From the monthly archives: "February 2009"
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Green Lynx Spider eats Carpenter Bee

On · Category: Carpenter Bee, Green Lynx Tagged With: · Add Comment

Green Lynx with Bee
Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 10:42 AM
I found this photo from last August on my camera. Taken near Charlotte, NC.
This is a Green Lynx eating what I think is a Carpenter Bee.
It must be their favorite catch as there already is a picture of this on your site.
Great site,
Bob
Cornelius , NC, USA

Green Lynx eats Carpenter Bee

Green Lynx eats Carpenter Bee

Hi Bob,
Maybe you never had a chance to print your photo of a healthy female Green Lynx Spider feeding on a Carpenter Bee, but at least it is now online for the world to view.  Green Lynx spiders often wait for prey by perching on blossoms, so they eat many pollinating insects.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Red Palm Weevil from Thailand

On · Category: Weevils · Add Comment

Big orange head beetle
Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 2:20 AM
Hi, I saw this beetle moving slowly over rocks during the day in the garden. I only had my phone camera which is not great but you should have some idea. It has big black eyes, which at first I thought were decoys to make it look bigger. The bug was about the size of a big man’s thumb with a long orange proboscis. Wasn’t bothered by my getting close to it.
Chris
Chiangmai Thailand

Unknown Weevil

Red Palm Weevil

Dear Chris,
All we have time to do is to post your photo, and we hope to be able to identify the species of Weevil in the family Curculionidae this weekend. A Weevil this size and this distinctive should not be too difficult to properly identify. To be more accurate, the orange body part is the thorax.

Immediate Update:
As soon as we posted, we decided to look up the Palm Weevil from the Southeast that looks quite similar. The Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus cruentatus, can be found on BugGuide. When we researched the genus and Thailand, we found a pdf on the Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus.

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Default ThumbnailGrain Weevils and Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis Giant Palm Weevil, probably Red Palm Weevil Weevil from the Philippines Large Chestnut Weevil
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Potato Bug comes in out of the rain

On · Category: Potato Bugs, Wetas and Parktown Prawns · 2 Comments

Large and striped during rainy season…CA
Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 8:52 PM
I found this insect on the garage floor, not really moving around. Soon after taking the photos, it started to scurry around with its tail raised a little and trying to flip its barbed legs backwards. I imagine it was to hook something.
Recently, we have had 10″ of rain in two weeks. I don’t know if this has any relevance.
fascinated
northern california

Potato Bug

Potato Bug

Dear fascinated,
Seems there is nothing like a good dowsing of rain to bring subterranean dwellers like your Potato Bug above ground. The Potato Bug is one of our most common identification requests in Southern California.  Potato Bugs are also commonly called Jerusalem Crickets.

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Default ThumbnailSuicidal Potato Bugs Potato Bug Poses for Professional Portraits Winged Weta from Australia Black Headed Potato Bug
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mating Leaf Footed Bugs

On · Category: Leaf Footed Bugs Tagged With: · 6 Comments

Bug of the Month – Feb 2009, eating habits?
Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Hi, I live in Phoenix, AZ and my kids and I were in our backyard and noticed these bugs my son refered to as “lobster bugs”. We came inside and found your site. Thanks for the science lesson! I was wondering if these plant bugs opened the pomagranate or did they find them and begin to eat them? Is this their plant of choice or will any do?
THS
North America

Leaf Footed Bugs Mating

Leaf Footed Bugs Mating

Dear THS,
The insects in your photos are mating Leaf Footed Bugs or Big Legged Bugs, probably Leptoglossus zonatus as depicted on BugGuide.  We often see this species on ripe pomegranates in Elyria Canyon Park in the Mount Washington area of Los Angeles.  The adult insects are also attracted to our tomatoes.  These insects have sucking mouth parts rather than chewing mouth parts.  The Leaf Footed Bugs use their sucking mouth parts to pierce the skin and suck the juices from the plants.  Enzymes that the insects release create bruise-like irregularities in the fruit. The ripe pomegranates split their skins on their own.

Leaf Footed Bugs Mating

Leaf Footed Bugs Mating

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Mating Leaf Footed Bugs Mating Leaf Footed Bugs Mating Leaf Footed Bugs Leaf Footed Bugs Mating
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Wheel Bug

On · Category: Assassin Bugs · Add Comment

Unknown Bug
Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 2:25 PM
I saw this bug on top of an aircraft wing and took this picture. I scooped it up on some paper and was looking at it. It had a very long neck with eyes on the end. After some fun, I took it to an open doorway to set it free – only to discover that it had wings hidden along its back. The bug took off and scared the breath out of me! I have some additional pics that I will locate and send… The bug is about 3 inches long
Just Wondering
Saint Louis

Wheel Bug

Wheel Bug

Dear Just Wondering,
We are guessing that this Wheel Bug is not a recent sighting.  Wheel Bugs are large Assassin Bugs and they are predators.  All of our information indicates that while they are not aggressive, the bite of a Wheel Bug is quite painful, so they should be handled with care.

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Immature Blood Sucking Conenose Immature Wheel Bug Bee Assassin Wheel Bug: Lays eggs in fall. Eggs hatch in spring
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Aggregation of Unknown Red Hemipterans in Brazil

On · Category: Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers, True Bugs Tagged With: · Add Comment

Red-orange bugs by the thousands in Southeastern Brazil, 800 m. asl
Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 5:01 AM
Our garden in Petropolis (Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil, 22º22’S 43º06’W), in the Serra do Mar, about 800 meters asl) is now filled with tens of thousands of these little red-orange bugs, with size varying from one millimeter to a centimeter. They apparently do not cause any damage to the plants, but seem to be associated with the red fruits of a nearby tree, which are all over the ground at this time of the year.
Eduardo Viveiros de Castro
Serra do Mar, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (22S43W)

Unknown Nymphs from Brazil

Unknown Nymphs from Brazil

Hello Eduardo,
You were quite accurate in calling these bugs. They appear to be immature Hemipterans, probably True Bugs. Since they are immature, they may change in appearance as they mature. Mature Hemipterans usually have wings. There are many North American species of Hemipterans that form large aggregations like the ones depicted in your image. One of the most common is the Boxelder Bug. We are going to post your images in the hope that one of our readers can locate an accurate identification for you.

Hemipteran Aggregation

Hemipteran Aggregation

Many immature True Bugs are quite similar in appearance and it may be very difficult to get an exact species identification without seeing an adult insect.

Hemipteran Aggregation

Hemipteran Aggregation

Update: Aggregation of Unknown Red Hemipterans in Brazil
Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 3:26 PM
Hi Daniel:
Hemipteran nymphs are always difficult to identify, but I believe the ones posted by Eduardo are probably in the family Lygaeidae (chinch bugs and seed bugs). They really look very similar to early instar Large Milkweed Bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus), which range from the southern USA to Brazil. I don’t think that that’s quite it, however, for a variety of reasons (no mention of any sort of milkweed; the larger juveniles would be showing some black markings; Eduardo’s nymphs clearly have white-tipped antennae). It could be some other Oncopeltus species or it could be a related species – there are plenty to choose from in Brazil. Regards.
Karl
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showimage/995/

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination