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The Official Bug Identification Thread Starring Arch, Bugboy, and Fiendishrabbit

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Posts

  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Hmm, looking at the wiki only the blue mud daubers specifically prey on black widows?

    So, perhaps do get rid of them if you want your local spider population to thrive (and thus eat more bugs)

    Also of note is that other insects will move into empty mud dauber nests, and I don't know whether those Johnnie-come-latelys are friendly or not

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    ceres wrote: »
    They also crash planes apparently o_o

    The nests though, not the wasps themselves. When I first started that section I was picturing a cockpit filled with angry wasps

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    Ringo wrote: »
    Hmm, looking at the wiki only the blue mud daubers specifically prey on black widows?

    They're the main predators of widow spiders. Not because they specificly attack widow spiders (mud daubers like all sorts of spiders), but because other species tend to avoid widow spiders. So if you're in an area where widow spiders are common...sure. Otherwise you might be interested in getting rid of the nest, because spiders are some of the best friends you can have when it comes to getting rid of other pests.

    "The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
    -Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    I think that wasp might be an Organ Pipe Mud Dauber (Trypoxylon politum) but this is only based on the color pattern on the tip of the legs and the abdomen. Don't take this as gospel, it could be a lot of other kinds of wasps. It's definitely not Sphex habenus.

    That caterpillar might be a cabbage worm, although it could be a cabbage looper.

    Either way, I wouldn't worry about removing the Mud Dauber unless it's in a high-trafficked area or if the adult is being annoying. They're generally non-aggressive, and as Fiendish said, their sting isn't too bad if they do sting.

    Also, don't soak your veggies in saltwater. This is a folk remedy for removing pests, and it doesn't really do anything that a normal bowl of water and some careful inspection wouldn't do better.

  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    Also, re: the caterpillar surviving the microwave...

    I've had insects in freezers for months, taken them out to try and pin them, and they came back to life. I'm not surprised.

  • FryFry Registered User regular
    Arch wrote: »
    I think that wasp might be an Organ Pipe Mud Dauber (Trypoxylon politum) but this is only based on the color pattern on the tip of the legs and the abdomen. Don't take this as gospel, it could be a lot of other kinds of wasps. It's definitely not Sphex habenus.

    That caterpillar might be a cabbage worm, although it could be a cabbage looper.

    Either way, I wouldn't worry about removing the Mud Dauber unless it's in a high-trafficked area or if the adult is being annoying. They're generally non-aggressive, and as Fiendish said, their sting isn't too bad if they do sting.

    Also, don't soak your veggies in saltwater. This is a folk remedy for removing pests, and it doesn't really do anything that a normal bowl of water and some careful inspection wouldn't do better.

    Google images of Trypoxylon politum look very much like my wasp, significantly more so than Sphex habenus, so I'll go with that identification.

    That light fixture that it's borrowing is right next to my front door. When I went out to take the picture, the wasp hovered a few feet in front of my face for a bit, then went up inside its tube. Had to wait a minute for it to come back out, which is when I took the picture. I'll probably leave it alone for now, but if the wasp gets aggro I am not afraid of repeatedly wrecking its house with a stick.

    Who knows, maybe it'll scare off some door-to-door salesmen

  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    Fry wrote: »
    Arch wrote: »
    I think that wasp might be an Organ Pipe Mud Dauber (Trypoxylon politum) but this is only based on the color pattern on the tip of the legs and the abdomen. Don't take this as gospel, it could be a lot of other kinds of wasps. It's definitely not Sphex habenus.

    That caterpillar might be a cabbage worm, although it could be a cabbage looper.

    Either way, I wouldn't worry about removing the Mud Dauber unless it's in a high-trafficked area or if the adult is being annoying. They're generally non-aggressive, and as Fiendish said, their sting isn't too bad if they do sting.

    Also, don't soak your veggies in saltwater. This is a folk remedy for removing pests, and it doesn't really do anything that a normal bowl of water and some careful inspection wouldn't do better.

    Google images of Trypoxylon politum look very much like my wasp, significantly more so than Sphex habenus, so I'll go with that identification.

    Oh sure, trust the guy that gets paid to know these things over my renowned google search skills.

    I'll get you next time, Arch!

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • AiouaAioua Ora Occidens Ora OptimaRegistered User regular
    Found the cat out in the yard playing with this thing:
    uba4nu6j227b.jpg

    Unusual! Front half looks kind of like an ant but the back half is weird.

    2-3 cm long, western WA

    life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
    fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
    that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
    bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    That's a Rove beetle in the family Staphylinidae!

    It might be a Devil's Coach Horse Beetle (Ocypus olens), but I'm not nearly an expert on Rove beetles.

    Also, it's definitely too many names for one bug!

    They're harmless to you and actually eat a lot of garden pests, including snails!

  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    Arch wrote: »
    That's a Rove beetle in the family Staphylinidae!

    It might be a Devil's Coach Horse Beetle (Ocypus olens), but I'm not nearly an expert on Rove beetles.

    Also, it's definitely too many names for one bug!

    They're harmless to you and actually eat a lot of garden pests, including snails!

    On the northern west coast there is really only one Rove beetle with black legs, massive pronged jaws and in that size, and it's the Devil's coach horse. Further east there are a few other variants it could have been, but the best bet would still have been an Ocypus olens.

    "The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
    -Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
  • chromdomchromdom Who? Where?Registered User regular
    And may I add, great shot for something of that small size

  • 38thDoe38thDoe lets never be stupid again wait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered User regular
    Any idea what this is?
    It thought it was a better swimmer than it was.
    fwiom479cwhh.jpeg


    38thDoE on steam
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  • BrodyBrody The Watch The First ShoreRegistered User regular
    Arch wrote: »
    Also, while I'm pretty sure that's an Asian Lady Beetle, it's important to note that ALBs are highly polymorphic, meaning that they have a wide variety of different colors and patterns, and even the white "M" shape spot on the pronotum can be missing in some variants.

    You can see this on BugGuide, in their description of the species.

    That being said, if it's a relatively large lady beetle, with a lot of spots on the wings (18 or more), and a white "M" like shape on the pronotum, it's probably Asian Lady Beetle. There's an...infographic that gets passed around a lot that's pretty much incorrect. One of my friends has a nice post explaining some of the myths about these beetles.

    https://askentomologists.com/2018/03/12/ladybug-meme/

    Yeah, the matrix of all the photos of asian lady beetles, 3 down, second from the left, is a much clearer picture of what I've been seeing. My daughter has been very excited to say hello to all of them that she finds.

    "I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."

    The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson

    Steam: Korvalain
  • RingoRingo He/Him a distinct lack of substanceRegistered User regular
    @38thDoe based on coloration and relative size of the appendages I'm willing to guess that is probably some subset of Homo Sapiens. Unfortunately those things are everywhere and you really have to observe behavior patterns to get even a rough understanding of how to identify distinct variations

    Sterica wrote: »
    I know my last visit to my grandpa on his deathbed was to find out how the whole Nazi werewolf thing turned out.
    Edcrab's Exigency RPG
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Big ole fly guy

    North Jersey
    img]

    mts on
    camo_sig.png
  • JedocJedoc In the scuppers with the staggers and jagsRegistered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Robber flies are good people. They eat a whole bunch of other, crappier bugs, and they don't bite unless you start something first. Pretty much the rudest thing you can say about them is that they eat bees sometimes. Sometimes while cosplaying as them.

    Plus, they catch houseflies in midair! I'm not messing with that kind of Matrix-level reflexes, I tell you what.

    Jedoc on
    GDdCWMm.jpg
  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    38thDoe wrote: »
    Any idea what this is?
    It thought it was a better swimmer than it was.
    fwiom479cwhh.jpeg

    @38thDoe With that dark brown head and even brown body I think it's a Brown Prionid, Orthosoma brunneum.

    It could be a different longhorned beetle though, but none really come to mind at the moment. Other similar beetles either have a mottled pattern (asian longhorned beetle), have a head and thorax the same colour (Spruce longhorned beetle), or a far more vibrant red-brown colour (redbrown longhorned beetle) etc

    "The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
    -Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Jedoc wrote: »
    Robber flies are good people. They eat a whole bunch of other, crappier bugs, and they don't bite unless you start something first.

    And yet I can't really warm up to robber flies. Flies of all sorts (except syphid flies), cockroaches and a few other insects are ones that I just find...offputting (revolting in the case of cockroaches).

    Fiendishrabbit on
    "The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
    -Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    The other day I was outside with my son, who is generally scared of flies. A fly came along and he started freaking out like "aaaaaa it's a horsefly" and then ran away as fast as he could. And I was like "sigh, that just looks like a regular fly" and rolled my eyes. Then, left with just me, it started trying to land on me. Not particularly aggressive, just kept landing on me, no matter how much I shooed it away. I don't mind flies buzzing around when I'm outside, because I'm outside and I know that's where flies live sometimes. But I draw the line at things trying to land on me. When I realized it was probably going to keep doing that, I decided to go and find out how my son was doing at the other end of the parking lot very fast.

    So who was right? Was it a horsefly, or do regular flies just really want to land on you sometimes? This just looked like a regular gray fly. Most of the time when I've encountered a horsefly the huge dive-bombing nightmare didn't leave much room for doubt, but I wasn't going to stick around, either.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • OrcaOrca Also known as Espressosaurus WrexRegistered User regular
    edited July 2020
    I took some macros of insects yesterday and I'm curious what they are (bonus, what plant is it they're hanging out on? I also saw honeybees, flies, and bumble bees hanging out on those flowers):

    0ni6jm73rzmf.jpg
    besu0hrugse5.jpg
    j94vlknwi681.jpg

    Orca on
  • davidsdurionsdavidsdurions Your Trusty Meatshield Panhandle NebraskaRegistered User regular
    What sort of spider have I got here?

    Yj3LpqH.jpg

  • JedocJedoc In the scuppers with the staggers and jagsRegistered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Looks like a grass spider. They're good people. They typically don't want to hang out in your house, because they can't weave their rad funnel webs (not those funnel-webs, happily) without grass blades as part of the construction. They're not very venomous and they don't like to bite people, but they will if you get fresh with them. So use the old card-and-cup trick to evict them if you find them crawling across your floor.

    Jedoc on
    GDdCWMm.jpg
  • davidsdurionsdavidsdurions Your Trusty Meatshield Panhandle NebraskaRegistered User regular
    Neat. It was found in my kids’ playhouse so was promptly removed to the yard already.

  • H3KnucklesH3Knuckles But we decide which is right and which is an illusion.Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Found this beetle on the paper towel roll in the bathroom, about a US quarter (~1 inch, or 24 & 1/4 mm), maybe less? Didn't seem like it'd be anything harmful to have around, your advice? I apologize for the image quality.
    ched0493zzas.jpg
    For reference, I live in southeastern Pennsylvania.

    H3Knuckles on
    If you're curious about my icon; it's an update of the early Lego Castle theme's "Black Falcons" faction.
    camo_sig2-400.png
  • OrcaOrca Also known as Espressosaurus WrexRegistered User regular
    A friend identified the flowers as Queen Anne's Lace. Cool name. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/queen-annes-lace/queen-annes-lace-plant.htm

  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    Orca wrote: »
    0ni6jm73rzmf.jpg
    Definitely a thread-waisted wasp. Maybe a Grass-carrying wasp like Isodontia mexicana.
    besu0hrugse5.jpg
    Syrpid fly. Can't tell you which one, but that profile is unmistakable.
    j94vlknwi681.jpg
    Definitely a wasp. Almost certainly some sort of Sand wasp. Unsure of which species.

    In all three cases I could probably give you something more specific if I knew which state/country you lived in.

    "The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
    -Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
  • OrcaOrca Also known as Espressosaurus WrexRegistered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Thank you! I would not have guessed that second one is a fly--with that coloration I figured it was some kind of bee.

    I live in the western US, which is consistent with Isodontia mexicana for that first one.

    edit: And looking at the description of the thread-waisted wasp, that's a dead ringer for my picture, and sure enough, I found it on Queen Anne's Lace: https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Thread-Waisted-Wasp

    Orca on
  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    Found this beetle on the paper towel roll in the bathroom, about a US quarter (~1 inch, or 24 & 1/4 mm), maybe less? Didn't seem like it'd be anything harmful to have around, your advice? I apologize for the image quality.
    ched0493zzas.jpg
    For reference, I live in southeastern Pennsylvania.

    June bug?

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Queen Anne's Lace is also known as Wild Carrot, and is actually edible - at least when the carrot part is relatively young because, unlike domesticated carrots, it gets really, really fibrous when it gets older. :)

  • 38thDoe38thDoe lets never be stupid again wait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered User regular
    I think Queen Anne's Lace can also give you the downsides of being a vampire, it can make the sun give you pretty substantial burns on your skin. Phytophotodermatits. So, that's fun.

    38thDoE on steam
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  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    38thDoe wrote: »
    I think Queen Anne's Lace can also give you the downsides of being a vampire, it can make the sun give you pretty substantial burns on your skin. Phytophotodermatits. So, that's fun.

    Hemlock, which is a similar-looking plant, is much worse for that.

    Also, really don't confuse the two and eat hemlock.

  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    ceres wrote: »
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    Found this beetle on the paper towel roll in the bathroom, about a US quarter (~1 inch, or 24 & 1/4 mm), maybe less? Didn't seem like it'd be anything harmful to have around, your advice? I apologize for the image quality.
    ched0493zzas.jpg
    For reference, I live in southeastern Pennsylvania.

    June bug?

    Some kind of June bug or May beetle possibly. Those antennae are quite common among males in that family and the general shape is consistent. But I can't figre out a member of the family that's a) tan/light brown. b) not hairy c) Have the rather spindly legs that this specimen has.

    Fiendishrabbit on
    "The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
    -Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    When I was a kid in PA there were a few years when there were so many flying around at night that we'd find dead ones all over the porch, it was so gross. They were the dumbest fucking bugs, just flying into windows and walls and anyone wearing a white shirt over and over and over.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • H3KnucklesH3Knuckles But we decide which is right and which is an illusion.Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Well, it was returned to the great outdoors. Pretty docile and easy to catch. Hopefully I didn't just miss my chance to discover a new species. I think it was some sort of a june bug/may beetle, having looked them up after ceres' first reply. I took a few other pics that first night but they're basically the same in terms of details shown, so I don't think they'd be any help.

    Thanks for the input.

    H3Knuckles on
    If you're curious about my icon; it's an update of the early Lego Castle theme's "Black Falcons" faction.
    camo_sig2-400.png
  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    H3Knuckles wrote: »
    Well, it was returned to the great outdoors. Pretty docile and easy to catch. Hopefully I didn't just miss my chance to discover a new species. I think it was some sort of a june bug/may beetle, having looked them up after ceres' first reply. I took a few other pics that first night but they're basically the same in terms of details shown, so I don't think they'd be any help.

    Thanks for the input.

    Unless I'm confusing them with Japanese beetles, they have a really impressive grip, and I wouldn't advise forcibly removing them from a vinyl screen.

    But it is really impressive, so I do recommend giving them a tug if they're grappled to a metal screen.

    ArbitraryDescriptor on
  • bwaniebwanie Posting into the void Registered User regular
    Insects surviving freezing temperatures is a lot easier to believe than microwaving them. The latter being much more disruptive at cellular level...

    Yh6tI4T.jpg
  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    bwanie wrote: »
    Insects surviving freezing temperatures is a lot easier to believe than microwaving them. The latter being much more disruptive at cellular level...

    I just assumed the caterpillars that were still crawling were necessarily among those that managed to avoid the microwave's hotspots.

    You probably wouldn't notice the ones that exploded.

  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    bwanie wrote: »
    Insects surviving freezing temperatures is a lot easier to believe than microwaving them. The latter being much more disruptive at cellular level...

    I just assumed the caterpillars that were still crawling were necessarily among those that managed to avoid the microwave's hotspots.

    You probably wouldn't notice the ones that exploded.

    You might notice that mouthful of broccoli tasted slightly more caterpillary than usual.
    Other than that, no problems.

  • ArbitraryDescriptorArbitraryDescriptor changed Registered User regular
    see317 wrote: »
    bwanie wrote: »
    Insects surviving freezing temperatures is a lot easier to believe than microwaving them. The latter being much more disruptive at cellular level...

    I just assumed the caterpillars that were still crawling were necessarily among those that managed to avoid the microwave's hotspots.

    You probably wouldn't notice the ones that exploded.

    You might notice that mouthful of broccoli tasted slightly more caterpillary than usual.
    Other than that, no problems.

    I imagine any larvae whose body mass was derived largely from broccoli, and is then steamed in bunch of broccoli, probably comes out tasting pretty broccoly.

    You really want to either pan fry them or soak them in a lemon-pepper marinade if you don't want to get chopped.

  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    see317 wrote: »
    bwanie wrote: »
    Insects surviving freezing temperatures is a lot easier to believe than microwaving them. The latter being much more disruptive at cellular level...

    I just assumed the caterpillars that were still crawling were necessarily among those that managed to avoid the microwave's hotspots.

    You probably wouldn't notice the ones that exploded.

    You might notice that mouthful of broccoli tasted slightly more caterpillary than usual.
    Other than that, no problems.

    I imagine any larvae whose body mass was derived largely from broccoli, and is then steamed in bunch of broccoli, probably comes out tasting pretty broccoly.

    You really want to either pan fry them or soak them in a lemon-pepper marinade if you don't want to get chopped.

    Actually no. According to entomologist friend most edible grubs tend to have a nut-like flavor. Anywhere between almonds and coconut depending on the species, but for some reason always nutlike.

    "The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
    -Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
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