper (Flatidae: Flatinae) in the predominantly Australian genus Siphanta. It looks very similar to several online images identified as S. acuta, however, there are at least 40 Australian species in the genus and some of them probably have similar looking nymphs. There is also some color variability among nymphs to complicate things further. Nevertheless, S. acuta appears to be the most common species and it has become a bit of a globetrotter as well, with records from New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Africa, Hawaii and mainland USA (California and possibly other states). The common name in Australia and New Zealand is the Green Planthopper, while in the USA it is referred to as the Torpedo Bug. It is considered an agricultural and forest pest in most places where it occurs. The species arrived in Hawaii in the late nineteenth century where it did considerable damage to native trees until it was brought under control in the early twentieth century with the introduction of the Australian egg parasitizing wasp, Aphanomerus puscillus (Scelionidae). Regards. Karl
Thanks for this one especially Karl. I really wanted to put a name to this hieroglyphically marked creature.
1
Grasshopper bug
Location: Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
March 12, 2011 7:26 am
Hi Team,
Found this bug on my door last night, it looks like a grasshopper or locust, but I have never seen one like it here ever.Its about 2-3 inches long with white stripes up its belly. Can you help?
Cheers Denis
Signature: Denis Fitzgerald
32 Spotted Katydid
Hi Denis,
We quickly identified your 32 Spotted Katydid, Ephippitytha trigintiduoguttata, by searching the Insects of Brisbane website. It is also known as a Mottled Katydid, and the etymologically incorrect Speckled Grasshopper. Though Katydids and Grasshoppers are in the same insect order, Orthoptera, they are classified in different suborders.
32 Spotted Katydid
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your email and that you identified my grasshopper.
Seems its common up northern Australia. No wonder I have never seen this type so far south where I am, before.
Thanks again you guys do a GREAT job.
Cheers Denis
¶ Posted 14 March 2011 § Katydids ‡ ° Also tagged: Big, Black and Beautiful
Location: Queensland, Australia
March 11, 2011 6:11 pm
Hi guys,
I’m not sure of the ID on this one apart from it possibly being a Platyzosteria species. I often see wood roaches around the place but this is the first time I have ever seen one this big, if it is one, and out basking on a leaf of a sweet potato vine in my garden. Close to 2” long, and has some pretty awesome looking cerci/genitalia?
Rather beautiful don’t you think?
Signature: aussietrev
Cockroach
Hi Trevor,
Sorry for the delay, but we have a personal deadline this week that is eating into our posting time allotment. Oz Animals identifies Cockroaches in the genus Platyzosteria as Black Cockroaches.
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