Subject: Beetle
Geographic location of the bug: Texas
Date: 06/03/2018
Time: 04:06 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Can you identify?
How you want your letter signed: Vickie Couch
Giant Agave Bug
Dear Vickie,
This is a Giant Agave Bug, Acanthocephala thomasi, which you can verify by viewing this BugGuide image.
Subject: Pretty Bug
Geographic location of the bug: Bolsa Chica Reserve, Huntington Beach, CA
Date: 05/22/2018
Time: 02:06 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: We saw many of these colorful bugs on a bladder pod plant. What are they?
How you want your letter signed: Espressive
Harlequin Stink Bugs
These colorful Harlequin Stink Bugs, Murgantia histrionica, are commonly found feeding on plants in the cabbage family, so you finding them on bladderpod piqued our curiosity. According to BugGuide: “hosts: primarily Brassicaceae (horseradish, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, mustard, Brussels sprouts, turnip, kohlrabi, radish); may also attack tomato, potato, eggplant, okra, bean, asparagus, beet, weeds, fruit trees and field crops.“
Subject: Ornate white lined shield bug needs a name!
Geographic location of the bug: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Date: 05/21/2018
Time: 01:27 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: My friend sent me a picture of this shield bug. However, I have never seen anything like it. Moths, yes, but not a shield bug.
Could you please help me narrow down the shield bug identification?
Thank you!!
How you want your letter signed: Fish Seal
Two Spotted Stink Bug
Dear Fish Seal,
This is a Two Spotted Stink Bug, a species that is highly variable in color. Some individuals are white like the one you sent us for identification, and some Two Spotted Stink Bugs are red in color.
Subject: What’s this sunflower loving bug?
Geographic location of the bug: Phoenix, Arizona. USA
Date: 05/21/2018
Time: 10:31 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: This 6 legged bug likes sunflowers. Never seen this bug in my entire life. Black, red and yellow. Any idea what it is?
How you want your letter signed: Andrea ~
Yellow Bellied Bee Assassin
Dear Andrea,
As soon as we read your submission, we suspected you encountered a Yellow Bellied Bee Assassin, Apiomerus flaviventris, and sure enough, you had. Bee Assassins are predatory Assassin Bugs and as their name implies, they favor pollinating insects including Bees, and they frequently wait on blooms like your sunflower for a meal to arrive. According to BugGuide: “This species exhibits a high level of polychromatism although in the United States the color pattern is fairly uniform.”
Subject: Beetle ID
Geographic location of the bug: Denver, co
Date: 05/15/2018
Time: 06:01 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: What is this bug?
How you want your letter signed: Jon orsborn
Small MIlkweed Bug
Dear Jon,
This is not a beetle. It is a Small Milkweed Bug, Lygaeus kalmii.
Subject: What’s this guy called?
Geographic location of the bug: Driftwood, TX
Date: 05/11/2018
Time: 10:12 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello 🙂 We round this guy in the kitchen on May 10 (and took him outside before snapping a photo). What is he? Thanks!
How you want your letter signed: Curious
Leaf Footed Bug Nymph
This is a recently hatched Leaf Footed Bug nymph in the genus Acanthocephala. Here is a BugGuide image for comparison.
Leaf Footed Bug Nymph
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