Subject: Weird Bug!
Geographic location of the bug: Connecticut
Date: 08/25/2021
Time: 04:36 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman : What is this bug? I can usually identify bugs after some searching but this one has me stumped.
How you want your letter signed: Kat
Stink Bug Exuvia
Dear Kat,
This isn’t really a bug. It is the shed exoskeleton or exuvia of a Stink Bug. Here is a similar image from BugGuide.
Subject: Please ID!
Geographic location of the bug: NE Florida
Date: 08/13/2021
Time: 06:14 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Please help us ID this bug! My 5 y/o is enamored.
How you want your letter signed: Sarah C
Mating Rough Stink Bugs
Dear Sarah,
This is not a bug. It is two bugs that are enamored with one another. These are mating Rough Stink Bugs in the genus Brochymena based on this BugGuide image. and according to BugGuide: “recorded hosts include members of 18 plant families.” If your five-year old is enamored, perhaps this is a good time to begin that conversation about the birds and the bees and the stink bugs.
What's That Bug? being used to identify specimens in Maria Sibylla Merian illustrations!!!
Fourth Recipient: Nasty Reader Award
Second Recipient: Nasty Reader Award
First Ever: Nasty Reader Award: Hawthorn Shieldbug: Concise answer results in virulent response. Real culprit is cad of a boyfriend!!!!!
Subject: Whats this Beetle?
Geographic location of the bug: Southern Oregon (Medford)
Date: 07/30/2021
Time: 01:15 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: These Beetle’s have traveled to the SE, SW sides of our building. They are staying around the door jams and brick stem wall.Black with a thin orange line around their body. I search beetles of So Oregon and these were not listed. Thank you for your help, Darrell
How you want your letter signed: Darrell
Conchuela Stink Bug
Dear Darrell,
You had difficulty with your identification because this is not a Beetle. This is an immature Conchuela Stink Bug.
Subject: What is this bug – Beetle?
Geographic location of the bug: Jalisco, Mexico
Date: 04/04/2021
Time: 11:56 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I found this guy in my garden. It’s size is what first caught my attention. I took it’s picture but did not, unfortunately take a measurement. It is about 8 to 10 times larger than an average Ladybug (which I thought it might be some giant species of at first). I wanted to find out if it was a beneficial insect or if it was going to do damage to my garden. No one I know seemed to know what it was from the picture (except a lot of people thought it was some kind of Ladybug as well). I did relocate it to a wild area near my house since I did not want to destroy it. Hopefully you can help me solve the mystery of it’s identity.
How you want your letter signed: Mario L Pardillo
Shield Bug: Augocoris species
Dear Mario,
This is not a Beetle. It is a True Bug in the family Scutelleridae, commonly called Shield Bugs or Jewel Bugs. We believe based on images posted to ResearchGate and to iNaturalist that it is in the genus Augocoris, possibly Augocoris illustris. That species is listed on BugGuide, though the individuals are highly variable, ranging from pure orange to pure white, and judging by this image of a mating pair on BugGuide, they are also sexually dimorphic. The food plant listed on BugGuide is Chrysophyllum oliviforme, and regarding your concerns about it being damaging to your garden, we believe that as a native species, it has predators that will keep it in check and you should not worry unless you find large numbers on individual plants.
Shield Bug
Subject: Metallic Green w/ black pattern
Geographic location of the bug: Taveuni, Fiji
Date: 03/27/2020
Time: 05:17 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Is this a jewel beetle? It had landed on this floating seed pod and had not quite tucked his wing away. My underwater camera was already set up for macro so I wiped the lens and shot topside.
Roughly about 2 cm. Segmented antennae. Hard shell. Small thorax.
How you want your letter signed: Richard
Jewel Bug
Dear Richard,
This is not a Jewel Beetle in the family Buprestidae. It is not a beetle at all. This is a Shield Bug in the family Scutelleridae, and because of their often bright, metallic colors, they are sometimes commonly called Jewel Bugs. So this is a Jewel Bug, not a Jewel Beetle. We have not had much luck identifying the species, but we did locate a matching image on The Organic Bunny blog, but you have to scroll down to see the unidentified image.
Thank you so much! You are the best!
Richard Todd
Subject: Brown and Yellow Beetle?
Geographic location of the bug: Central Mexico
Date: 03/20/2020
Time: 11:28 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hi WTB! I’ve looked high and low trying to identify this beetle(?) but have had no luck so far. I saw many of them on the leaves of plants in the fields near my house in Mexico. This was taken in September a few years back. It was in a canyon in the desert if that helps. Any ideas? Thanks!
How you want your letter signed: Danny
Jewel Bug
Dear Danny,
This is not a Beetle. It is a Shield Bug or Jewel Bug in the family Scutellaridae, and we identified it as Orsilochides scurrilis on Buggin’ Around. It is also pictured on Naturalista.
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