Unknown Mating Weevils from Costa Rica

On · Category: Weevils Tagged With: , · Add Comment

Subject:  weevils in the rainforest
Geographic location of the bug:  Rio Celeste de Upala near Rincon de la Vieja, Guanacaste,CR
Date: 06/12/2018
Time: 10:16 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Please help me to identify these weevils, they were very interesting in texture and I can’t find them in INBIO,http://coleoptera-neotropical.org/paginas/2_PAISES/C-Rica/Curculionoidea/Curculionidae-CRica.html, or anything else
thank you in advance
How you want your letter signed:  Weevils from Rio Celeste de Upala

Mating Weevils

Like you, we have not had any luck determining a species identity for these mating Weevils.  We did locate an image at the very bottom of the Homestead Brooklyn blog page devoted to Tapanti National Park that is unidentified and another similar looking individual from Selva Verde, Costa Rica that is unidentified on Alamy.  The Costa Rica Research page of the Microbiology at Occidental College site also has a similar looking unidentified Weevil on it.  Finally, we located your image on Jungle Dragon.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck than we have had.

Mating Weevils

Thank you for your help!
It is always very tricky to identify CR insects.  There are no books and no good web sites, only those meant for biological warfare identify ‘plagas’ or pests..
With best wishes
Annette

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unknown Katydid from Costa Rica

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Subject:  Giant Grasshopper
Geographic location of the bug:  Tilaran, Costa Rica
Date: 06/12/2018
Time: 08:14 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Please identify this cricket. I found it in the garden. It was very big for a grashopper (more than 10cm)
How you want your letter signed:  Johannes

Katydid

Dear Johannes,
This is not a Grasshopper, nor is it a Cricket.  It is a Katydid, a member of the same insect order, Orthoptera.  Katydids have long, slender antennae which distinguishes them from Grasshoppers.  We have not had any luck making a species identification for you, but this female’s ovipositor is quite spectacular, which should help in the eventual identification.

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Firefly in Colorado

On · Category: Fireflies and Glowworms · 2 Comments

Subject:  Colorado Glowworm
Geographic location of the bug:  Sedalia, CO
Date: 06/11/2018
Time: 12:41 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Thanks for your thread on the CO Glowworm. I found three tonight in the weeds by our home in the foothills SW of Denver. We live at 7000′ just north of Woodland Park, south of Pine, and west of Rampart Range (all places mentioned in the thread.)
We’re new to the area, but none of the long-timers have ever seen anything like this.  I’m fascinated and terribly curious to learn more. Have you found any more info on these guys?
I’m attaching a pretty crappy picture fwiw. My good camera is with my son out of state. If I can find more next week, I’ll see if I can grab better pix.
How you want your letter signed :  Amy

Firefly

Dear Amy,
Though we would relish a better image of your insect, we do want to commend you on visually capturing both the insect itself as well as its bioluminescence.  Based on your image, which we believe to be of a pink larviform female, we surmise this is a Firefly from the genus Microphotus, and while BugGuide does not list any sightings in Colorado, there are sightings in California, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, so the range might actually extend to Colorado.  Part of the confusion is that some literature refers to the California species Microphotus angustus as a Pink Glowworm, though it is actually a Firefly from the family Lampyridae.  Since we are constantly trying to clean up our archives, slowly making corrections, we are changing the name of the Glowworm posting you originally cited to correctly indicate this is a Firefly.  As an aside, our editorial staff is currently on holiday in Ohio where we have been enjoying nightly Firefly displays.

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Ten-Lined June Beetle

On · Category: Scarab Beetles · Add Comment

Subject:  Big weird beetle like bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Vancouver BC
Date: 06/11/2018
Time: 02:58 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  It flew in a window at night. It seemed to fly awkwardly and made a loud sound when flying. It also seemed to be grooming its antenna.
How you want your letter signed:  Rob

Ten-Lined June Beetle

Dear Rob,
This is a Ten-Lined June Beetle and they are frequently attracted to lights.  They will also stridulate when handled, meaning they make squeaking sounds by rubbing body parts together.  Just last week, a large male Ten-Lined June Beetle was on the screen door at the What’s That Bug? offices in Mount Washington, Los Angeles.

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California Root Borer

On · Category: Longhorn Beetles · Add Comment

Subject:  WT Heck is this big
Geographic location of the bug:  California
Date: 06/11/2018
Time: 03:54 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  We found this bug on the porch, our house is in the country on an orchard. I’ve looked everywhere and still can’t figure it out. It’s definitely a big, but I’ve never seen anything like it before. Any ideas?
How you want your letter signed:  Great big bug

California Root Borer

Your great big bug is a California Root Borer, Prionus californicus, and according to BugGuide:  “Larva feed primarily on living deciduous trees (oaks, madrone, cottonwood) and are also recorded from roots of vines, grasses, and decomposing hardwoods and conifers. Will also attack fruit trees growing on light, well-drained soils (e.g. apple, cherry, peach).”  The antennae on your individual indicates it is a male.  We suspect the porch light attracted it.

That’s completely fascinating! Are they harmful to humans? Will they bite?

They have powerful mandibles and they might bite, possibly even drawing blood, but they are not venomous.

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Prominent Caterpillar

On · Category: Prominent Moth Caterpillars · Add Comment

Subject:  Found  this little guy
Geographic location of the bug:  Texas, Redbud Vanilla Twist Tree
Date: 06/11/2018
Time: 02:37 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I found this little guy on one of my new letters. At first, I didn’t realize it was a caterpillar, until I got a closer look.  Good thing I always have a camera close, especially in my backyard.   I have never seen this one before and I surely don’t want it to eat all the leaves on the young tree.
How you want your letter signed:  Kate in Texas

Prominent Caterpillar

Dear Kate in Texas,
This is a Prominent Caterpillar in the family Notodontidae, and we spent a considerable amount of time trying to get a species identification for you.  The closest visual match we found on The Moth Photographers Group is Schizura badia, though we are not certain that is correct.  According to Discover Life, the common name is the Chestnut Schizera, and the same common name is used on BugGuide where it states “The larvae feed on Northern Wild-Raisin and other Viburnum species.”  The Red Humped Caterpillar, another member of the genus, is known to feed on redbud, but your caterpillar is most definitely not that species.  Scientists and naturalists don’t always have comprehensive knowledge of the feeding habits of caterpillars.  Leaf loss due to caterpillar feeding is rarely a concern for a healthy tree. 

Prominent Caterpillar

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