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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month April 2020: Caddisfly Larva from the UK

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Subject:  Spikybugs in garden pond
Geographic location of the bug:  Norfolk, United Kingdom
Date: 03/23/2020
Time: 08:29 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello, At first I thought these creatures were pieces of pond weed. However, on observing them for 10 minutes or so, I see they are ALIVE and they appear to be interacting with each other.  The are located in one small part of a garden pond. They appear to have a sucker on one end. I replaced the bug in the photo back in the pond! Thank you for any help in identification.
How you want your letter signed:  Jo

Caddisfly Larva

Dear Jo,
This is the larva of a Caddisfly, an aquatic naiad that will eventually metamorphose into a flying insect that somewhat resembles a moth.  Caddisfly larvae construct a shelter from twigs, shells, pebbles, and other debris, and different species of Caddisflies construct different types of cases.  This image on Ed Brown Wildlife and Nature Photography looks exactly like your individual.  We are making your submission our Bug of the Month for April 2020.

Hello Daniel,
Thank you so much for this information – and so quickly!  I’m sure our caddis flies will be honoured to feature as your Bug of the Month!
Your site is wonderful. I’m just about to buy the Kindle version of your book, which I must get through Amazon UK, as US Amazon will not accept an order from my UK account.
Here’s wishing you and all concerned at What’s That Bug? the best of health in these difficult times.  And many thanks again for the information.
Kind regards,
Jo

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month February 2020: Assassin Bug

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Subject:  Beautiful assassin
Geographic location of the bug:  Southern Utah
Date: 02/08/2020
Time: 07:20 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Found this beauty in my garage and looking for second opinions as to the ID.
How you want your letter signed:  Jason

Assassin Bug:  Fitchia spinosula

Dear Jason,
We believe we have correctly identified your Assassin Bug as Fitchia spinosula based on this BugGuide image.  Because it does not have developed wings, we originally thought this was an immature individual, but according to BugGuide:  “Micropterous individuals are more common, although macropterous forms do exist. Macroptery is more common in males than females.”  According to Merriam-Webster, micropterous means “having small or rudimentary wings.”

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Bug of the Month December 2015: Kissing Bugs in the News Bug of the Month December 2018: Immature Assassin Bug Bug of the Month October 2019: Mantis Ootheca Bug of the Month December 2019: Mania Moth from Brazil
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month January 2020: Giant Blue Robber Fly from Australia

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Subject:  Blue robber fly?
Geographic location of the bug:  Mudgee, nsw
Date: 01/01/2020
Time: 03:20 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I saw anothe post with a very similar fly and you said it was an exciting find, so I thought I’d send you mine. Never seen one before, I assume it’s come to escape the fires.
How you want your letter signed:  Cheers, Jeremy.

Giant Blue Robber Fly

Dear Jeremy,
We always love posting excellent images of large Robber Flies, arguably among the most adept winged insect predators.  We believe you are correct that this is a Giant Blue Robber Fly, Blepharotes spendidissimus, based on images posted online.  The human finger for scale is a nice addition.  We are well aware of the horrific fires currently burning in Australia.

Giant Blue Robber Fly

Giant Blue Robber Fly

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Robber Fly from Australia Default ThumbnailBug of the Month September 2013: Mating Red Footed Cannibalflies Robber Fly eats Bee in Australia Robber Fly from Australia
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month December 2019: Mania Moth from Brazil

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Subject:  Moth
Geographic location of the bug:  Manaus Brazil
Date: 12/09/2019
Time: 07:51 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi! Hope you´re still in buisnes. I received some help from you 2016.
No 1 This Moth was photographed in Manaus Brazil 2019-10-03, in the graden of hotel Tropic(al). I have come as far as “it is probably” a Notodontidae.
No 2: This butterfly was photographed on a forest road along Rio Aripuana, about 450 km upstream from Manaus 2019-10-06. Is this really a Merpesia?
No 3: Photographed along Rio Arapuana Brazil 2019-10-10 in forest flooded 6 months a year. Fuligoridae family. I have more photos of this creature, but this is the clarest one. Is it possible to get any further? (- Would love it).
Best regards
Stefan
How you want your letter signed:  Stefan

Mania Moth

Dear Stefan,
We are going to attempt to handle your identification requests one at a time.  Your second image is actually a moth, not a butterfly.  We are confident it is a Mania Moth, Mania empedocles, from the family Sematuridae which we identified on Project Noah.  The species is also pictured on iNaturalist.  According to a FlickR posting:  “Mainly, the family is made of nocturnal and crepuscular individuals. There are 35 species in the family Sematuridae; a single genus with one species occurs in Africa (as far as my knowledge goes, so this requires confirmation) whilst the others occur in the Neotropical zone. The wingspan of adults in this family can go from 42 to 100mm and their body is robust in most species. The wings are triangular; posterior wings present a tail-like projection with oceli designs.”

Dear Daniel!
Thank you for the Id of the id. of the Mania Moth.
Linnaeus said: “Knowledge without names is worth nothing”
Now about 250 years later, I can extend his statement by feeling and saying: “Sightings without names are worth nothing”
The bugs I´m sending you currently are from a mammal- and bird-trip.
In Sweden, my home country I have seen all the Nymphalides and most of the Moths and Hawk-moths. When I´ve been out and have done my best to determine what I have seen, every addition to that is a bonus, for which I´m grateful.
I have in mind to send you two more images. I´ll send them to your Bugman page but give you some background here. The target species on the first image I´m sending you is a Heraclides (Papilio) anchisiades,  Id´ed by Jorge Bizarro, one of the top people on Nymphalides and Moths and Hawk Moths in tropical America. Both the yellow ones and white ones on the same photo I have not even tried. In Pantanal 2012 I identified Phoebis sennae, but there were probably several species on these river banks. It´ll be interesting to see if you can id any of the yellow ones and white ones on this image.
The second image i´ll present on your Bugman-page.
Best regards
Stefan

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Bug of the Month November 2010: Wheel Bug Bug of the Month November 2014: Monarch Migration Bug of the Month March 2018: Millipede found in Creek Bug of the Month June 2018: Mantispid
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month November 2019: Possibly Lunate Zale

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Subject:  moth in Halloween costume
Geographic location of the bug:  Washington, DC, USA
Date: 10/30/2019
Time: 05:39 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi! I scared up this beauty amid fallen red oak leaves on 10/30/19. I was admiring its leaf camouflage, then I turned it to another angle and realized that it was dressed, one day early, in its Halloween costume of cat-owl-fighter jet. Can you identify it?
How you want your letter signed:  Rachel B

Possibly Lunate Zale

Dear Rachel,
We are confident your Owlet Moth is in the genus Zale which is represented on the Moth Photographers Group.  Perhaps it is the Lunate Zale, Zale lunata, which is pictured on BugGuide.  Daniel is leaving Los Angeles tonight to fly to your fair city with a group of Journalism students tonight.  He’s hoping it isn’t too cold and rainy.  We are going to tag your posting as the Bug of the Month for November 2019.

Lunate Zale

Update:  November 8, 2019
Daniel rushed to post this submission live the day he left town to travel to Washington DC where his LACC students won both the CMA Pinnacle and the ACP Pacemaker Award for best magazine from a two year school.  He decided in the time crunch to only post the image where the Lunate Zale could be identified.  Now that time permits, he has added this additional image with its interesting and unusual angle.

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Bug of the Month: August 2006 – Golden Orb Weaver Green Grocer Cicada is First Australian Cicada of the season!!! Bug of the Month August 2012: Cow Killer, a Velvet Ant Owl Moth from India
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month October 2019: Mantis Ootheca

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Subject:  Dry husk stuck on rock
Geographic location of the bug:  San Luis Obispo, California
Date: 10/11/2019
Time: 06:33 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Dear Bugman: I found this dry husklike thing on a rock in my front yard.  I pulled it off, but didn’t;t learn anything.  I know it was once either part of some living thing, or it contained or was shielding something living.  Please help!
How you want your letter signed:  Yours, Kathy O’Brien

Mantis Ootheca

Dear Kathy,
This is the ootheca or egg case of a Preying Mantis, and it does not look like it has hatched yet.  Mantids only live a single season, hatching when conditions are right in the late winter or early spring and they mature by autumn.  The female Mantis then lays one or more ootheca that will overwinter.  If you put this ootheca in a sheltered location, or try to attach it to a branch on a tree or shrub, it might still hatch this spring.  Daniel just realized there is no Bug of the Month posting for October 2019, as he neglected to create one at the beginning of the month, so this posting will be tagged as Bug of the Month.  Daniel noticed two native Mantis oothecae in the garden in the past week, so perhaps he will take some images and add to this posting.

California Mantis ootheca on native willow

Update October 15, 2019:  Two California Mantis Oothecae in the WTB? garden
When Daniel returned from work yesterday, he made a point of taking images of the two California Mantis oothecae he found over the weekend.  Though adult Mantids did not make may late season appearances in the garden, they were obviously hiding quite well as the two oothecae are far enough apart to evidence they were likely laid by two different females.

California Mantis ootheca on pine

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination