Subject: Please not a cockroach….
Location: Berlin, Germany
April 4, 2017 11:10 pm
Dear Bugman, I keep finding these little guys in our entry way and adjacent kitchen (mostly in the kitchen). Occasionally, I will find them in other areas – dining room, bathroom, living room. I have seen an average of one a day since we moved in last summer, except during the winter, when I saw about one every few weeks. I can’t figure out where they are coming from or going to. They don’t seem to be into food or water. We have bananas and butter out 24/7, and I’ve only found one on the bananas and never in the butter. They aren’t under the sink, that I have seen. They are often just on the floor or the wall or the counter. I’ve tried to sneak in and pop on the light in the morning to find more skittering away, but I never find more. They don’t try to run away unless they are bothered (like me trying to scoop them into a ziplock). We have sprayed the entry way a couple of times for ants, which kills other beetles and spiders as well, but these guys seem to be somewhat immune to that. We are in Berlin, Germany. The photo has been lightened a little to make the markings easier to see – it is usually darker and hard to make out the markings on the upper back, and it includes a quarter for size reference. I can’t sleep at night for fear of infestation, whatever it is. Can you please help???
Signature: Buggy in Berlin

Dirt Colored Seed Bug

Dear Buggy in Berlin,
This is not a Cockroach.  We believe it is a Dirt Colored Seed Bug in the family Rhyparochromidae.  At first we thought it might be Rhyparochromus vulgaris, a European species that has been accidentally introduced to North America where it is causing residents distress as it reproduces in great numbers, but the markings are subtly different based on BugGuide images.

Fantastic! This is great news. I can’t tell you the peace of mind that this gives me. Thank you so very much. I only wish I would have thought to ask you sooner. I can finally sleep at night!

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Subject: What’s this interesting looking bug?
Location: Alpharetta, GA
April 2, 2017 6:11 am
I have never seen one of these and I cannot find a picture of one.
This one was sunning on my garage pillar in early spring north of Atlanta. My backyard has a 20 foot wooded buffer around a small stream. This bug was in my front yard -a typical suburban landscaped area.
Signature: Lynn

Whitecrossed Seed Bug

Dear Lynn,
The aptly named Whitecrossed Seed Bug, Neacoryphus bicrucis, is also called the Ragwort Seed Bug, according to BugGuide, where the habitat is listed as “Fields, meadows; adults come to light.”

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Subject: Want to know if these bugs are harmful or harmless
Location: Central Florida ~ Ormond Beach
March 11, 2017 1:46 pm
These bugs appear to be eating aphids on a particular plant. Should I leave them alone or wash them off the plant. The plant is just something that grew in my garden ~ not particularly important. Current season ~ March 11
Signature: barbara malkus

Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

Dear Barbara,
These appear to the the nymphs of Large Milkweed Bugs, Oncopeltus fasciatus, a species normally found on milkweed, but sometimes found on oleander.  We are surmising that milkweed, which is the food plant for the Monarch Butterfly, sprouted in your garden.  Large Milkweed Bugs normally feed on seeds, but if they are eating Aphids, that is a good thing.  In our opinion, you should leave them be.

Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

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Subject: Red bugs in WLA
Location: WLA,: University High School
January 16, 2017 11:43 pm
We found these bugs congregating on a vine near University High School in WLA today. They like the pod like fruit of the vine. There seem to be various stages of development of this bug all living together. Could not see any damage to the vine or fruit/pod of the vine though.
Signature: Margee & Des

Large Milkweed Bugs

Dear Margee & Des,
The insects are various stages of immature nymphs and a single, winged adult Large Milkweed Bug, and finding them on the vine indicates it is either a member of the milkweed family or that it has sticky white sap.  Large Milkweed Bugs are sometimes found on oleander.  They are generally found on the seed pods of milkweed, and they do not do significant harm to the plants, but may effect the number of viable seeds produced.

Thank you so very much for your quick response. We had never seen this bug before and were really curious. Appreciate your effort! 🙂 🙂

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Subject: Found multi color bug which I’ve never seen before
Location: South Texas
January 5, 2017 4:47 pm
Hello! Today whilst looking around my yard I saw a yellow, red/orange and black bug which I’ve never seen before around my fence and near the ground. From what I could tell they had 6 legs, 2 antenae and had weird patterns etched to their backs. The larger one had more black whilst the smaller ones were more yellow (not sure if they are the same species). They all seemed to be close together as shown in the picture.
Though it’s winter at the moment, they are very mild and usually never reach below freezing even when a cold front approaches.
-Sorry if the picture is not a close up shot, it was the best I could do.
Thanks for your time and dedication!
Signature: Agon

Six Spotted Milkweed Bugs

Dear Agon,
You high resolution image is perfectly fine for identifying these Six Spotted Milkweed Bugs, Oncopeltus sexmaculatus, a species that according to BugGuide is “Similar to Large Milkweed Bug, but with a red head, and a slightly different spot pattern.”  Based on BugGuide data, Six Spotted Milkweed Bugs are only reported from Texas within the United States, and your submission represents a new species for our site.  Your image depicts both winged adults and wingless, more yellow nymphs.

Six Spotted Milkweed Bugs

Six Spotted Milkweed Bugs

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