LINK TO CITYBUGS INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC
TOPIC |
QUESTION (date) |
ANSWER |
| LOOKING FOR PICTURES OF LIGHTNING BUGS | I am an art student in Utica, New York. I am trying to find pictures of fireflies/lightning bugs in order to make a large sculpture. I have found some, but what I really need are pictures that show the firefly in flight. Any suggestions, sources or websites would be greatly appreciated. (Tue, 30 Jan 2001) | California has no luminescent fireflies so we can't help you with pictures of our own. There are a number of places which do research on the group however. Perhaps try Lampyridae in addition to searching under firefly to see what web sites come up. Also Luciferase is the enzyme used as part of the chemical pathway towards glowing. See if that gives any good sites that have the beetles doing what you want them to. Furthermore a bunch of research has been done on the group in the past. A literature search should give you a number of research articles some of which muct have pictures of the insects in flight. |
| LOOKING FOR PICTURES OF SCARAB BEETLES | I would like to know if you have any pictures of the scarab beetle that is only found in only Egypt. (Tue, 09 Jan 2001) | |
| FLESH REMOVING BEETLES?? | I am interested in a particular beetle used in taxidermy to remove the flesh from the skull of animals. This is called a European mount and I want to start doing this. (Mon, 8 Jan 2001) | the beetles in the family Dermestidae are the group you want to look at and the genus is Dermestes is the genus which has been used to clean skulls, etc... We don't know where you can get them however... |
| A BEETLE THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE A STONE | I recently saw what appeared
to be a stone on my white bedroom carpet in Marin County.
I turned the "stone" over and saw six small
thin black legs moving under this green beetle with
irregular white markings. I placed the beetle in a glass
jar and went to Border's Bookstore in San Rafael and
carefully looked through three books; Peterson guide,
Simon and Shuster and a book named An Inordinate Fondness
for Bettles by Evans. Alas, I saw nothing like it in any
of the insect or beetle books. It was the size of the
stone of a large opal ring. On its back was an
indentation. Could you please tell me what I found? If
need be I would take the bug to you or shoot its
photograph. Please tell me your business address so that I can bring you this wonderful bug. I went on a vacation and just returned. |
It would be difficult to
tell you what you have without a picture. If you could
either send us one, or the actual insect we would have a
better chance of giving you its name. the best address to send the beetle would be: 201 wellman hall, division of insect biology, university of california, berkeley, ca 94720. I can't guarantee an identification. I can promise to try and I will ask more knowledgeable colleagues. but the process could take a few days. If you don't want to part with the specimen, then send us a picture of the top and bottom and chances are we might be able to get it from that. |
| IDENTIFICATION OF LARVAE ON A WOOD PILE | Hello and thanks for your informative page. We have a wood pile which is turning to powder. The wood is California Bay and Incense Cedar. A 3-4 mm white larva is chewing away and appears to emerge (or enter?) through a 2 mm hole. Can you help me with the name of the species and a bit about it's life cycle? (Sun, 24 Dec 2000) | Sorry for the delay in responding to your question. There are a wide variety of families of beetle that could be causing the damage you are seeing. Not only Bostrichids, but also Lyctidae and even some Anobiids bore into seasoned wood. Fortunately they do have similar life cycles. The adults lay eggs on the seasoned wood and the larvae bore in. they feed and grow and they make tunnels through the wood. the amount of time they spend in the wood depends on the species and outside temperatures. If what you are seeing is a white larva, then it is almost certainly staying put in the wood. The larvae of some wood boring beetles may leave the wood to pupate but then they would not return to the wood until they had pupated and emerged as adults. Other larvae pupate right in the wood and emerge as adults through larval-made holes. |
| LADY BUGS OVER POPULATING IN OUR HOME | We are experiening lady bugs in our home. We do not want to hurt or kill them but they are becoming a nuisance. Please advise. (Tue, 13 Feb 2001 ) | It is likely that the ladybugs were looking for a roosting place for the winter and chose a place next to your house. As temperatures fluctuaute the aggregation may have found its way into your house. Typically these beetles stay in a large mass until spring and then disperse. While Spring may be a long time to wait, the beetles will cause no harm to your house as they feed soley on soft-bodied insects. What is more likely is that the heat of your house will cause them to burn up their fat reserves and die of starvation in your house. There may not be much you can do at this point. To prevent this from happeneing in the future you may want to walk around your house and find out where they are coming in from. Sealing that up might help stop a repeat performance. It is likely that the aggregation formed in a sheltered spot like a woodpile and that form there they found a way into the house. |
| LADYBUGS FOUND IN KENTUCKY | We recently stayed in a hotel room in Frankfort, KY which had several colonies of ladybugs on the ceiling. They looked like your image of the ladybird beetle only of a slightly more brownish color. Are they related? I hear they are beneficial. We seem to have brought some home. Can they be a problem indoors? (Tue, 14 Nov 2000) | Yes the ladybugs in Kentucky are related to the ones we have here. they are in the same family of beetles, and probably have fairly similar life cycles. although they might specialize on eating different insects. It does sound like they might be a different species though. Ladybugs eat a variety of soft-bodied insects which includes harmful plant pests like aphids, scales, mealybugs and whiteflies. So for nearly everyone they are beneficial, and importnant in controling these pests-even in home gardens. The ladybugs will not do well indoors and will probably die in a few days. they need to rest quietly in a cool, sheltered place for the winter. They are unlikely to live for long or cause you any problems inside. |
| TOO MANY LADY BUGS | WE ARE EXPERIENCING LADY
BUGS IN OUR HOME.WE DO NOT WANT TO HURT OR KILL THEM BUT
THEY ARE BECOMING A NUISANCE. PLEASE ADVISE Thank You for responding to my question regarding the Lady Bugs problem that I am experiencing. Perhaps you can suggest what I should do at this stage. The lady bugs are found throughout our Home either alive or dead and I wish I could prevent this from happening . I know that you can only Suggest to live with it , but I would prefer to come up with a solution since I feel terrible that these Harmless bugs are dying. Thank you again for your advise. (Sun, 18 Feb 2001) |
These are no doubt the Asian
Lady Bird beetle, Harmonia axyiridis, an introduced
species that is known to do this but they are
friendly!!!! It is likely that the ladybugs were looking
for a roosting place for the winter and chose a place
next to your house. As temperatures fluctuaute the
aggregation may have found its way into your house.
Typically these beetles stay in a large mass until spring
and then disperse. While Spring may be a long time to
wait, the beetles will cause no harm to your house as
they feed soley on soft-bodied insects. What is more
likely is that the heat of your house will cause them to
burn up their fat reserves and die of starvation in your
house. There may not be much you can do at this point. To
prevent this from happeneing in the future you may want
to walk around your house and find out where they are
coming in from. Sealing that up might help stop a repeat
performance. It is likely that the aggregation formed in
a sheltered spot like a woodpile and that form there they
found a way into the house. I don't think you should live with it but you must find out how the beetles are getting into your home and seal it off. You can use a vacuum cleaner to collect the beetles and then release them outside. A dust buster would be better if you have one as they are not so powerful. You may have to put a small muslin bag in the dust buster to collect the beetles. |