From the monthly archives: "April 2011"
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Wasp Moth from Mexico

On · Category: Tiger Moths and Arctiids Tagged With: · 1 Comment

Whats this bug
Location: Cancun Mexico
April 27, 2011 4:01 pm
Took this picture in January in Mexico South ofCancun in 2007
Looks like a fly?, Antennae like a butterfly, and weird fuzzy legs….
Very cool though
Signature: Sean

Clearwing Moth from Mexico

Hi Sean,
What a positively gorgeous Clearwing (we know it seems like a misnomer) Wasp Mimic Moth in the family Sesiidae, an interesting group nicely represented on BugGuide. We will try to correctly identify the species for you.  Perhaps Karl will give it a shot.

Correction Courtesy of Karl
Hi Daniel and Sean:
Wasp Moth is a somewhat generic term used to describe wasp mimicking moths from several families. This one is actually an Arctiid moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae), Horama plumipes, which ranges throughout Central America and as far north as southern Texas. Regards.  Karl

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Courting Orange Tips

On · Category: Whites and Sulfurs Tagged With: · Add Comment

Spring in Full Swing!
Hello Daniel and Lisa,
04-21-11    At first I thought these butterflies were Spring Azures, then maybe Cabbage Whites, but neither of those have scallop-edged wings. Can you help me?
04-22-11    The moths were plentiful this morning on the wall under the safety light, and…watched a bird, think it was an Eastern Phoebe, having a snack or two as it flapped up and down the wall. (no photo available)
04-23-11    This morning, I was told by a couple of very early risers, a raccoon was climbing on that wall, holding on with three paws while scooping the moths into its mouth with the fourth! (again, no photo available :'( )
04-27-11    I believe this is a Bent-line Gray Moth, Iridopsis larvaria…
Hoping your Easter, holiday adventure was safe and happy,
R.G. Marion
Sevier County, TN
Great Smoky Mountains

Courting Orange Tips

Dear R.G.,
We absolutely love your photograph of the positively salacious behavior of the courting OrangeTips.  The female has her abdomen raised and she is quite possibly releasing pheromones into the air which have attracted the fluttering male with the sexually dimorphic namesake orange tips.  We are uncertain of the species, but an excellent candidate is the Falcate Orangetip, Anthocharis midea, which ranges all around Tennessee and is profiled on bugGuide.  It is the only Eastern species profiled on BugGuide.  We love this photo so much we are going to feature it.

Wow! Thanx!  I’m so pleased that you liked the photo of the “Courting” Orange Tips.  I do get lucky once in a while.
Since there hasn’t been a sighting reported in Tennessee according to the link that you included, I was wondering if it is possible that they were blown this way by all the storms we’ve been having here in the Southeast this month?  Do things like that happen in the fragile-bug world?  Or did I really get lucky?  Just curious…
R.G. Marion

Hi Again R.G.,
Since the OrangeTips were reported from all surrounding states, it is fair to assume that they are also found in Tennessee, but that there have just not been any submissions to bugGuide.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Pseudoscorpion

On · Category: Eggs, Pseudoscorpions Tagged With: · Add Comment

What is this bug?
Subject: What is this bug?
Location: Found in cupboard, came out of old egg dying box.
April 24, 2011 6:22 pm
I found this bug when I was getting some old egg dying stuff out it is April in the Spring time. I sat the carboard box on the table and it came crawling out. I put it in a baggie and was trying to find out what it is…no luck. I do hope you guys can help me.
Signature: Miss Rebecca

Pseudoscorpion

Our Automated Response:
Thank you for submitting your identification request.
Please understand that we have a very small staff that does this as a labor of love. We cannot answer all submissions (not by a long shot). But we’ll do the best we can!

Hello,
I am glad to see I recieved an email back so quickly to at least inform me you have noticed I submitted my bug. I do thank you but I actually finally got the research I was looking for and found out what it was. So, please do not feel the need to have to research and send me information. Thank you again for your time and for the great website. It is very interesting to look through it all.
Have a Great Day!

Dear Miss Rebecca,
People don’t usually respond so politely to our automated response.  This is a harmless Pseudoscorpion.  It is a fierce, though tiny predator.  We hope your eggs turned out pretty.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Root that looks like an Insect or Insect that looks like a Root???

On · Category: Other Tagged With: · 2 Comments

Giant Bug
Location: Greenville,SC
April 27, 2011 1:55 am
I found a giant bug(?) today that looks almost exactly like a root you would find in a garden. Can you identify it?
Signature: Lydia

Bug Root???

Hi Lydia,
We love your photo of a root that resembles an insect.

Root or Bug???

It was a bug, it crawls and everything. You think it’s just a root?

We have no further comment, but we would love to invite our readership to comment.

Root Bug???

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown Jewel Bug from the Philippines

On · Category: Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs · 2 Comments

Jewel bugs from the Philippines
Location: Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines
April 27, 2011 7:39 am
Hello, these were pictures I took of a scutellerid (jewel bug) from the Philippines. They were quite numerous.
Only thing I know about them is that they scutellerid, probably Scutellerinae. They were feeding on Jatropha in our backyard, which doesn’t help narrow it down, LOL. The exact locality I photographed them in is in Bukidnon, Mindanao Island.
I am currently improving Wikipedia’s article on Scutelleridae (yes, I’m a Wikipedian), and I would like to include my photo, haha. Only thing is, it would look a bit out of place being unidentified. Might be a new species *waggles eyebrows*, but then again color patterns can vary even between adults in Scutelleridae heh. Haven’t seen any nymphs sadly, adults are quite large, about an inch in length (excluding antennae) Photos are here:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scutelleridae_1.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jewel_bugs_on_a_Gmelina_arborea_leaf.jpg
In terms of body shape, it most resembles Australian Scutiphora. However closest coloration patterns I can find are also all from unidentified scutellerids from nearby islands. Dorsal coloration is predominantly red, with two bands of iridiscent green-gold on the scutellum. The head and anterior part of the thorax are greenish blue. A black strip runs longitudinally in the center of the head from the rostrum.
Photos are licensed under CC-BY so use them in any way you please. Hoping you guys can help, thanks in advance.
Signature: Obsidian Soul

Jewel Bug

Dear Obsidian Soul,
Though we do not recognize your species of Jewel Bug, the photos are quite lovely.  Perhaps our readership can provide you with a comment to our posting to assist in your Wikipedia posting.

Jewel Bugs

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown Spanish Insect may be Mealybug

On · Category: Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers Tagged With: , · 1 Comment

Strange small bug
Location: Girona, Spain
April 27, 2011 7:05 am
Hi,
I found this bug in my garden.
I have never seen anything like it before, could you let me know what it is & if it’s poisonous?
Signature: Alix

Unknown Insect from Spain

Hi Alix,
We just returned from a holiday and despite our posting a notice that we would not be responding to emails, we are positively swamped with identification requests.  We decided to look at the most recent requests and found yours, and this one is a bit of a puzzle for us.  We have confessed on numerous occasions that we do not have a background in entomology, and we need to use the internet for much of our research.  Judging by the antennae, this sure appears to be a beetle, but we are not sure if it is larval since it doesn’t have wings, or if it is a wingless adult, or if it is something else entirely.  Alas, we are also quite busy with our day job and we haven’t the time to research this, but we want to post it in the hopes that one of our readers with more knowledge can provide a comment.  We also wrote to our longtime contributor Eric Eaton to see if he can email us an answer.

Unknown Insect from Spain

Eric Eaton Responds
Daniel:
… The bug in the images is probably some kind of mealybug-type thing that has lost much of its usual waxy coating.  Pretty big for a scale insect, but I don’t think it can be anything else.  Try looking up Pseudococcidae for Spain and see what turns up.  …
Eric

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination