Bug of the Month August 2020: Male and Female Eas…...

2 months ago bugman
Subject:  Eastern Tiger Swallowtails Geographic location of the bug:  Campbell, Ohio Date: 08/02/2…
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Bug of the Month August 2020: Male and Female Eas…... Image  
2 months agoBug of the Month August 2020: Male and Female Eas…...

Bug of the Month July 2020: Belzebul Bee Eater

3 months ago bugman
Subject:  Robber Fly? Geographic location of the bug:  San Antonio TX Date: 07/06/2020 Time: 05:4…
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Bug of the Month July 2020: Belzebul Bee Eater Image  
3 months agoBug of the Month July 2020: Belzebul Bee Eater

Bug of the Month June 2020: Ovipositing Anise Swa…...

4 months ago bugman
Subject:  Yellow or Anise Swallowtail Geographic location of the bug:  West Los Angeles Date: 05/1…
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Bug of the Month June 2020: Ovipositing Anise Swa…... Image  
4 months agoBug of the Month June 2020: Ovipositing Anise Swa…...

First Luna Moth Sighting of the Year

5 months 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  
5 months agoFirst Luna Moth Sighting of the Year
Overlays

Hover Fly from Canada

On · Category: Syrphid Flies · Add Comment

Subject:  bee?
Geographic location of the bug:  southwestern ontario
Date: 06/09/2019
Time: 09:24 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I’ve been trying to search what kind of bee this is?! it’s slightly larger than the european honeybee. i can’t find anything online. can you help me please?
How you want your letter signed:  heidi

Hover Fly

Dear Heidi,
This is NOT a Bee.  It is a Hover Fly or Flower Fly in the family Syrphidae, and many members of the family mimic stinging Bees and Wasps to fool predators.  There are some similar looking species in the genus Eristalis, and we believe, based on BugGuide images, that this is Eristalis obscura.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Common Mime Caterpillar from India

On · Category: swallowtail caterpillars · 3 Comments

Subject:  pink dotted caterpillar
Geographic location of the bug:  goa india
Date: 06/10/2019
Time: 10:01 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  HI
my friend noticed this caterpillar.
here’s the photo i took . quite attractive colours.
I suppose it is a stage of a moth or butterfly
can you know what type moth or butterfly it turns into?
Thanks
How you want your letter signed:  Carlos

Common Mime Caterpillar

Dear Carlos,
This caterpillar is quite colorful, but alas, we have not had any luck with an identification.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck.

Update:  June 11, 2019
Thanks to a comment from Karl, we now know that this is a Common Mime Caterpillar, Chilasa [Papilio] clytia.  According to Butterflies of Singapore:  “Across the range where this species occurs, the early stages feed on leaves of serveral plants in the Lauraceae family. The sole recorded local host plant, Cinnamomum iners (Common name: Clover Cinnamon, Wild Cinnamon), is a very common plant all over Singapore, readily found in nature reserves, gardens, parks and wastelands etc. It is a small to medium-sized tree with 3-nerved leaves. Eggs and early stages of the Common Mime are typically found on saplings at heights from knee to waist level.”

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Sparganothis Fruitworm Moth on Hemp

On · Category: Tortricid Moths Tagged With: · 2 Comments

Subject:  Pyralidae on hemp?
Geographic location of the bug:  Alabama
Date: 06/09/2019
Time: 07:30 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Found on young hemp transplant inside greenhouse.
How you want your letter signed:  Benjamin Bramlett

Sparganothis Fruitworm Moth Moth

Dear Benjamin,
We believe this is a member of the superfamily Pyraloidea, which includes the families Pyralidae and Crambidae, but we are not having any luck identifying the species.  We do not believe it poses a threat to your hemp plant.  Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck with an identification than we have had.

Update:  June 11, 2019
Thanks to a comment from Karl, we now know that this is a Sparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sparganothis sulfureana, a Tortricid Moth in the family Tortricidae, a new category for our site.  According to BugGuide:  “Larvae feed on a variety of forbs and woody plants, including some crops, such as corn (maize) and cranberry.” Tortricids of Agricultural Importance does not list Cannabis as a host plant, but it is surely a woody plant and we will have to retract our earlier statement about it not posing a threat to Benjamin’s hemp plant.  It might pose a threat.

Very interesting! Even in an area where blueberries (apparently a pest of cranberry and blueberries) are abundant I have never heard of this species before. It seems to be polyphagus so I will keep my eye out for damage to the hemp. I suspect it will not prefer to reproduce on the hemp so it will migrate but time will tell  Thank you for the update

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Puss Moth

On · Category: Flannel Moths and Slug Caterpillar Moths · Add Comment

Subject:  Unusual moth
Geographic location of the bug:  Lumberton, Texas
Date: 06/10/2019
Time: 07:58 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Good morning!
Walking outside i saw this neat little bug that looked like a circle. Upon closer look it is a moth, I believe, of some sort.
Can you identify it please?
How you want your letter signed:  DeeDee

Puss Moth

Dear DeeDee,
This is a Puss Moth or Southern Flannel Moth.  The stinging caterpillar of a Puss Moth is commonly called an Asp.

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Bald Faced Hornets Nest

On · Category: Hornets and Yellow Jackets, Nests · 2 Comments

Subject:  What kind of nest is this?
Geographic location of the bug:  Near roof under eaves
Date: 06/08/2019
Time: 08:10 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  We found this nest under the roof of our house in northern Illinois
How you want your letter signed:  Zena

Bald Faced Hornets Nest

Dear Zena,
This looks like the nest of a Bald Faced Hornet in its early stages of construction.  When complete, it will be about the size of a football.  According to Bee Friendly:  “Bald Faced Hornets become active each year in the early spring (March-April) when the fertile Queen comes out of her underground winter den and begins to forage on flies and other insects, including smaller wasps and bees, while she scouts for a nesting site for the coming year. The new colony will typically build up its population, through the Spring and Summer months (May-Sept), to an average number of 700 members. During the cooler weather of the Autumn (late Oct.) the colony will produce short lived male wasps and fertile females that will then mate and seek out hibernation dens for the winter.The entire colony will eventually die off in mid to late November when the prey insects have all disappeared.”  Hornets will not reuse an old nest.  Hornets are social wasps and they will defend the nest.  Hopefully the nest is high enough in the eaves that human movements will not alarm the inhabitants.  They will sting to protect the nest.

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Questionmark Caterpillar

On · Category: brush footed butterfly caterpillars · Add Comment

Subject:  Caterpillar
Geographic location of the bug:  Fieldale, VA
Date: 06/08/2019
Time: 08:38 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Can you please help me identify this caterpillar I pulled off my hops plant in late May/early June?
How you want your letter signed:  Sandra Nester in VA

Questionmark Caterpillar

Dear Sandra,
When attempting to identify plant feeding insects, it is tremendously helpful to know the food plant.  Thanks for informing us this Caterpillar was feeding on hops.  We quickly identified it as the caterpillar of a Questionmark butterfly thanks to BugGuide.  Here is a BugGuide image that looks even more like your individual.  The adult Questionmark is a beautiful butterfly.

Questionmark Caterpillar

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