From the yearly archives: "2019"

Raspy Cricket in its lair from Australia

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Subject:  RASPY CRICKET
Geographic location of the bug:  Eulah Creek NSW
Date: 12/15/2019
Time: 10:58 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  We came across this little chap the other day – first time I had seen anything like it in 20 years at Narrabri. and it has us stumped (pardon the pun) until I came across this site. The insect is living in a hole in a strainer post and appears to have his mesh up during the day but down at night.
How you want your letter signed:  Lars

Raspy Cricket

Dear Lars,
Thanks so much for sending in your excellent images of a Raspy Cricket in its lair.  Researchgate has information on silk production by Raspy Crickets.

Raspy Cricket

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Puddling Ruby Spotted Swallowtail and Sulphur Butterflies from Brazil

On · Category: swallowtails, Whites and Sulfurs · Add Comment

Subject:  Yellow & white butterflies
Geographic location of the bug:  Rio Aripuana ~500 km upstream Manaus
Date: 12/10/2019
Time: 01:10 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:
1) The target species on this image is a Heraclides (Papilio) anchisiades, Id:ed by Jorge Bizarro, one of the top people on Nymphalides and Moths and Hawk Moths in tropical America. The yellow ones and white ones I have not Id:ed. I have learned there are several similar species. I ´d appreciate if you like to give them a try. Photo taken Rio Aripuana Brazil bout 450 km upstream from Manaus 2019-10-05.
How you want your letter signed:  Stefan

Puddling Ruby Spotted Swallowtail and Sulphur Butterflies

Dear Stefan,
Thanks for sending your image of a puddling Ruby Spotted Swallowtail.  According to Learn About Butterflies:  “Heraclides anchisiades is a very common and widespread species, found from Texas to Paraguay.”  The yellow and white butterflies are in the family Pieridae, the Whites and Sulphurs, but we cannot provide you with a conclusive species identification based on your image.  There are many species pictured on Butterflies of the Amazon & Andes.  This puddling behavior is a communal activity that often involves several different families of butterflies congregating to take in moisture as well as dissolved minerals.

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Another Giant Wood Moth from Australia

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Subject:  Large moth
Geographic location of the bug:  Liverpool area in Sydney
Date: 12/11/2019
Time: 03:29 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Can anyone please identify this large moth seen near my work, it’s body is about 10 cm long. Thanks
How you want your letter signed:  Allan

Giant Wood Moth

Dear Allan,
This is a Giant Wood Moth and we receive several submissions from Australia each year at this time.

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Assassin Bug from Bolivia is Zelurus festivus

On · Category: Assassin Bugs · 6 Comments

Subject:  Spikey wasp? Coral caterpillar
Geographic location of the bug:  Bolivia, Ascensión de Guarayos and Trinidad
Date: 12/13/2019
Time: 05:57 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi Bugman. I have spent the last year working at an animal sanctuary in the Bolivian jungle which means I encounter a huge amount of strange insects daily. These two particularly caught my attention and would love to know what they are. Many thanks
How you want your letter signed:  Chris

Assassin Bug:  Zelurus festivus

Dear Chris,
What you have mistaken for a “spikey wasp” is actually a stunning looking Assassin Bug, but we have not had any luck with a species identification.  We can assure you that this is NOT a Blood-sucking Conenose Bug or Kissing Bug from the subfamily Triatominae, a group known to spread Chagas Disease.  Many Assassin Bugs will deliver a painful bite if provoked or carelessly handled, but except for the Kissing Bugs, Assassin Bugs do not pose a threat to humans.  This individual is a very effective wasp mimic.  Perhaps Cesar Crash from Insetolgia will recognize it.  We will attempt to identify your Caterpillar at a later time.

Assassin Bug:  Zelurus festivus

Update: December 20, 2019
Thanks to Cesar Crash and Brandon Thorpe submitting comments, we now know this is Zelurus festivus.  There are also images on iNaturalist and Discover Life.

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Bug of the Month December 2019: Mania Moth from Brazil

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Subject:  Moth
Geographic location of the bug:  Manaus Brazil
Date: 12/09/2019
Time: 07:51 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi! Hope you´re still in buisnes. I received some help from you 2016.
No 1 This Moth was photographed in Manaus Brazil 2019-10-03, in the graden of hotel Tropic(al). I have come as far as “it is probably” a Notodontidae.
No 2: This butterfly was photographed on a forest road along Rio Aripuana, about 450 km upstream from Manaus 2019-10-06. Is this really a Merpesia?
No 3: Photographed along Rio Arapuana Brazil 2019-10-10 in forest flooded 6 months a year. Fuligoridae family. I have more photos of this creature, but this is the clarest one. Is it possible to get any further? (- Would love it).
Best regards
Stefan
How you want your letter signed:  Stefan

Mania Moth

Dear Stefan,
We are going to attempt to handle your identification requests one at a time.  Your second image is actually a moth, not a butterfly.  We are confident it is a Mania Moth, Mania empedocles, from the family Sematuridae which we identified on Project Noah.  The species is also pictured on iNaturalist.  According to a FlickR posting:  “Mainly, the family is made of nocturnal and crepuscular individuals. There are 35 species in the family Sematuridae; a single genus with one species occurs in Africa (as far as my knowledge goes, so this requires confirmation) whilst the others occur in the Neotropical zone. The wingspan of adults in this family can go from 42 to 100mm and their body is robust in most species. The wings are triangular; posterior wings present a tail-like projection with oceli designs.”

Dear Daniel!
Thank you for the Id of the id. of the Mania Moth.
Linnaeus said: “Knowledge without names is worth nothing”
Now about 250 years later, I can extend his statement by feeling and saying: “Sightings without names are worth nothing”
The bugs I´m sending you currently are from a mammal- and bird-trip.
In Sweden, my home country I have seen all the Nymphalides and most of the Moths and Hawk-moths. When I´ve been out and have done my best to determine what I have seen, every addition to that is a bonus, for which I´m grateful.
I have in mind to send you two more images. I´ll send them to your Bugman page but give you some background here. The target species on the first image I´m sending you is a Heraclides (Papilio) anchisiades,  Id´ed by Jorge Bizarro, one of the top people on Nymphalides and Moths and Hawk Moths in tropical America. Both the yellow ones and white ones on the same photo I have not even tried. In Pantanal 2012 I identified Phoebis sennae, but there were probably several species on these river banks. It´ll be interesting to see if you can id any of the yellow ones and white ones on this image.
The second image i´ll present on your Bugman-page.
Best regards
Stefan

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Unknown Ichneumon from Costa Rica

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Subject:  What’s this yellow wasp?
Geographic location of the bug:  Costa Rica, Nicoya Peninsuala
Date: 12/09/2019
Time: 05:49 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi there! I’m living in Costa Rica and accustomed to all manner of crazy bugs, including having many, many paper wasps making my home their home. I’ve come across a very pretty wasp today, however, which I’ve never seen before. Any time there’s only one of something and it’s abnormally pretty, I start to wonder. I was hoping you could help me identify my new kitchen guest and let me know if I should be nervous about the surprisingly long stinger or not.
(sorry about the dust…it’s a daily accumulation, it’s crazy down here!)
Thanks in advance!
How you want your letter signed:  Monique

Unknown Ichneumon

Dear Monique,
We believe this is a parasitoid Ichneumon, a harmless solitary Wasp, but we have not had any luck finding any similar looking individuals online.  According to BugGuide:  “arguably, the largest animal family, with the estimated 60,000 species worldwide (up to 100,000, according to some estimates”  and “Ichneumonids are notoriously hard to identify: aside from the sheer number of species, there are numerous cases of distant relatives that appear almost identical. Any identification based solely on comparing images should be treated as suspect unless an expert has said there are no lookalikes for the species or group in question.”  Ichneumons are important biological control agents and many species prey on caterpillars.  The female uses her long ovipositor (not a real stinger) to lay eggs inside the body of the living host and the larva that hatches will feed on the internal organs of the host, eventually killing it.

Thank you Daniel!
I used your identification in Google Images and, instead of getting moths like searching my image did, I found many similar images, so I completely trust your ID. She really was pretty and I hope that she finds a nice caterpillar nearby to help her hatch a lovely family.
Thanks for such a quick reply!
Monique

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