From the monthly archives: "November 2009"

Stone Grasshopper from Namibia

On · Category: Grasshoppers · 1 Comment

Well camouflaged namibian grasshopper
November 29, 2009
Hi,
In january this year i found a strange grasshopper on a mountain in Kaokoland, Namibia. The mountain is located adjacent to Hoanib river, somewhere between Sesfontein and the border to Skeleton Coast NP. It is extremely well camouflaged, and moves like a chameleon (back and forth, back and forth, slowly moving forward), walking, not jumping. When it felt threatened it slowly leaned to one side until lying flat on one side on the ground, almost invisible. It also tried to fly, but only managed to do so for a very short time, and only about 15 centimetres. I guess the hopper is about 4-5 centimetres.
Do you have any idea what species I had the good luck to observe in this remote area?
Kind regards, Grimfoot
Kaokoland, Namibia

Stone Grasshopper

Stone Grasshopper

Hi Grimfoot,
We have gotten images in the past of the Stone Grasshopper from Namibia.  It is in the genus Trachypetrella.

Stone Grasshopper from Namibia

Stone Grasshopper from Namibia

We just realized you had another image with a different view.

Stone Grasshopper from Namibia

Stone Grasshopper from Namibia

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Bug Mimicking Swift Spider eats Net Casting Spider in Australia

On · Category: Net-Casting Spiders Tagged With: , · Add Comment

aussietrev foodchain S picta eats D.ravidus
November 29, 2009
Hi guys,
Hope the book is progressing well. Will you have it for sale on the site? Thought you might like this shot of Suppuna Picta finishing off a male Dinopis ravidus (Net casting spider)
aussietrev
South East Queensland. Australia

Bug Mimic Spider eats Net Casting Spider

Bug Mimic Spider eats Net Casting Spider

Hi Trevor,
Nice of you to ask about the book.  Coincidentally, we sent off the first draft today.  Now we wait for the editor’s comments before beginning to rewrite.  We had to correct the spelling on Supunna picta before we could find a link.  Thanks for the great photo.  Interesting that the Bug Mimicking Swift Spider mimics the nymphs of the Gum Tree Shield Bug.

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Northern Giant Flag Moth Caterpillar from Arizona

On · Category: Woolly Bears · 3 Comments

Caterpillar at Meteor Crater, Arizona
November 29, 2009
Can you help me identify this caterpillar? He has black segments and orange and yellow segments. He’s about half as long as a US bill. He is really furry.
Jennifer
Meteor Crater, AZ (near flagstaff)

Unknown Caterpillar

Northern Giant Flag Moth Caterpillar

Hi Jennifer,
Our first impression was that this had to be a Tiger Moth Caterpillar, usually called a Woolly Bear, but we could not locate a match on bugGuide.  It might also be an Owlet Moth Caterpillar.

Unknown Caterpillar

Northern Giant Flag Moth Caterpillar

Identification:  Giant Flag Moth Caterpillar
Thanks to a comment from Barb, we now know that this is a Giant Flag Moth Caterpillar, Dysschema howardi, and you may read more about it on BugGuide.

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Predaceous Diving Beetle from Bali

On · Category: Water Beetles Tagged With: , · 2 Comments

Beetle?
November 29, 2009
A beetle or cockroaches picture taken in Bali Indonesia.
Nick
Bali Indonesia

Predaceous Diving Beetle from Bali

Predaceous Diving Beetle from Bali

Hi Nick,
This looks like a Predaceous Diving Beetle.  BugGuide has images of a North American species in the genus Dysticus that looks similar, but we are uncertain as to your species or genus.

This beetle belongs to genus Cybister but is almost impossible to identify which species because then you would need picture taken from above and down but you can also try to google indonesian cybisters.
Mardikavana

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Leaf Mimic Grasshopper from Borneo: Systella dusmeti

On · Category: Grasshoppers · 1 Comment

Leaf grasshopper from Borneo
November 24, 2009
This grasshopper mimicking a yellow leaf was found in Kinabalu National Park, Sabah, Borneo at approximately 1600m elevation in January 2008. I would be grateful for help to discover its species identity.
Peter Bruce-jones
Kinabalu NP, Sabah, Borneo, altitude c. 1600m

Unknown Grasshopper from Borneo

 Grasshopper from Borneo

Hi Peter,
This is quite an amazing looking grasshopper.  We will post the image to see if our readership can assist in the identification.  We would recommend that you post a comment to this posting so you will be notified directly if you receive an identification.

Unknown Grasshopper from Borneo

Grasshopper from Borneo

Karl Provides an ID
November 29, 2009
Hi Daniel:
I believe the genus is Systella, a short-horned grasshopper (Caelifera) in the family Trigonopterygidae. According to the ‘Orthoptera Species File Online’ website this is primarily a southeast Asian genus with seven representatives on Borneo. My hunch is that it is S. dusmeti, but they all look quite similar and I really can’t be certain. Regards.
Karl

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Crow Butterfly from Malaysia

On · Category: Brush Footed Butterflies · 2 Comments

black butterfly with blue spot
November 27, 2009
This is a butterfly specimen I got from my teacher. From the upper view, the bigger front wing is black in colour with some blue spot at the edge. However, with the black wing may appear to be purple blue in colour with the correct light reflection and the colour is shiny. The smaller wing at behind is dull in colour.
The lower view of this butterfly is black in colour with blue spot at the edge.
Kit
Malaysia, tropical rain forest

Crow Butterfly

Crow Butterfly

Hi again Kit,
Again, the Butterflies of Malaysia led us to believe this was one of the Crow Butterflies, and though we found another website with lots of species, we could not find an exact match, but we do believe the genus Euploea is correct.

Comment from Karl
Hi Kit:
I agree that the genus is Euploea, which includes a number of similar looking species. The closest match I could find is Euploea eunice leucogonis, the Blue Branded King Crow. You can go to http://www.sgbug.org/butterflies/spc_info.php?spc_id=374 for a comparison (click on the image for a closer look). Regards.
Karl

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