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Here's a reminder to kill this fucker with no hesitation if you see them!

#this is directed primarily at people in the eastern US btw #insects #true bugs #lantern flies

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What Bug Is This? 107: Black Horse Fly

Image Source: Sarah Morgan, license

Common name(s): black horse fly, mourning fly

Scientific name: Tabanus atratus

Can it hurt me?: They have a very painful bite. More painful that most other deer and horse flies as a result of their giant size. They feed on blood primarily of livestock, but will go after humans if they’re more convenient than finding a horse or a cow.

Can it hurt my plants?: While they can feed on plants, it’s not considered much of a concern. They can act as pollinators.

Should I kill it?: Honestly, go ahead. Or at least try to chase it away if if lands on you. They’re not pleasant to have around.

Anything else I should know?: They’re pretty big, about 3 cm long. Their dark color makes them pretty easy to recognize. Their larvae also get pretty big and live in detritus and damp earth, usually near adult hosts. Only females drink blood. The males (which have larger eyes that touch each other) drink nectar, sap, and other plant fluids.

#what bug is this? #flies #insects

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Something about post+ that occurred to me while making the next What Bug Is This? post:

Folks have been primarily talking a about how fanworks 100% shouldn’t be put behind paywalls for good reason, but I think it’s pretty important to talk about photography that isn’t yours as well. There are already so many posts on here with stolen images that this is already a problem. But even if you’re someone who checks for licenses on images you want to share, it’s important to remember that a lot of the photo you’re legally allowed to share are specifically only shareable if you’re not using them commercially. Citing sources isn’t enough if you don’t have permission to use the image the way you’re using it.

The main reason I’m putting this on this blog is that sharing others’ insect photos is a common part of entomology tumblr (even most of the photos I use were taken by other people) and just in case anyone was considering putting other people’s photos behind a paywall, you’ll run into the same issues you would charging money for fanfic.

#post+

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What Bug Is This? 106: Black Witch

Image Source: freds_flora, license

Common name(s): black witch, black witch moth,

Scientific name: Ascalapha odorata

Can it hurt me?: No

Can it hurt my plants?: It’s caterpillars are pests of a variety of legumes.

Should I kill it?: If it’s causing problems in your garden or farm, yes, but otherwise leave them alone.

Anything else I should know?: These are huge moths, with wingspans up to over 9 inches across. While they primarily live in Central and South America, they are famous for wandering far outside their range (even to Canada, Hawaii, and Europe) and surprising people who don’t know what they are.

#what bug is this? #insects #moths

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What Bug Is This? 105: Evergreen Bagworms

Image Source: in bag: ussmee, license; moth: xpda, license

Common name(s): evergreen bagworms, evergreen bagworm moths, common bagworms, common basketworms, North American bagworms

Scientific name: Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis

Can it hurt me?: No

Can it hurt my plants?: The silk they produce to hang from trees can kill smaller branches by constriction. They are also very capable of damaging trees from their feeding (which favors evergreens but isn’t restricted to them).

Should I kill it?: If necessary to protect your trees, yes.

Anything else I should know?: The bags, which are constructed by the larvae, serve as both a physical barrier from danger and a means of camouflage. Only the male bagworm actually grows wings and leaves the cocoon after metamorphosis; the female remains in her bag cocoon waiting for males to fly by and mate with her.

#what bug is this? #insects #moths

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What Bug Is This? 104: Ten-Spotted Honeysuckle Moths

Image Source: oxalismtp, license

Common name(s): ten-spotted honeysuckle moths

Scientific name: Athrips mouffetella

Can it hurt me?: No

Can it hurt my plants?: Their caterpillars feed on honeysuckles and can damage them.

Should I kill it?: If they are causing damage to your plants or if you find them outside their native range, yes.

Anything else I should know?: They are native to Europe and northern Asia, but have been introduced to the US and Canada where they’ve become invasive. If you spot one, it would be helpful for the scientists tracking them if you got a photo of it and recorded its location with a citizen scientist website or app.

#what bug is this? #insects #moths

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What Bug Is This? 103: Fall Armyworms

Image Source: larva: mdfox72, license; adult: Sam Kieschnick, license

Common name(s): fall armyworms (usually refers to larvae), fall armyworm moths (usually refers to adults)

Scientific name: Spodoptera frugiperda

Can it hurt me?: No

Can it hurt my plants?: They are voracious feeders and show up in large numbers. In particular, they are known for being agricultural pests of many crops including corn, cotton, rice, and much more. They’re native to the Americas, but have been introduced in a few other places including Africa and Asia where they’ve become invasive.

Should I kill it?: Yes, though I’m not an expert in how to get rid of them.

Anything else I should know?: They can’t survive freezing temperatures during the winter making them more common in warm areas, but they are capable of traveling far and fast once temperatures warm up. They can even reach Canada sometimes by the end of summer. This is a species that will likely become an even bigger problem with climate change as the warmer temperatures will allow it to increase its wintering range.

#what bug is this? #insects #moths

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a hackberry emperor who paid me a visit

#insects #butterflies

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What Bug Is This? 102: Soft-Lined Wave

Image Source: jesseholifield, license

Common name(s): soft-lined wave, soft-lined wave moth

Scientific name: Scopula inductata

Can it hurt me?: Nope

Can it hurt my plants?: Their caterpillars feed on a wide variety of plants, some weeds including ragweed, dandelions, and clover, but also various asters.

Should I kill it?: No need to

Anything else I should know?: This is a very widespread moth in North America, but its camouflaging colors often cause it to go unnoticed. They can vary a little in how dark they are (though they tend to be pretty pale), but the wavy stripes they’re named for are consistent.

#what bug is this? #insects #moths

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What Bug Is This? 101: Large Tolype Moths

Image Source: adult: Anna Bennet, license; larva: Joe Malmisur, license

Common name(s): large tolype moths, velleda lappet moths

Scientific name: Tolype velleda

Can it hurt me?: No

Can it hurt my plants?: The caterpillars feed on a variety of trees and shrubs.

Should I kill it?: No

Anything else I should know?: The adults of this species do not feed as adults, putting all their energy towards mating and reproducing. They don’t survive for very long, but are quite beautiful while they do.

#what bug is this? #moths #insects

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What Bug Is This? 100: Short-Lined Chocolate Moth

Image Source: Giff Beaton, license

Common name(s): short-lined chocolate moth, short-lined chocolate

Scientific name: Argyrostrotis anilis

Can it hurt me?: No

Can it hurt my plants?: Its caterpillars feed on American plum/wild plum tree leaves, however it’s not considered a particularly harmful pest of this species.

Should I kill it?: Leave it alone and appreciate how beautiful and elegant this moth is.

Anything else I should know?: I honestly can’t find a whole lot of info on this particular moth, which is a pity. I didn’t even find a picture of their caterpillars. Basically just a really pretty moth we don’t know a whole lot about.

#what bug is this? #insects #moths

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What Bug Is This? 99: Locust Digitate Leafminer Moths

Image Source: leaf damage: gamrhein, license; adult: Gyorgy Csoka; license

Common name(s): locust digitate leafminer moths, locust digitate leafminers

Scientific name: Plusiodonta compressipalpis

Can it hurt me?: No

Can it hurt my plants?: They feed on locust trees pretty extensively and cause damage to their foliage.

Should I kill it?: If the infestation is particularly severe or if you find them in Europe where they have been introduced from North America and are invasive, sure.

Anything else I should know?: Leafminers are insects that spend their larval stage feeding on leaves from within the leaf (between their epidermal layers). As you might guess, they tend to be on the small side, but are not limited to moth species. There are moths, beetles, sawflies, flies, and more that adopt this lifestyle. This is why rather than the leaves having bitemarks in them they look like something has come through and scooped the color out of them or, sometimes, as though something has tunneled through them.

#what bug is this? #insects #moths

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What Bug Is This? 98: Moonseed Moth

Image Source: Robert Webster; license

Common name(s): moonseed moth

Scientific name: Plusiodonta compressipalpis

Can it hurt me?: Nope

Can it hurt my plants?: It feeds on the moonseed/ghost grape/yellow parilla plant in such a way that they sever the leaves from the stem.

Should I kill it?: No

Anything else I should know?: It’s coloration and silhouette act as camouflage while it rests during the day.

#insects #moths #what bug is this?

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I’m coming back for Moth Week 2021: July 17-25 (the 10th annual one). 9 moth posts for the 9 days of moth week. :-)

#moth week

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Hey, let's help out some scientists this summer! They developed an ap called Cicada Safari to help track the Brood X cicadas and if you're going to be out and about in nature this summer we might as well help out the bug people.

Romantic summer things to do with your partners: take a walk in the woods and catalogue things that are screaming. It's like a scavenger hunt, but loud.

#cicadas

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What Bug Is This? 97: Pavement Ants

Image Source: leef; license

Common name(s): pavement ants, sidewalk ants, sugar ants, “black ants” (note that this moniker gets given to a lot of types of ants, but most often irl I’ve heard it in reference to pavement ants, usually as a way of differentiating them from more dangerous ants like fire ants or carpenter ants; ex. “Oh don’t worry about those ants on the playground, they’re just black ants.”)

Scientific name: genus Tetramorium

Can it hurt me (or damage my home)?: It’s possible for them to take up residence in human homes and are capable of spreading bacteria to food as they walk across it while foraging. They are capable of stinging, but are rarely aggressive towards humans so even people who’ve been around them their entire lives might not know they’re capable. I’ve even known someone to deliberately stomp barefoot on the entrance to a pavement ant colony and he didn’t even get stung then. They don’t really damage home structures like termites or carpenter ants, but are often considered annoying to have around.

Can it hurt my plants?: I haven’t seen anything that says they do and I’ve never had a problem with them outside myself, but I suppose it’s possible since they’re capable of eating a wide variety of things.

Should I kill it?: If they’re living in your house I can hardly blame you. I personally wouldn’t kill ones living outside, but I know some people do out of concern that they’ll move into nearby homes. Ant bait is generally pretty effective against them. I’ve also heard of people pouring things like soap down their colony entrance.

Anything else I should know?: This is one of the most commonly encountered variety of ants in the US and one of the most eye catching as they frequently congregate in giant masses or wage war on nearby ant colonies in areas humans tend to walk past. Have you witnessed a truly astonishing number of ants crawling around in a giant mass on the sidewalk? It was probably these gals.

When they live outdoors, they usually have mating flights in midsummer, but ones living indoors with controlled climate can have mating flights at any time of year. Note that if you see flying ants you should not assume that they’re leaving. They only producing flying ants when they have become large enough to set aside resources for making ants capable of reproduction rather than building up their reserves of workers. Also, if you aren’t sure if the ants that have invaded your house are pavement ants or another potentially more destructive species, it might be worth it to get an exterminator to look into it.

#what bug is this? #insects #ants #swarm

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What Bug Is This? 96: Caterpillar Hunters

Image Source: Kevin Firth, license

Common name(s): Caterpillar hunters (also used to refer to some beetles in same genus), fiery searchers, searcher beetles (includes other beetles in the same genus) (also note that fiery hunters are a different beetle in the same genus Calosoma calidum, there’s just a lot of overlapping names in the Calosoma genus)

Scientific name: Calosoma scrutator

Can it hurt me?: They produce rancid smelling secretions as a defense mechanism if you pick them up.

Can it hurt my plants?: They’re actually considered beneficial to gardens because they eat herbivorous insects that could damage them.

Should I kill it?: No, just leave it be

Anything else I should know?: As their name caterpillar hunter implies, they specialize in eating caterpillars both as larvae and as adults. The name searcher is because of how voraciously they hunt their prey.

They usually hunt at night and are attracted to porch lights. They’re fairly large and brightly colored so when they do come, people tend to notice them.

#insects #beetles #searchers #caterpillar hunters