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Two
Maggots: Rat Tailed Maggot and Leatherback, a Caddisfly Nymph
and a Burying Beetle all from Alaska
(10/21/2007) Alaskan Backyard 'Bugs'
Hi! You guys are my new heros! I love the site and I don't
know how I've missed it before! I am going to be a regular
viewer from now on! Without going through ALL your pix I thought
you might like these to do with what you will. I am an amateur
bug enthusiast (with only a BFA) that has been fortunate enough
to periodically get gigs designing exhibits revolving around
arthropods. (LA Zoo's 'Spider City' is one of my designs,
as is Santa Barbara Zoo's 'EEW' (not my title)). Another exhibit
that you may find amusing (it's my personal favorite) can
be found at www.drentomo.com . It's cool (in more ways than
one) to be able to design from my little studio on the bluffs
overlooking Kachemak bay here in Homer, Alaska, then head
down to the float plane pond to look for fresh water invertebrates
then cruise over to the beach to check out the intertidal
inverts. With a tidal range of 27 feet there is some cool
stuff there for sure. The ones I find most interesting are
the terrestrial inverts (collembolids, rove beetles and pseudoscorpions
etc) that make their home at around the mean tide line so
that they are submered in salt water (albeit in airbubbles
in cracks and old barnacle shells) for 6 hours or more a day!
But I ramble on... Anyway, keep up the amazing work! Cheers!
DeWaine Tollefsrud
www.arcticstarstudios.net
Tipulid "Crane fly", Nicrophorus sp., Caddis Fly,
Rat-Tail Maggot" Such an ugly common name for Syrphid
young
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| Rat
Tailed Maggot |
Leatherback |
Hi
DeWaine,
Thanks for the awesome letter. We don't normally like posting
so many different kinds of insects with one letter as it complicates
our archiving process, but we are making an exception in your
case. We are fond of the common name for Cranefly Larvae,
which is Leatherbacks. The Caddisfly Nymph, both in and out
if its case, is a nice addition to our site.
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| Caddisfly
Nymph |
Burying
Beetle |
Caddisfly
(05/21/2007) What's That Bug? ;)
Hi there, bugman!!
Here's to swamping you some more. Found this little bug/moth?
on my wall and wondered what he is. I searched you site a
bit, though not very thoroughly as I'm on dial-up most of
the time and those lovely photos take aaaaaages to load. ;)
Didn't find him. Instead of jamming your inbox with image
attached, here's a link to it on my Flickr
account. Best of luck catching up with your email! ;)
Vedrana
Hi Vedrana,
We don't believe we will ever truly catch up on our emails.
There were about 675 letters in our in box when we returned
and we began by deleting everything with no subject line and
have reduced the number by more than half. We are trying to
post two letters per day from our absence and your linked
image was perfect. This is a Caddisfly, a mothlike insect
with an aquatic nymph. Caddisflies belong to the order Trichoptera.
Caddisfly
(05/01/2006) Order?
I was teaching some orders of aquatic insects along Little
River in Van Damme state park (redwood forest; about 1 mile
inland from ocean ; Mendocino County) And we saw this black
insect. I am embarrassed that I couldn't even figure out the
order. The wings did not look like they had scales.
Thanks!
Teresa Sholars
Professor of Biological Sciences
Science Coordinator
Mendocino Coast Campus
College of the Redwoods
Hi Teresa,
We wish your photo was more detailed. We believe this to be
a Caddisfly, Order Trichoptera. Renowned lepidopterist and
Mt. Washington neighbor Julian Donahue just confirmed our
identification. Here is what he has to say: "Nice website!
I've actually been there before, and had already bookmarked
it! I just never knew that you were a neighbor. And you're
correct about the caddisfly, although I can't tell you what
family it is."
Caddisfly Larva from Australia
(04/26/2006) strange bug
Hi, I hope this photo is enough for you to help me. I found
this bug in some pond water and thought at first it was a
small hollow stem but then the stem moved around, looking
closely I could see legs coming out of the straw. It stretched
out many times but then went back into the stem, like a hermit
crab. Can you tell what it is? Thanks,
Sue MacMillan
Adelaide, South Australia.
Hi Sue,
What a wonderful image of a Caddisfly Larva. Caddisflies are
in the order Trichoptera. The larvae are aquatic and build
homes for protection. Each species has a distinct type of
home. Some like yours, use hollow sticks. Others cement sticks
or pebbles or shells together.
Caddisfly Larva
(08/22/2005) trying to identify this strange bug
Hello
My 6 yr old discovered this "pupa" while on vacation
at her grandmother's in the BC interior. She was on a creek
at the time. Here is a photo.
Monique
Hi Monique,
This is a Caddisfly Larva. Adult Caddisflies resemble moths.
The larvae are aquatic and are called Caddisworms. Many species
construct portable cases around their bodies which later become
pupal shelters. Sticks, small pebbles and other materials
can form the basis of the case. Each species has a distinct
type of case with specific building materials.
Caddisfly
(05/11/2005) what's this bug
Hi, any idea what this bug is? i found it nearby a stream
channel. it's not in my field guide. thanks so
much. great web site.
Rebecca McCue
Hi Rebecca,
This is a species of Caddisfly, Order Trichoptera. They resemble
moths and are poor fliers. Larvae are aquatic and the larvae
build homes by cementing sticks and stones together, forming
a tube which is used as protection as well as camoflauge.
There are over 1000 species in North America. Sorry I can't
give you an exact species.
Caddisfly
(11/01/2004) playground bugs [part 2]
Dear BUGMAN,
Thank you for writing back to us! WE LOVE YOUR SITE!!!!!
We are sending two medium sized photos of our Caddisfly [we
thought the other photo we sent might be too small to be seen
on the site]. We hope they help others! We also included our
favorite stag beetle photo and praying mantis photo [it stayed
on the wall next to our classroom door for days! We think
it was listening in!] Thank you again for your help!
Always looking for bugs, Fours and fives in PA
Dear Fours and Fives in PA,
Thank you for the additonal photos. We are posting them immediately.
Caddisfly
(10/11/2004) What are these playground bugs?
Hello!
We are so happy to have found your web site! We are a class
of 4 and 5 year olds in PA. We take photos of bugs everyday
but then we have no clue what they are. We used the photos
on your site to identify some of the bugs we have photographed.
Like the Wheel Bug that visited us last week. The second photo
is of a bug we have not named yet so hopefully we can start
off calling it the proper name. We like its funny "nose".
Obviously we REALLY need a bug encyclopedia! THANK YOU VERY
VERY MUCH!
Fours and Fives in PA
Dear four and five year olds,
I'm so happy to see you are budding entomologists. Your other
insect is a Caddisfly. They are members of the order Trichoptera
that begin life as aquatic larvae. The larvae construct homes
from sticks and tiny pebbles which are cemented togethe, acting
as both protection and camouflage. The larvae are sometimes
called Caseworms.
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