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Bug of the Month November 2021: Fine-backed Red Paper Wasp

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Subject:  Wasp?
Geographic location of the bug:  Northwest Florida
Date: 11/01/2021
Time: 02:35 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman :  Can you help me ID this guy. He looks like a red wasp but his wings look black
How you want your letter signed:  Lin

Fine-Backed Red Paper Wasp

Dear Lin,
This is a Paper Wasp in the genus Polistes, and we believe we have correctly identified it as a Fine-Backed Red Paper Wasp, Polistes carolina, thanks to images on BugGuide.  Based on the BugGuide information page, there are several species that look similar.
Now we must take the time to apologize to you for the delay in our response and we want to let our readers know that Daniel’s hiatus has hopefully ended.  Since his last posting on October 30, he ended a month stay in Ohio, took the train back across country, and completed teaching fall semester.
Daniel never had an opportunity to declare a Bug of the Month for November 2021, and though the month has long ended, this Paper Wasp is a perfect candidate for that distinction since BugGuide indicates they are commonly sighted in “Summer-fall.”

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Bug of the Month August 2015: Three Wasps from Minnesota: Potter Wasp, Paper Wasp and Cicada Killer Bug of the Month September 2021: Paper Wasps in Taiwan go for motorbike ride Bug of the Month October 2021: Wheel Bug in nature, not in a plastic bag Bug of the Month October 2021: Wheel Bugs Mating

Halloween Greetings from a Longtime Contributor: Green Lynx eats Metallic Bee

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Subject:  Happy Halloween!
Geographic location of the bug:  Coryell County, Texas
Date: 10/14/2021
Time: 01:48 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello again! I hope you are all well. Many insects in this photo, and I only know one, I think, a green lynx spider with prey. This photo is titled Macabre Magnolia in my photo collection. I reached up over my head to get a photo of what I thought was a beautiful blossom for my daughter-in-law, who loves magnolias. The joke was on me when I uploaded the photo. Susprise! Such drama, pathos, and humor. My favorite is the grasshopper munching away on the blossom as the rest of the drama unfolds. Photo taken May 30, 2020, and it makes me laugh every time I come across it.  Insect life is… interesting. Happy Halloween!
How you want your letter signed:  Ellen

Macabre Magnolia

Dear Ellen,
How nice to hear from you.  Daniel had been very negligent to the WTB? readership beginning about two years ago due to personal matters, but several months ago he committed to posting 90 new queries per month, though that stalled when he took a train across the country to Ohio earlier this month.  He plans to catch up this week and be on track once again for October.  He was still traveling when you wrote.  We love your image and we are featuring your Halloween Greeting on our scrolling banner.  The Green Lynx appears to be eating a Metallic Sweat Bee and there are several Honey Bees present on the blossom.  We agree the peeking Grasshopper is priceless.  Thanks for thinking of us and at least we got this posted before Halloween.

Thank you so much for the kind response! Wishing you all the best. Happy Halloween 🕸

Highest regards,
Ellen

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Green Lynx eats Honey Bee on Woody Plant Green Lynx Spider eats Skipper Green Lynx Spider eats Yellow Jacket Banded Orbweaver eats Grasshopper

Bug of the Month October 2021: Wheel Bugs Mating

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Subject:  Wheel Bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Cut N Shoot Texas
Date: 09/30/2021
Time: 03:24 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This wheel bug mating was found on my back porch. Did not know what they were until I found your site. Thank you!
How you want your letter signed:  Thank you

Mating Wheel Bugs

We must thank you for cheering us up with your kind letter, and also because though we do not believe your image documents typical Wheel Bug mating, we are nonetheless thrilled to post it.  Probably the greatest reason your letter cheered us is that we just made a Wheel Bug posting Bug of the Month for October, but there is no reason we cannot add a second Bug of the Month posting for October, but with a more positive outcome for the Wheel Bugs.

Thank you, that was a strange bug!! And its not typical? I don’t know much about bugs, lol. However i did see one more picture of that bug with two of them on its back and it was called something like a mating frenzy haha.

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Bug of the Month Halloween 2014: Tangled Limbs: Mating Wheel Bugs Mating Wheel Bugs Wheel Bugs Mating Milkweed Assassin Bugs Mating

Bug of the Month October 2021: Wheel Bug in nature, not in a plastic bag

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Subject:  Evil Black Hellbug
Geographic location of the bug:  Baltimore Maryland
Date: 09/30/2021
Time: 08:11 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This hateful thing crawled into my steering wheel causing me to crash my car. In the interest of traumatizing myself again please tell me what it is so I can avoid it. Very long with a circular body part that had spiky pieces. Had to have have a mechanic take the wheel off just to get it out.
How you want your letter signed:  Terrified

The most awesome image of a Wheel Bug

Dear Terrified,
Franklin D. Roosevelt said “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  This Wheel Bug is a predatory Assassin Bug and it might bite if provoked, and the bite would likely be painful if it occurred, but it is our opinion that Wheel Bugs are relatively docile as Assassin Bugs go and they are far less likely to bite than other blood-sucking members of the family and also some less threatening relatives that are much more likely to bite, like members of the genus Zelus.  We have chosen to feature your submission as the Bug of the Month for October because of your awesome subject line and your dramatic letter, and because Halloween is this month and also because we got to mention blood-sucking.  However, we find your image a tad morose and though we will include the poor dead Wheel Bug in a Plastic Bag on Friday image, we suspect it was alive when you encountered it and we consider that Unnecessary Carnage.  We are taking the opportunity to post once again, originally posted in 2007, our favorite image of a live Wheel Bug which many folks write to us calling a Dinosaur Bug or Stegosaurus Bug.

Wheel Bug in a Bag

The mechanics kept it alive and only temporarily put it in the bag as proof they got it out.
Thank you for informing me of its stinging bite, I stayed up all night researching it and closed mouth crying.
Best,

Hello again Terrified.
Thanks for letting us know.  We will remove the Unnecessary Carnage tag.  You have some pretty thorough mechanics for them to have gathered the evidence of the extenuating circumstances that led to your unfortunate accident.

Related posts:

Bug of the Month September 2021: Paper Wasps in Taiwan go for motorbike ride Bug of the Month October 2021: Wheel Bugs Mating Bug of the Month: August 2007 – Giant Ichneumons Bug of the Month: July 2007 – Cicada Killer

Unknown Thing from China or Malaysia

On · Category: _Featured, Uncategorized Tagged With: · 3 Comments

Subject:  Unidentified bug
Geographic location of the bug:  China, Hong Kong, Tseung Kwan O Village
Date: 09/29/2021
Time: 07:17 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I have this huge bug, or maybe two bugs with sixteen legs in all on top of each other, rising and falling. I don’t know if the strands are cocoon silk or legs. The top has bristly hair, dark grey.
How you want your letter signed:  Ｕｎｉｄｅｎtiｆｉｅｄ　ｂｕｇ

Thing

We have no idea what this thing is, but it is not an insect.  We somehow suspect humans were involved in the creation of this thing.  Perhaps our readers will be willing to speculate on its identity, and perhaps someone with some knowledge about this thing will write in with information.  Is this thing on the wall, on the ceiling, on steps or on the floor?  The location in your image is quite ambiguous.

Subject:  Strange Bug in Malaysia
Geographic location of the bug:  Malaysia
Date: 09/30/2021
Time: 05:25 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi – friend of mine sent a video of this strange creature – suspect it’s 2 one of top of the other – but we can’t ID it
How you want your letter signed:  Kate Adkins

Dear Kate,
You are the second person to send us this image.  The first submission claims the creature was in China, Hong Kong, Tseung Kwan O Village.  We suspect this is a new internet hoax.

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The Bugman is Back: Though it is April Fool’s Day, this is No Joke

On · Category: _Featured, Bug Art · 1 Comment

Date: 03/30/2021
Time: 09:39 PM EDT
Subject:  Beautiful Butterfly
Geographic location of the bug:  Southern California
Dear Bugman, I am hoping you can help me identify this butterfly based on the body shape and wing markings. It was located indoors during the very early spring.
How you want your letter signed:  Melanie on the Irish Chain

A lovely butterfly

Dear Melanie,
More than most readers, you know that the past year has been very difficult for Daniel, and with the pandemic, the trauma of teaching online, and a multitude of life changes, your frequent communications have been a great source of comfort for Daniel as he contemplates life changes.  The butterfly has long been a symbol of transition for many people, and hopefully we will all be able to emerge from a long period of isolation, much like the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis after having transformed from a nearly unrecognizable caterpillar.  Your butterfly is a fantasy creature, and the peace signs on the wings are a beacon of hope for the future.  Though a fantasy creature, those stunning wings most closely resemble a Brush-footed Butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, and as a resident of Southern California, in our opinion it most closely resembles a Red Admiral, a lovely butterfly that is currently enjoying the warm spring days in Daniel’s own garden.  The are most often seen sunning themselves in the morning and late afternoon so their dark wings absorb the heat of the sun.  Also, Daniel has to come clean and admit he is also Constant Gardener.

Red Admiral

 

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