First Luna Moth Sighting of the Year

2 days ago bugman
Subject:  Luna Moth Geographic location of the bug:  Wakefield Quebec Date: 05/27/2020 Time: 10:3…
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First Luna Moth Sighting of the Year Image  
2 days agoFirst Luna Moth Sighting of the Year

Bug of the Month May 2020: Mourning Cloak

2 days ago bugman
Subject:  Dark Winged Beauty Geographic location of the bug:  Ventura, California Date: 05/25/2020…
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Bug of the Month May 2020: Mourning Cloak Image  
2 days agoBug of the Month May 2020: Mourning Cloak

Scorpion in Iceland!!!!!

3 months ago bugman
Subject:  some sort of scorpion Geographic location of the bug:  akureyri, iceland Date: 02/15/202…
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Scorpion in Iceland!!!!! Image  
3 months agoScorpion in Iceland!!!!!

Bug of the Month October 2019: Mantis Ootheca

8 months ago bugman
Subject:  Dry husk stuck on rock Geographic location of the bug:  San Luis Obispo, California Date…
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Bug of the Month October 2019: Mantis Ootheca Image  
8 months agoBug of the Month October 2019: Mantis Ootheca
Overlays

Spanish Fly and Soft Winged Flower Beetle found on the Isle of Wight

On · Category: Blister Beetles, Flower Beetles and False Blister Beetles · 6 Comments

Subject:  Green blister bug?
Geographic location of the bug:  Isle of Wight, UK
Date: 05/25/2019
Time: 02:17 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi, found this bug near Orchard Bay on the Isle of Wight in England. From googling it looks like a green blister bug, but they don’t seem like they’re in the UK?
How you want your letter signed:  Jack

Spanish Fly and Soft Winged Flower Beetle

Dear Jack,
This is a very exciting posting for us.  We believe your Blister Beetle is the true Spanish Fly, Lytta vesicatoria, which is pictured on UK Beetle Recording with some southern sightings including the Isle of Wight.  According to NBN Atlas:  “Spanish fly is an emerald-green beetle, Lytta vesicatoria, in the blister beetle family (Meloidae). It and other such species were used in preparations offered by traditional apothecaries, often referred to as Cantharides or Spanish fly. The insect is the source of the terpenoid cantharidin, a toxic blistering agent once used as an aphrodisiac.”  GBIF has an interesting article.  We are very curious about the smaller beetle in your image, which though the coloration is the same, appears to be a different species.

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for getting back and helping identify the species in the photo, the links you included are interesting. There were more than just those 2, there were 10-15 of the smaller ones, all on the same flowers as in the picture. Took a photo of that one as it was the biggest by far, probably about 2 inches.
I didn’t think much of the size difference and just figured it was age/maturity, but am also intrigued having now looked at the life cycle of a beetle? Am I right in thinking they’d emerge from the pupa at their fully grown size?
Many Thanks,
Jack

Hi again Jack,
When insects including Beetles emerge from the pupa, they are fully grown.  Smaller individuals probably did not feed as well during the larval stage, hence the smaller size.
Update:  June 20, 2019
Thanks to a comment from Jim, we now know that the smaller beetle is a Soft Winged Flower Beetle in the family Dasyticidae:  Psilothrix viridicoeruleus.  There are images on UK Beetle Recording.

Related posts:

Thick Legged Flower Beetle Default ThumbnailBlister Beetle Nuttail’s Blister Beetle and Mirid Plant Bug Iron Cross Blister Beetle
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Decapitated Brood VIII Periodical Cicadas

On · Category: 17 Year Cicadas Tagged With: · 2 Comments

Subject:  Cicadas being decapitated
Geographic location of the bug:  Western Pennsylvania
Date: 05/25/2019
Time: 09:10 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I have found several dozen cicada decapitated very close to their malted skins. What is causing the decapitation?
* Note I lined the bodies up in pic…
How you want your letter signed:  Dirk Rupert

Decapitated Cicadas

Dear Dirk,
Your image is the first one we are posting this year of the emergence of the Brood VIII, the population of Periodical Cicadas, incorrectly called 17 Year Locusts, which has just begun to emerge in western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia according to Cicada Mania.  For years we have been posting images of decapitated Cicada heads, but our images have been of the heads left behind when a predator has eaten the body.  Your case is different because the perpetrator did not eat the nutritious body, so it wasn’t hungry.  We suspect a house cat might be responsible for your mystery.

Related posts:

Newly Metamorphosed Periodical Cicada: Brood II Brood II Periodical Cicada Periodical Cicadas: Brood X stragglers Periodical Cicada Brood X Straggler from Kentucky

Dragonfly Naiads

On · Category: Dragonflies and Damselflies Tagged With: · Add Comment

Subject:  Water bugs
Geographic location of the bug:  Arkansas
Date: 05/25/2019
Time: 10:47 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I was out cleaning the pool because it hasn’t been cleaned since we moved in and I saw some weird looking bugs. I’ve never seen anything like them and I tried googling it but nothing showed up so you’re my last hope. I’m also very sorry that the pictures aren’t well lit but it’s all I have.
How you want your letter signed:  Chloe

Dragonfly Naiads

Dear Chloe,
These are the aquatic larvae of Dragonflies, commonly called naiads.  They are aquatic predators that will help to naturally control populations of Mosquitoes. 

Related posts:

Damselfly Naiad and ??? Dragonhunter Naiad Dragonhunter Exuvia Dragonfly Naiad
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Wasp Beetle from the UK

On · Category: Longhorn Beetles · Add Comment

Subject:  Black and yellow striped insect
Geographic location of the bug:  South Wales UK
Date: 05/26/2019
Time: 12:48 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Found this insect on my patio table in late may. Don’t know wether it relevant but we had just taken a large tree down.  Never seen one before.  It definitely jumps as it jumped straight at me.  Didn’t appear to be making any sounds.  Legs were definitely more of a red orangey colour.  What bug is this?
How you want your letter signed:  Yvonne the gardener

Wasp Beetle

Dear Yvonne the gardener,
Because it is such an effective mimic, this Longicorn in the family Cerambycidae, Clytus arietis is commonly called a Wasp Beetle.  According to Nature Spot:  “It breeds in the decaying wood of deciduous trees. It can often be found in clear view, resting on leaves in low vegetation. Presumably its yellow and black colours warn off any predatory birds!”

Related posts:

Spined Bark Borer Feather Horned Longicorn from Australia Hickory Borer Mystery: Unknown Longhorned Borer Beetle is Hybodera tuberculata

Tachinid Fly

On · Category: Tachinid Flies · Add Comment

Subject:  Strange looking housefly I saw in my garden
Geographic location of the bug:  Kelowna, British Columbia
Date: 05/27/2019
Time: 08:38 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I took a photo of this fly I saw on a plant while I was weeding my flower garden on May 24th 2019. It looks like a cross between a housefly and a ladybug. I took several photos, but in the first one you can see the line of black dots on it’s red back.
How you want your letter signed:  Samantha C.

Tachinid Fly

Dear Samantha,
This is a beneficial Tachinid Fly a member of a family of parasitoid flies with larvae that prey upon a variety of arthropods.  According to BugGuide:  “Larval stages are parasitoids of other arthropods; hosts include members of 11 insect orders, centipedes, spiders, and scorpions. Some tachinids are very host-specific, others parasitize a wide variety of hosts. The most common hosts are caterpillars.”  We believe based on this BugGuide image, your individual is in the genus Gymnosoma.  According to BugGuide:  “Hosts are Pentatomidae bugs.  Adults take nectar.”  Pentatomidae includes Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs, many of which are agricultural pests.  The Master Gardener Program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a nice page on Tachinid Flies.

Related posts:

Feather Legged Fly Tachinid Fly Spiny Tachinid Fly Tachinid Fly Parasitizes Monarch Caterpillar

Longjawed Longhorn Beetle

On · Category: Longhorn Beetles · Add Comment

Subject:  Bright and Lonely in FL
Geographic location of the bug:  St. Petersburg, FL
Date: 05/21/2019
Time: 06:47 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello from sunny Florida! It’s springtime here and I found this bright and lonely guy  (or gal) hanging out by itself for literally hours on the aluminum railing of my porch. It didn’t seem to mind me walking by and taking a picture of it. I wonder if it’s sick/dying because it is in an odd place not reacting to much at all. It walks up and down but I haven’t seen it fly yet. I’m not sure exactly what species this is, although it appears to be some sort of beetle. Of note, there is a small spider that created a web in the corner of my porch ceiling. I’m not sure if maybe the spider is after this unusual looking beetle or if the beetle is after it and that’s maybe why it’s creeping so slowly! Help with identification and info on if I should be worried about anything like harm to my house, plants or the poor lonely beetle itself, would be greatly appreciated! 🙂
How you want your letter signed:  Thanks so much! ~Alicia

Longjawed Longhorn Beetle

Dear Alicia,
This magnificent beetle is a Longjawed Longhorn Beetle, Dendrobias mandibularis, and the smaller mandibles indicate this is a female.  The males have very impressive mandibles.  According to BugGuide:  “Hosts: Citrus, Parkinsonia, Salix, Celtis.“

Related posts:

Harlequin Beetle from Trinidad Root Borer from the Philippines Mating Broad Necked Root Borers Red Headed Ash Borer