Pest Identification Photos

6018   I found this bug between my bed sheets after having moved some sweaters onto my bed that were in the kitchen. I live in Montreal, Quebec. We have spring weather right now. The bug seems to have antennae that it uses to feel its environment and walks almost robotically, so I looked up different beetles online. What do you think?   Jessica.

This is a spider beetle (Coleoptera: Anobiidae; subfamily Ptininae) in the genus Mezium – see https://tinyurl.com/ybqkudyq for an example. These can be pests in a variety of dry stored food products; see https://tinyurl.com/mamup5 for a fact sheet that includes control recommendations. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

6016   I live in the north Okanagan in British Columbia and have found several of these in my bathroom (over the past few weeks) where my dog likes to lay on the cool lino floor as it is May/June and quite hot here.  This bug is about ¼ inch long.   I am hoping it is not a tick…   Ruby

 This is a bed bug, a much more difficult pest to eliminate than ticks.   Read more about getting rid of them:  http://pestcontrolcanada.com/how-to-get-rid-of-bed-bugs
You would probably be wise to contact a pest professional in your area to inspect and treat the problem. http://pestcontrolcanada.com/british-columbia/okanagan-Thompson 

6014    These have shown up in a basement laundry room. We’ve put out some sticky traps which is where they are showing up. We seem to rarely see live bugs, the ones we see are already dead.  Can you help us identify this?   Regards,    Derek.  St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

Like No. 6007, these are rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae); general predators on other small arthropods. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

6012  Hello there,  Please help me identify the bugs shown on the attached pictures. They are about 5 mm in length.  My name is John and I live in North York (Toronto) in a townhouse complex where there are more than 300 units. To my knowledge only my next door neighbour and I got our homes infested by these bugs, first last year and then this year as well. This year the bugs appeared about 3 weeks ago and most of them concentrated at the window sill and adjacent areas on the floor.  These creatures fly occasionally but mostly crawl and some reach onto other areas of the house. Others are found dead at the end of day. Since they come from the outside, the condominium corporation brought in a pest control company who applied some kind of spray outside of the house but it was not effective since they keep coming into our places.  Please let me know what kind of bugs are these and how we can get rid of them.   Thank you and best regards,  John

This appears to be a ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Ones like this are general predators on other small arthropods, mainly other insects, and thus could be considered beneficial. If you don’t want them around, simply vacuum them up. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

6010   This was found in Armstrong BC Canada. There was another one found that looks like it was shedding it skin.    Shannon

This most likely is a nymph of a cicada (Hemiptera/ Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae); these spend up to 17 years (depending on the species) underground feeding on the sap from tree roots, before emerging and transforming to the adult winged stage. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

6008  Hello we live in Shawnigan Lake BC on Vancouver Island and have been seeing these black ants outside and inside our home over the past few days.  How do we get rid of them is it possible to do this on our own? Are these carpenter ants should we be concerned if we leave them alone will they eventually go away?  Thanks,  Vicki

This is a female reproductive carpenter ant, probably Modoc species. The ant has been fertilized and has removed her wings. (See the scars on her thorax)  She will be seeking wet wood to burrow into and start a new nest. She will lay about 70,000 eggs over the next 15 years.   Read more about carpenter ants.

6006   Found dead in my bathroom in Toronto. About the size of a small apple seed. Any ideas? Thanks.

This looks like a burrowing bug, Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Cydnidae); see https://tinyurl.com/omrgrbb for an example. These can be nuisance pests when they occur in large numbers, but they do no real harm. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

6004    Found on rope attached to a dock. Six Mile Lake, Port Severn Ontario. May 21, 2017.

I cannot be certain, but these might be larvae of biting midges in the family Ceratopogonidae – see https://tinyurl.com/ybpw4oal for an example. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

6002  I have never seen this beetle here before. Found it on top of my backyard gate post in Ottawa, Ontario in mid May.

This is an American carrion beetle, Necrophila americana (Coleoptera: Silphidae). See https://tinyurl.com/k4u7p3y for images and additional information. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

6000   Hi, I was finally able to get a good picture of the bugs that were in the rental we moved into .   You mentioned that they were most likely weevils but the pics were blurry … would you mind looking at this pic and , if possible , narrowing down the type ??  Thanks again for your time.

This does indeed look like one of the grain/granary weevils in the genus Sitophilus, see http://tinyurl.com/hl8fkt9 for an example. You should check all food storage areas where you keep dry food items (including bird seed), especially seeds of wheat, rice, or corn (maize), for signs of infestation.  Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5998   Hello!    My name is Travis, and I live in southern Ontario.  We’ve seen a few of these guys in our master bathroom in the past few days and would love an identification.  I hope the photo is clear enough.  My best guess is some kind of sowbug?     They are small (maybe as long as my fingernail, <1cm).  It’s just the beginning of spring and it’s starting to get warm.    I hope I’ve given adequate info.  Thanks!  Travis

This is a terrestrial crustacean in the order Isopoda, and sowbug is one of the common names applied to these creatures. They primarily are scavengers on bits of decomposing organic matter, but some species have been known to damage very tender plant parts. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5996   Can you please tell me what is this bug?  Hang Ha

This appears to be a nymph of Reduvius personatus, a peridomestic species of assassin bug (Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Reduviidae) known as the masked hunter. These are reported as having a very painful but not dangerous bite. See http://tinyurl.com/23g4bdy for more detailed information. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5994    Hey just wondering what kind of beetle this is. Found it under the bathroom sink with about 15 more. Lots of sawdust and wood around them. I looked on the site to see if it was posted and couldn’t find one like it.

This is a larder beetle, Dermestes lardarius (Coleoptera: Dermestidae), a peridomestic pest species. See http://tinyurl.com/nw92wz for more detailed information, including control recommendations.

Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5992   Dear Pest Control Canada,    I’ve been finding these little white maggot-like things all over the kitchen floor and occasionally on the counters, but I can’t figure out where they are actually coming from.  They don’t really crawl…they seem to start crawling but then just sort of roll and wriggle and don’t get very far, which is confusing as they keep appearing in the middle of the floor with no discernable source.  They’ve just started in the past few days as it’s finally gotten sunny here in Vancouver, BC.  Do you have any idea what they could be?
Thank you and sincerely,  Shoshana
This appears to be a maggot (fly larva).    They could be dropping from your ceiling through gaps around a light fixture or ceiling fan.  They may be feeding on a dead rodent in your attic.  This is not an uncommon pest problem. 

5990  Is this a baby bed bug?

This is an aphid, aka ‘plant louse’ (Hemiptera/Sternorrhyncha: Aphididae). All aphids are sap feeders, and some can be serious garden/agricultural pests. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5988  These little bugs showed up in our Kitchen late last summer 2016. They are mainly in the kitchen cupboards and often migrate to the south facing windows. They disappeared once the cold weather come around even though they are in the house. In the middle of April 2017  they started showing up again.  I would like to know what they are so that we can figure out how to get rid of them.  We are located in Napanee Ontario Canada.   Harold

These look like drugstore beetles, Stegobium paniceum (Coleoptera: Anobiidae). They and their close relatives, cigarette beetles (Lasioderma serricorne), are cosmopolitan pests that will infest a very wide range of organic materials. See http://tinyurl.com/psebz98 for more detailed information including control recommendations. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5986  Good afternoon,  My name is Rebeca and we leave in London , Ontario.  Yesterday morning, we noticed our driveway infested with these larvae. Could you please help us to identify them? They are around 0.6 inches long.  Thanks.

These look like larvae of a crane fly (Diptera: Tipulidae); see http://tinyurl.com/mz8ad2m for an example. These usually are found in damp to wet soils, and some species can be turf pests. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5984    Hi,    I’m writing in relation to a dead bug I found in my bedroom that is about 1 inch in size. I can’t tell what it is…  Many thanks,  Jessica

This appears to be a nymph of an Australian cockroach, Periplaneta australasiae (Blattodea: Blattidae). See http://tinyurl.com/ka4ltgr for details on its life history as well as some control suggestions. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5982   Hello,   My name is Matt and I found this bug in our washroom, located in Richmond hill Ontario. I find smaller versions of these bugs frequently. Do you know what it is? 

This is a house centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata, a cosmopolitan species. Unlike most other centipedes, house centipedes have quite good eyesight, and can hunt down their prey. Finding numbers of these usually is indicative of the presence of other insects. They also are capable of inflicting a painful (but not dangerous) bite. See http://tinyurl.com/mn7mzf for more detailed information. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5980  I have been seeing this particular black and fire red insect around my home and my community. It has destroyed/eaten all my plants and I cannot seem to  do anything to get rid of them.  Can you tell me what this bug is and if it  is harmful to have inside my Home or is it dangerous in any other way? I  have a small toddler who likes to play in the rocks but my rocks are filled  with hundreds of these bugs.

This is a firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus (Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae). Something else likely is destroying your plants, as these insects reportedly feed primarily on seeds of members of the mallow and lime families – see http://tinyurl.com/kdbrpn8. They tend to form dense aggregations in the spring, and a person seeing those could presume that they were causing damage. They also pose no danger to humans. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5978  My name is Luke. Location: Kelowna, BC.  At a home surrounded by fur and pine trees, the argentine ants have taken over the area and foraging at all these trees. They are coming down from the tee with this creature in their mouth. I think it’s an adelgid, but I’m not a pro, and I want to know what exactly has allowed these ants to thrive in such a different forest than their native origin.

This does look like a nymph of an adelgid – see http://tinyurl.com/lh7o7sn for an example. Argentine ants have been very successful in expanding their range as they tend to form ‘supercolonies’, each having multiple queens, and the colonies cooperate rather than compete with each other. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5976   Hi,  We found this in Harrison Hot Springs, BC, Canada in April. It was in a wet cave on the ceiling with dozens of other ones. The cave was in a forest at about 120m elevation. The largest had bodies about 2-3 inches long.  John

This is a cave/camel cricket (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae); they commonly are found in damp, dark, seldom-disturbed habitats, Some in the genus Tropidischia (see http://tinyurl.com/k9bkwob  for an example) can get quite large. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5974   Geographical Location: Markham, ON.  Bug was collected in the kitchen. Over the last month or so, we have been waking up to them of varying sizes between 0.5 cm to 2 cm (this one was about 1.5 cm) in length, not including their antennae. They are typically crawling on the kitchen counter (granite) but can also be seen on the floor, or on vertical surfaces (dishwasher door, cupboard doors, etc.) It is currently April and weather conditions are mild, between 5 to 10 C. Snow is melting, and it has been relatively damp over the last few days, but weather in the month since their infestation has been fluctuating. It looks as if they have wings and they are capable of climbing glass jars. We have been rigorously cleaning and cannot find a way to get rid of them. Suggestions would be gratefully accepted!   Thanks for your help!  David.

This is a German cockroach, Blattella germanica (Blattodea: Ectobiidae), a very common and widespread pest species that can be difficult to bring under compete control. See http://tinyurl.com/h3nd9z8 elsewhere on this site for some control recommendations. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

5972   My name is Wendy. I live in Montreal and this bug was on my newly carpeted stairs inside my house. It was fairly large, about 3/4 of an inch.

This appears to be a nymph of Reduvius personatus, a peridomestic species of assassin bug (Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Reduviidae) known as the masked hunter. These are reported as having a very painful but not dangerous bite. See http://tinyurl.com/23g4bdy for more detailed information. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.