Category: Bug of the Week (Page 107 of 219)

Bug of the Week: Long-horned beetle

The locust borer from a few weeks back belongs to the group of beetles known as long-horned beetles, family Cerambycidae.

long-horned-beetle-shows-antennae

Today we have another example. The Cerambycidae are named for their long antennae, often much longer than the insect’s body.

good-long-horned-beetle

I’m pretty sure this is the striped longhorn or double-banded bycid, Sphaenothecus bivittatus. The larvae feed on mesquite and there was a mesquite tree about three feet away from where this photograph was taken.

The next week I went back out to look again, but the flowers had quit blooming so I didn’t have any luck finding more. Shows that sometimes you just have to be at the right place at the right time.

 

Bug of the Week: Grasshopper Hide and Seek

Grasshoppers are masters at camouflage.

hidden-hopper

For example, can you find the grasshopper in this photograph?

I would say the antennae give it away.

hopper-revealed

Here’s a better view of who you are looking for.

This is a pallid-winged grasshopper. There were quite a few in my yard on October 26 when I took this photograph, and there still is. When I looked in the Bug of the Week archives, I noticed I have a post about pallid-winged grasshoppers from October 26, 2011. I guess I’ll look for them again about that time next year.

Are grasshoppers still active where you live?

Bug of the Week: Hickory Tussock Moth

Not far from where I found yesterday’s pignut hickory tree, I found this hairy caterpillar.

hickory-tussock-caterpillar

Turns out it isn’t a coincidence to find it there, because this is a hickory tussock moth caterpillar, Lophocampa caryae. The larvae feed on the leaves of hickories, as well as a number of other deciduous trees and some shrubs.

hickory-tussock-side view

You might wonder which end is which.

hickory-tussock--head-onThe head is black, but it is hard to tell unless you get close.

Although the hickory tussock caterpillar looks adorable, it is best not to get close enough to touch one. Contact with the hairs of one of these caterpillars can cause rashes and allergic reactions.

Note that white and black is a warning coloration, meaning stay away, just like yellow and black (wasps), or red and black (black widow spiders and snakes). Think about a black and white skunk, which is definitely well defended!

This caterpillar was on the ground, likely looking for a place to pupate. What does this caterpillar turn into after spinning a cocoon in the leaf litter and spending the winter there?

hickory-tussock-moth-1

In the spring it turns into a hickory tussock moth, of course. Talk about spring finery!

 

 

 

 

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