Leaf-Footed Bug One of our native leaf-footed bugs, Acanthocephala terminalis is just appearing as adults in my area. Several molts (instars) occur before they reach this adult stage. This one was on my house foundation this afternoon. It is larger and broader then the Western Conifer Seed Bug (see http://naturalistguy.com/2010/11/05/1740/)...
Atymna querci, male A treehopper (Hemiptera, family Membracidae) male of the species Atymna querci (species name= oak). The females of this animal are green, and look like they would be another species! Many members of this family of treehoppers are sub-social, and make low frequency calls (infra-sounds) that humans can...
categories: HEMIPTERA (True Bugs)
Hemipteran A handsome little bugger at < 1/4 inch (like that ingenious pun), is similar in looks and size to a chinch bug, a pest of lawns. This true bug- Hemiptera, is posing along with many other arthropods on this warm Northeast U.S. day. ID pending. . .NG.
categories: HEMIPTERA (True Bugs)
Western Conifer Seed Bug Western Conifer Seed Bug Western Conifer Seed Bug I was working as a horticulturist for a national plant nursery chain ’bout 1986, at their main plant pathology laboratory in Detroit Michigan, 7 mile and E. Nevada. We would get in all kinds of plant diseases, and of course plant pests- dead or...
categories: HEMIPTERA (True Bugs)
Milkweed Aphids Up Close Milkweed Aphids Up Close This is an insect that not only is appropriately colored for Halloween, but also deserves some attention for its shear tenacity. Each individual of the Milkweed or Oleander Aphid, Aphis neriii, (Order Hemiptera) is just a tad bigger then a head of a pin, and they align each...
categories: HEMIPTERA (True Bugs)
Spittle Bug Adult I started to see these late summer, and I always joked with my daughter that if I didn’t know where the head was- I would swear they had heads on both ends! So after the old Dr. Doolittle push/me/pull/me (um was it a horse?), I affectionaltey called this the Push Me, Pull Me bug. Turns out that it...
categories: HEMIPTERA (True Bugs)
Water Measurer Water Measurer Water Measurer Early Spring Flash Back. This bug is always skimming across our vernal pools, early in the Spring. Not as graceful in their gliding over the surface tension of the water, as the Water Striders, the Water Measurers are in their own True Bug family, the Hydrometridae (Hydro=water,...
categories: HEMIPTERA (True Bugs)
Gyponona Leaf Hopper Gyponona Leaf Hopper The Leaf Hopper group, a true bug (Hemiptera) in the Cincidellidae family, have similar body shapes. Usually great fliers, they launch themselves with one great hop. Hard to photograph in the field, or around lawns, this species, a Gyponona, came to our lights many nights in a...
categories: HEMIPTERA (True Bugs)
Citrus Flatid Planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa So I originally was thinking “Treehopper” in the Membracidae family, but after pondering a bit, and some help from the experts- I was assured that this is in fact the Citrus Flatid Planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa. They are also Hemipterans (true bugs), but are in their...
categories: HEMIPTERA (True Bugs), INSECTS
Assasin bug, Zelus luridus, hunting A bit less cryptic then the ambush bug, but just as deadly and well designed- the Assassins (Reduvidae) rely on front legs that are used like clamps- and that are also covered in a sticky substance. This substance might attract and help ensnare prey. Their stylus, is inserted in their...
categories: HEMIPTERA (True Bugs)
