This brilliant red and black insect looks a lot like a red stink bug. It is in fact a “cotton stainer”, Dysdercus suturellus. These insects used to be great pests of cotton (they were named for their habit of staining cotton an indelible yellow brown), but now, due in part to improved pest control and…
Category: Aphids, Bugs, and Hoppers (Hemiptera)
Wheel Bug
One of the largest terrestrial true bugs in North America, this bad boy (or girl) can reach up to 1.5 inches / 38mm in size (although subjectively it seems much bigger in person!). The wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) is an assassin bug, which means that big pointy bit on the front is in fact a…
Shieldbacked Pine Seed Bug
You would think narrowing down an identification to “shield bug” would have you almost done, wouldn’t you? Man, that doesn’t even narrow it down to family. It was ridiculous trying to get this handsome little guy down from “bug” to “stink bug” (nope) to “soldier bug” (nope) to “shield bug” (nope) to “shieldbacked bug” (at…
Leaf-Footed Bug
This is probably an adult female leaf-footed bug (Acanthocephala declivis) — this species is named for the exaggerated “femurs” on its back legs, and the femurs are larger in the male, with impressive spikes. She’s about an inch and a half long, not including her antennae. Leaf-footed bugs are named after the “leafy” extensions of…
Citrus Flatid Planthopper
The citrus flatid planthopper (Metcalfa pruinosa) makes me happy. It is a member of the family Flatidae, whose name amuses me greatly (and, yes, references the fact that these insects are “flat” when viewed from above). Also known as the frosted moth-bug, Pruinosa is common in eastern North America, ranging from Canada to Mexico. Adults…
Dog Day Cicada
Growing up in Kentucky and Indiana, I saw one or two of the big “cycles” of the 17-year cicadas. Those periodical cicadas don’t live in Florida, but here we get serenaded each summer by a variety of annual cicadas which brood every year. The dog day cicada (Tibicen canicularis or Neotibicen canicularis, depending on whom…
Milkweed Assassin Bug
A handsome milkweed assassin bug (Zelus longipes), wandering along one of the tombs in St. Louis Cemetery No 1 in New Orleans. These brightly-colored, long-legged insects are ambush hunters, believe it or not, which stroll idly along foliage, reaching out to grasp prey with their front legs. Most species of Zelus seem to be cryptically…