From the monthly archives: "December 2008"

Grasshopper from Israel

On · Category: Grasshoppers · 3 Comments

Acrida bicolor from Israel
Tue, Dec 23, 2008 at 12:31 AM
Hi Bug People!
I saw this fellow, Acrida bicolor, on a hike last weekend (December 19th) in the Judaean desert, not far from the Dead Sea. I thought that such a remarkable creature must be posted on WTB, so here are three pictures. One on a red background to emphasize its color patterns, one on my hand as a size reference, and one in its natural habitat, to show its camoflage.
Enjoy!
Ben, Israel
Zohar ravine, Judaean desert.

Acrida bicolor from Israel

Acrida bicolor from Israel

Hi Ben,
Thanks for sending us these wonderful images of Grasshopper from Israel.  It sure is an interesting looking specimen.

Acrida bicolor from Israel

Acrida bicolor from Israel

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Yellow Katydid possibly Oblong Winged Katydid

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yellow katydid
Mon, Dec 22, 2008 at 3:21 PM
Hi!
My brother found this katydid in our backyard in Central Oklahoma this summer. I looked on your site and I think this might be an oblong winged katydid, but I haven’t seen a yellow one before. I love your site. Thanks for everything you guys do.
Josh Kouri

Katydid

Katydid

Hi Josh,
Sadly, your photos don’t show the tips of the wings. We are not confident to say for certain that this is an Oblong Winged Katydid, Amblycorypha oblongifolia, but since we have already contacted a Katydid expert, Piotr Naskrecki, regarding a Costa Rican submission, perhaps he can properly identify this yellow specimen as well.

Katydid

Katydid

Wow, thanks for the quick response! Here’s the only other picture I have of
the katydid– I hope it helps. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!
Josh Kouri

Oblong Winged Katydid: Yellow Version, we think

Oblong Winged Katydid: Yellow Version, we think

Thanks for the new photo Josh. To our inexperienced eyes, we now agree that this is probably an Oblong Winged Katydid, but we still hope to get a confirmation from Piotr Naskrecki.

Hi Daniel,
The yellow Amblycorypha that just appeared on the website cannot be
positively identified from the photos. There are at least 3 species in
Oklahoma that have a very similar appearance: A. hausteca, A. longinicta,
and A. oblongifolia. It is probably the last one, but without looking at the
details of the male stridulatory organs and cerci I cannot be sure.
Cheers,
Piotr

Related posts:

Meadow Katydid Katydid from Costa Rica: Ancistrocercus circumdatus Conehead from Pakistan Longhorned Orthopteran from Australia

Moss Mimic Katydid from Costa Rica

On · Category: Katydids · 2 Comments

Katydid Costa Rica
Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Hi, again! I love this site! Here are two pictures of what looks to me like a katydid. It resembles the Panama Sylvan katydid – Acanthodis curvidens that is shown on this site, but the coloration is quite different. I assume mine is a female. It was sitting on the side of a concrete block used to surround some gardening stuff. It sat very still for the photos and is about 3-4 inches long. Perhaps the genius at Harvard who identified the other katydids can have a go at this one?
Mary Thorman (Pura Vida Photos)
south western Costa Rican highlands

Katydid from Costa Rica

Katydid from Costa Rica

Hi Mary,
We have contacted Piotr Naskrecki and we hope he will be able to provide you with a species identification of this awesome looking Katydid from Costa Rica.

Katydid from Costa Rica

Katydid from Costa Rica

Hi Daniel,
This is Haemodiasma tessellata, a gorgeous moss mimic, often found in mid-
to high elevation forests. They sometimes fly to light at night, which may
explain finding it around the house. I would be curious to know where and
when the pictures were taken.
Cheers,
Piotr

Update: December 26, 2008
Hi, Daniel!
Please tell Piotr that a found the moss mimic katydid two weeks ago.  I live in a rural/wooded area of Costa Rica at about 1200 meters.  It is on the Pacific slopes of the Talamanca Mountain range in southern Costa Rica.  I have two hectares of secondary highland forest (with a corridor of primary forest near a stream on the property).  I also raise organic fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants.  I found the katydid just sitting on a concrete block near my house one morning as I was putting bananas and other fruits on a bamboo feeding platform near my bedroom window.
What does tesselata mean?  I also raise a type of live bearing cockroach called Archimandrita tesselata.  Wish I’d known bugs were so fascinating when I was young enough to study entomology more thoroughly than I did for basic biology classes.  I wound up becoming a professional field gerontologist instead.  But I was an insect collector for the Smithsonian when I lived in Florida where I also raised various insects just to watch them, do some non traumatic experiments, and learn about them.  I even wrote some tongue-in-cheek articles about the joys of raising various insects for several newspapers.
Now that I’m retired I enjoy combining my interest in living things with my hobby of photography.  There is always something new.
If you know of anyone who would like a place to stay near the Wilson Botanical Gardens and Organization for Tropical Studies research center near me while they do field studies, please tell them I have a very nice guest room available.  It would be fun to have a guest who is interested in biology.
Sincerely,
Mary (Chiki) Thorman
Linda Vista de San Vito
Puntarenas
Costa Rica

Related posts:

Meadow Katydid Katydid from Costa Rica: Ancistrocercus circumdatus Conehead from Pakistan Longhorned Orthopteran from Australia

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Hatchlings from Australia

On · Category: Eggs, Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs Tagged With: · 1 Comment

Bug ID needed
Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Hi, My hubby found these little guys hatching out of little silver cachou like eggs and I took macros of them, thinking they were spiders. After downloading and looking at them on the PC, we discovered they were actually little bugs. We have never seen anything like them before and would dearly love to know what they are. When I checked them again today, there were more eggs present. Hope you can help.
Lynne from Bauple, Oz
Bauple,Maryborough,Qld, Australia

Australian Stink Bug Hatchlings

Australian Stink Bug Hatchlings

Hi Lynne,
These are definitely True Bugs, and most probably Stink Bugs in the family Pentatomidae. Sadly, hatchlings can often be extremely difficult to properly identify to the species level.

Correction
Sun, Dec 28, 2008 at 5:09 PM
Hi Daniel, I am pretty sure the bugs are eucalyptus shield bugs. Here is a photo of some eucalyptus shield bug hatchlings taken in our backyard a year ago, and also a later development.
Grev
Australia, east coast

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Hatchlings

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Hatchlings

Thanks Grev,
According to both the Brisbane Insect web site and the Save Our Waterways web site, the Eucalyptus Shield Bugs in the genus Poecilometis are in the Stink Bug family Pentatomidae. The Stink Bugs of Australia web site has specific host trees mentioned for many of the species in the genus Poecilometis. Interestingly, the insects commonly called Shield Bugs in the U.S. are in the family Acanthosomatidae, not Pentatomidae.

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Nymph

Eucalyptus Shield Bug Nymph

Hullo Daniel,
Thanks for the info.
Your website is a godsend – there is so much anti-bug sentiment around (“If it moves, kill it.”) and it is good to read the messages from people whose attitudes have been changed after seeing all the beautiful creatures on your site. And, of course, to see all the amazing bugs there are in the world.
I wish you and Lisa a very happy New Year.
Kind regards,
Grev

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Western Conifer Seed Bug

On · Category: Leaf Footed Bugs · Add Comment

Is it a roach? Is it a moth? Is it a beetle?
Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 3:43 PM
This bug was found in my kitchen yesterday terrorizing my mother. She had no idea what it was and it was flying around the kitchen so it seemed to freak her out. When it flies it looks just like a beetle but when it lands it doesn’t have many similar features of one. I went to catch it but it disappeared until later that night where I found it on the T.V. I quickly ran into the kitchen for a jar but it was gone when I came back. This morning I found it in the living room and caught it. I’ve been looking up the various insects that are known to my area and have come up with little to no answers. I’ve lived in Northern California all my life as well as my mother and we have never seen a bug like this one.
It’s brown and spotted, it flies, has “muscular” legs, and seems to be relatively calm in the jar (it’s not freaking out like a moth would normally do in a closed brightly lit environment). Its head is pointed – not rounded like a roaches head and it doesn’t appear have a super hard exoskeleton – its back is protected by its wings. I’ve provided three angles in the pictures so hopefully I can find out what this bug is. 🙂
*note: The red marks on the glass are not from the bug.
Kristy
McKinleyville, California.

Western Conifer Seed Bug

Western Conifer Seed Bug

Hi Kristy,
The Western Conifer Seed Bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis, is often noticed when it seeks shelter indoors at the onset of cooler weather.  This species is native to the Pacific Northwest, but it has increased its range dramatically over the past few decades.  It is now found throughout the Northeast as well as Canada.

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Rat-Tailed Maggots

On · Category: Maggots and Puparia · 5 Comments

What is this larvae(?) found under the ice
Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 8:55 AM
My son was breaking the ice in our yard pond and found hundreds of these congrgating below the ice, apparently searching for air? I’m fairly familiar with many of the local water bugs and larvae, but never seen this particular creature and was just wondering what it is. Most are approximately .75″ long with a tail 2.5-3″ long. Just trying to teach my son about these kinds of things, and I was a bit embarassed to tell him that I just don’t know what these are!
Thanks
Ray Elkins
Western Kentucky

Rat-Tailed Maggot

Rat-Tailed Maggot

hi Ray,
This is the larva of a Drone Fly, known as a Rat-Tailed Maggot. Despite its unsavory sounding name, the Rat-Tailed Maggot, though it feeds on decomposing organic material in stagnant water, will eventually metamorphose into a beneficial pollinating insect, the adult Drone Fly, Eristalis tenax, a Honey Bee mimic. Interestingly, this species was introduced from Europe prior to 1874 and it has a coast to coast distribution “From Alaska to Labrador and south into California and Florida” according to BugGuide.

Rat-Tailed Maggots found under Ice

Rat-Tailed Maggots found under Ice

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