5745 Hello I’m Leo. I found this while sweeping outside my work, and I’ve never seen anything like it. It was HUGE (About the size of a Bic lighter) and wouldn’t fly when nudged. I’m in South Carolina, USA. Thank you! This is a cicada (Hemiptera/Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae); it appears to be in the genus Neotibicen. […]
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5742 Hello, My name is Joy and I live in Jemseg, NB. Encountered this spider in my raspberry patch last evening. Thanks. This is an orb weaving spider in the family Araneidae; it looks like Araneus marmoreus, known as the marbled orb weaver. This species is highly polymorphic, exhibiting a very wide range of individual […]
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5746 Hi, this bug is in my firewood. Some just under bark, and some in middle of wood. This is a pupa of a wood wasp known as a horntail (Hymenoptera: Siricidae). Their larvae tunnel in the wood of dead/dying trees, where they often fall victim to giant ichneumon wasps in the genus Megarhyssa – […]
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5744 Hi, my name is Ronna. I found this bug in my back yard in Moncton, NB on a hot sunny July day. What is it? This is a nymph of a stink bug (Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in the genus Podisus. Bugs in this genus are known as soldier bugs, and as general predators on many […]
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5743 I found this crawling in my coffee grinder, right after dumping some coffee beans in, so I’m guessing it came from in the bag of beans. At first I wondered if it was a foreign insect that came with the coffee, but that’s not the case since the beans I buy are roasted here […]
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5748 Hi. My name is Sarita.I live in Surrey, BC,. We have a lot of bees (picture attached) in our house. I need your help how we can remove them and their nest. Thanks. Sarita. Enclosed: indoor pictures of bee. This is not a bee. It is a Yellowjacket wasp. If you can find the […]
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5750 Thanks for the help, we are being invaded in central Kelowna near the downtown core. The bugs have been covering our buildings and it is hard to keep them out. They look a little like a boxelder bug but lack the red marks, and they are about 1/8 inch long in the small version […]
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5752 The attached photo is a bug that crawled out of a plum pit that my daughter was eating. They are from BC and I had just bought them today. Please tell me what this bug is. Thank you, Angela This is an earwig (order Dermaptera). Earwigs are very common nuisance pests that usually do little […]
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5757 Lone Pine, Ca. Hot dry dessert at the base of Mt. Whitney. It was on my leg yesterday afternoon. I panicked at hit it and it sat still in the ground. Looks like it flies. Didn’t smell anything or hear it make a noise. My husband smashed it before I could study it. Lived […]
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5751 Hi I am from Newfoundland Canada and I found these little guys climbing on my house right above my door and I’m just wondering what kind of spider they are. Can you help me please? I found it weird that 2 of them were hanging out together and seemed to be following each other. […]
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5755 This bug was found in Brockville Ontario, Canada, while camping by a lake. He has wings as I did see it fly. Could you please identify it for me? Thanks so kindly! Eva This is a metallic wood-boring beetle (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Also called jewel beetles because of their often iridescent colours, their larvae (flat-headed […]
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5756 Randy from Alberta. Just noticed him hanging around my backyard and you can hear those 4 wings as it Flys. About 2.5-3″ long from head to stinger. This is wood wasp (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) in the genus Urocerus, it looks like Urocerus flavicornis; see http://tinyurl.com/gptjc33 for an image. Their larvae tunnel in the wood of […]
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5753 This bug (carcass) was about an inch long (a bit less). Seen this week in Ottawa. Hot weather. Outdoors. This is the exoskeleton of a cicada, likely one of the so-called annual (some emerge every year after spending two to five years underground) or dog-day (they usually emerge in late summer) cicadas. Most of […]
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5754 These worms have been destroying my strawberries. Found near Winnipeg, MB. Dave These ‘worms’ actually are millipedes, arthropods in the class Diplopoda. Some species will indeed damage tender plant parts (including soft fruits) that are close to or on the ground. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.
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5763 Location of photo: North Okanagan BC. Question: Could you possible identify the following insect? It’s body is about one inch long. Thank you . Sincerely, Heather This appears to be Cyphoderris monstrosa, a hump-winged cricket (Orthoptera: Prophalangopsidae) known as a great grig -see http://tinyurl.com/zctwakz for an image. Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.
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5758 Hello, I have been finding 2-3 of these a month in my (finished) basement in Calgary Alberta, year round. They are often dead when I find them. They move slowly and have a strong shell. The largest was nearly 1 cm long but almost always they are around 7-8mm. I think they are ‘Weevils’ but they […]
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5759 My daughter may have got bit what is this? Is this even a spider. This is an orb weaving spider (family Araneidae) in the genus Neoscona, likely N. arabesca – see http://tinyurl.com/j8zzap9 for an image. These spiders very seldom bite unless they are picked up and handled carelessly, and their bite is not at […]
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5761 Kingston Ontario. Live near water… Siding is covered with these for several weeks… Only about 1/4 long. Don This is a shed ‘skin’ (exoskeleton) of an immature mayfly. These insects are a vital part of the freshwater food web, but they can become nuisances when they emerge by the gazillions – see http://tinyurl.com/hkxk3y6. Saugstad, […]
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5760 Found in our yard we live in Georgetown Ontario. Peggy This is a nymph of a cicada (Hemiptera/Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae), likely in the genus Neotibicen. These usually are called either annual cicadas (some emerge every year after spending two to five years underground) or dog-day cicadas (because they usually emerge in late summer). Saugstad, retired entomologist; […]
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5762 I believe this to be an orb weaving spider – I don’t see one exactly like this on your site. This was found in Montreal, Quebec but may have hitched a ride back from the region north of Quebec City. Thank you for your help, we are fascinated by this amazing creature. -Angus This is an […]
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5764 Good evening, I came upon your website when I was trying to identify an insect I found outside in my tomato garden. I scanned through some pictures on your website but I didn’t see my exact bug. I’ve attached 2 photos of it having some lunch. I took these today, August 7th in Nova […]
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5765 Can you tell me what this is and is it dangerous? This is a thread-wasted wasp (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), it appears to be Sceliphron caementarium , known as the black-and-yellow mud dauber. They are of danger only to the spiders that they capture, sting, and paralyze as provisions for their larvae. See http://tinyurl.com/gpubxfa for much […]
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5773 Please identify. Osgoode, Ontario, taken at dusk. Bruce and Terri These appear to be male winged ants. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV. There is not enough visible detail to determine the species.
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5767 Hi my name is Diana and I live in Tecumseh Ontario and it is mid August. I have a Manitoba maple infestation of wasp like bugs that fly and sting. They are burrowing in the trunk of the tree. There is no visible nest near them, yet they are swarming and burrowing into the […]
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5768 The attached photo was taken in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota in August, on the bark of a birch tree. It appears to be a tight cluster of fifty or sixty black 1/4″ six-legged insects(?), being “herded” (so it appears) by six or eight large black ants moving around the perimeter of the cluster. […]
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5771 Any idea what this bug is? I found it on a leaf in my garden on August 6th, 2016, Mississauga, Ontario. Regards, Mike C This is a nymph of a stink bug (Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Pentatomidae); possibly in the genus Podisus – see http://tinyurl.com/gmmc6p4 for an example. Bugs in this genus are called soldier bugs; they […]
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5769 Hello. This is in my garden. I would really like to know what it is!! I am terrified of them but I find this one intriguing. In the past 7 days its doubled in size. Hope you can help!! Erin This is Argiope trifasciata, an orb weaver known as the banded Argiope. It is […]
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5770 Can you Please adv8ise what this is, photo taken in my sons backyard this evening , Aug 15, 2016, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada? Thank You Christine It’s a thread-waisted wasp (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) in the subfamily Ammophilinae; it looks like Eremnophila aureonotata . These are caterpillar hunters – see http://tinyurl.com/hex5o5a for some images. Ed Saugstad, retired […]
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5772 Hello. I found this guy in a 5th wheel in Slave Lake AB. He had hitched a ride from somewhere either there in the vicinity or in the Rocky Mountain House and Jasper areas. He was big for an insect, I thought, about an inch long…. I caught him in a plastic glass and put […]
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5774 Hello, We seem to finding more and more of these critters in our house near Calgary. They started in one area in the basement and in an area in the garage but they are becoming more prevalent and found in other areas of the house. They are only a couple of mm long and […]
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5775 These larval sacks were protected in some fine insulating substance just like wool. Found them in a junction box on a wall outside. (It even smelled like lambs wool.) There were about ten of these brown, slightly crispy-shelled sacks. Only one sack contained a set of 30 or so active larvae, the rest were nearly […]
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5776 About 2.5 inches long, on a path in the community forest. What is this thing? This is a shield-backed katydid, such as a Mormon cricket, Anabrus simplex (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae); see http://tinyurl.com/z88v86s for an image. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.
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5777 Walking in the forest here in French River Ontario, I came across a bunch of weird looking webs that I had never seen before. I didn’t see any spider although i did look as close as I dared to. lol I have attached a few pictures of the tree with the webs. I would […]
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5779 Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. We are finding numerous bugs in our house (15-20 a day) … we would like to know if this is a pest and what steps we should take. Please see attached photo. additional info: very slow moving. 7-8mm long… , stop moving for a long time when we disturb them, VERY hard shell, […]
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5778 It’s almost 2 inches big. It’s living between the windows (outside and inside) of townhouse in Edmonton. Photo taken mid August of this year. Please, please can you respond. Need to know if something to worry about, as there is a 1 year old baby as well 2 dogs. Thank you. Dave H. Nothing […]
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5780 I have been seeing this bug recently here in Saint John NB in my back yard. The bug is smaller then the photo makes it out to be. The body of the bug is about a cm and the tail would be about 4-5 inches. It also flies. Please let me know if you […]
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5790 Hi, My name is Leslie and we live in Calgary. We noticed hundreds of these flying insects (both large as in the picture and many very tiny ones as well) around a large window on our stair landing and then found hundreds more along the base of one wall in an unfinished part of our basement. […]
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5786 My name is Nolen. I live in Delta, BC and it’s late summer. What is this thing I killed? Thanks, Nolen This is a crane fly. The adults are a nuisance but considered harmless. The species common in the pacific northwest are a serious problem because the larvae, also known as leather jackets, feed […]
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5781 This bug was found inside our hotel room in Vernon BC. It is the third we have found in the bedroom. Like Nos. 5779 and 5774, this is yet another broad-nose/short-snouted weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae; subfamily Entiminae). These weevils often enter buildings in search of shelter, but do no harm there. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks […]
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5783 Hi there, Just wondering if you can id this spider for me. I took this photo this afternoon in a mosquito net under an apple tree nearby. I’m in Grantville, Cape Breton. It appears to have a small web in the net’s peak. It’s about 3 cm long tail to tip. Thanks. Adam This is a male […]
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5782 This Caterpillar was in Regina SASK Canada in AUG. 2016 Thanks Conrad This is a fully grown caterpillar of a sphinx moth (Lepidoptera; Sphingidae); likely an Achemon sphinx, Eumorpha achemon. See http://tinyurl.com/znasbkt for images and details on its life history. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.
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5785 From Al, BC coast, Canada. Any idea what these are? quite a few around today in our house (September 3rd) never seen them before. Many thanks This is a pair (male pursuing female) of reproductive termites. They often form pairs like this after emerging from their colony and shedding their wings. After mating, the female will […]
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5784 Hello i live in mn.. I know it’s not Canada but I hope close enough for you help. I’ve looked everywhere for this bug in the net and can’t find it.. please help identify. Nice find! This appears to be a male beetle in the family Phengodidae (glow-worms, railroad beetles). See http://tinyurl.com/cond3tn for detailed […]
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5789 We are trying to identify the attached insects. My location is Albuquerque, NM. They are very small, between 4-5 mm (~3/16ths of an inch), end to end, not including antennae. We are concerned these could be immature roaches, but we have lived here ten years and have never had them. We have not seen any […]
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5787 Hi. This was found in Prince Edward Island (Sept 2016). It is about 2” long +- and found on the grass by our propane tank. The 4 things on its back seemed to be soft and looked like the ends of paint brushes. Any Idea of what type of caterpillar this is? Thanks, Derek This […]
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5792 My nabour has this one in her garden. She is wanting to know the name of it pls. This is Argiope aurantia, an extremely common, widespread and harmless (to humans) orb weaving spider. See http://tinyurl.com/hzr5jab for much more detailed information. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.
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5788 Hi, this is Lili from Moncton New Brunswick. Found these bugs around outdoor plants in early September. They are very small, with black head, red body with stripes. And they appear in groups. There are some little red things around them, not sure whether those are eggs or babies. Please help, thanks! Lili This appears to […]
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5796 Can you please tell me what kind of spider this is. Found on a cement pad in Thunder Bay, Sept 13/2016 Sunny weather, Helen This is a female orb weaving spider in the genus Araneus that has deposited her eggs and is approaching the end of her natural life. Both A. marmoreus and A. […]
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