Questions tagged [entomology]
The scientific study of Insects. If the question is about some other group of arthropod use 'arthropod' tag.
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ID request ~2mm insect monstrosity
This tiny monstrosity (~2mm in length) was inside of some kind of "flat tent cocoon" on a pepper plant leaf in Washington state, USA.
Not sure what's going on here. Is it malformed or infected?
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Insect identification (Brazil, orthoptera?)
This insect appeared in my indoor yard, in southeastern Brazil. The body is roughly 2cm in length and it makes very distinct beeping sounds, in a pattern that sounds almost like morse code, unlike the ...
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What kind of hornet is this?
I live in France, in western suburbs of Paris. For a few days I have seen two of the insects below in my apartment. It is slightly smaller than a thumb, say 4cm (1.58") (sorry for not putting a ...
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Grasshopper vs Tarantula?
This past weekend (October 2021) while hiking west of the VLA in New Mexico (near Datil, NM, ~2200m elevation) my wife and I came across a strange sight. A small (5cm long), likely immature, ...
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How dirty are bugs? And is it okay if they touch food?
Sometimes I see people throw out an entire drink or bowl of food because a small bug was in it. Are they justified in doing this? Is there enough bacteria on common species of bugs (like ants, flies, ...
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What species is this golden fly?
Last summer I was visited by this unusual golden fly, whose kind I have never seen before. It was impossible to scare away so I could take relatively good pictures.
The pictures on this hobbyist page ...
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What species is this larva?
I'm trying to identify the species of what I think may be some kind of Lappet Moth larva? (wild guess based on some internet sleuthing) But the markings don't really match nicely with any photos I ...
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Unknown pentatomid from India
I found this bug last year in August in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. The scale at the bottom of the picture is in mm and the size of the bug seem to be about 1.5 cm.
It looks a bit like Halyomorpha ...
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Identification of a red arachnida (?) (picture and video)
I found this in a greenhouse in Norway. It is a few millimeters in size, I could fit 5-6 of them on my thumbnail.
It looks a lot like this one from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
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Insect ID, Ecuador
Picture was taken in the Ecuadorian Amazon in January 2019, during the day, elevation about 300 meters. The size was not recorded but might be no bigger than a housefly judging from the photo. It ...
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Identification of Jumping Spider Species
I found this jumping spider (Salticidae family) in Pune/India. Most common species of jumpers in my region is heavy-bodied jumper (Hyllus semicupreus), but this is different species by observing body ...
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Help me identify this fly species?
I found this fly in Bengaluru/India. It was larger than usual flies. It was more than 1cm in size, with black color which has blue shades in it. I managed to take just this one pic, then it flew away.
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What are this designs which I found on curry leaves?
Curry leaves is the plant name where I found designs, but what are the designs present on the leaf?
Location: Argentina
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Is it possible to estimate the age of a wasp nest by its size?
Long story, but briefly I am debating knocking down a paper wasp nest. I don't want to kill the wasps, because (1) they're beneficial wasps, and (2) I would not have even known they were there, except ...
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What is this insect found in Western Arkansas?
I had my cup of water outside with me, went inside for a few minutes, came back outside and this insect almost found out what was unpleasant about being drunk.
It's 1-2cm long, mostly black, with ...
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What is the conical mouthpart of a soldier termite and what does it do?
I'm trying to get a visual understanding of termite anatomy and I'm getting quite confused on the protruding mouthpart area (it looks like a beak) located between the pincers.
What does it do / what ...
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What insect/bug species do these belong to?
I randomly saw what I thought was dust on the counter in my bathroom (NYC Apartment - higher apartment, >10 floors up) this afternoon (June 1st) ... but when I got closer observed that they were ...
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What is the ball of jelly on the left eye of this mantis?
This mantis was seen in the wild in north Israel.
It would be great if the Mantis species can be identified too.
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Identification of huge larva in South Tyrol
On a sunny autumn day (19.09.2021) i saw a huge green larva crossing the street facing a wineyard. The picture was taken near Bozen, South Tyrol (22 °C that day). It is at least 14 cm long and 2 cm ...
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Please identify this syrphid (hoverfly)
Last summer I took these pictures of a member of the Syrphidae on my balcony (Switzerland, Geneva area, Alt. ~380m, June 2020 @19:14)
Pictures:
I hesitate between three species but it could also be ...
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Why is the coremata of Creatonotos gangis huge?
This Australian moth has been some kind of curse image online due to its scent organs (coremata). It is inflated to attract mates. However, why does the coremata have to be inflated for it to work, ...
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What is this small black insect with an orange stripe?
Sorry for the poor quality of the second image, but a slightly different perspective may be useful.
This was taken in South Africa, Western Cape during the day.
They're fairly small, maybe around 5mm ...
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Why do some ant workers still wander at night?
As far as I have seen, the vast majority of workers in colonies of diurnal, non-nomadic species return to their nests and remain there at night. The colonies seem to forage largely during the day. ...
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Mayfly identification - Oregon
Found in a web by a very small, slow moving stream. Douglas-fir forest in Gales Creek area, April 28.
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What bug is this? (England)
I have found this small bug on the wall in my bedroom, and have been trying to figure it out what it is for months.
There are more of this kind. They are tiny, I can't see how they look like with ...
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What species is this beetle (trichius family)
I took this picture in Jura region (Northern Switzerland, alt: ~700m) of that beetle (July 2018). It was taking food from a flower of a Morus nigra.
It seems to be ...
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What do groundhogs and other subsurface-tunnel dwelling creatures do in heavy rains to avoid harm?
I notice groundhogs and many other tunneling creatures in my yard, the same yard which became pretty flooded during heavy rainfall. I don't see wildlife out during rain storms, but not long after, ...
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What species is this mosquito-like insect?
I found this in my room in Serbia. It's not a local type of mosquito that I'm familiar with, so I'm very interested. It flies like a fly but it looks like some kind of mosquito. I am looking forward ...
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How do ants get oxygen in deep colonies?
With ant colonies getting to be +7 feet deep, how does oxygen renew that deep for their respiration demand?
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Identification of a bug in Vasai, India
Can someone please let me know what insect this is?
This may be something very common, but this is the first time I have seen them and that too suddenly in a large number.
They were mostly on ...
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Is this a young Ash Bud Moth (Prays fraxinella) caterpillar?
I am building up a my knowledge of organisms that live on trees (not necessarily as pests, but in the respect of the biodiversity that depend on different tree species) and their interactions.
Living ...
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How to anaesthetise mosquitoes during a mass-trapping field study?
Do any of you have experience in anaesthetising mosquitoes during a mass-trapping field study?
Normally, mosquito traps have a little net in which you catch the mosquitoes. The nets can, after ...
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What are two butterflies doing when they fly together, 'hitting' each other?
I've Googled this subject extensively but couldn't get an answer:
My country is full of butterflies and moths, I've seen a lot of butterflies performing what looks like some kind of fight or mating ...
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How to calculate the number of sterile insects that must be released in SIT?
The sterile insect technique (SIT) is used to control insect pests through overwhelming the population in sterile males. The increase in sterile males released into an environment causes the increase ...
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Will a store bought cabbage kill my Pieris brassicaes?
About 4 days ago I found a large amount of caterpillars (Pieris brassicae) in my radishes, I took them aside for seeing how they grow and I am out of radishes to give them. I bought a cabbage in the ...
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Why do mosquitoes not collect blood after platelets activate?
This may be anecdotal...
The Indian sub-continent is in the rainy part of summer. It follows the mosquito population goes up.
So when I sliced my palm, I expected the mosquitoes to collect there in ...
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What are these small, indoor bugs?
I live in Switzerland and have noticed these small bugs appear in my bedroom, either slowly crawling on the parquet flooring, lazily buzzing around or dead on my windowsill (as pictured):
I'm not ...
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Help to identify larva found in sink?
I need some help in identifying this critter. It was found in southeast Georgia in a home I am renovating. There were several around the sink and toilet bowl.
Approximately 5 millimeters long. ...
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Is it a common behaviour in insects to mate with a dead partner
I have a few specimens of Orgyia antiqua of both sexes, and I've been able to observe a mating behaviour where male and female sit close to each other, their rear ends connected.
Today though I've ...
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Colorado insect identification
Found this bug in my backyard, but was unable to identify it. Thanks for any hint!
Edit : I live in the south east suburbs of Denver, Centennial.
So this is quite an urban area. I found this bug on my ...
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What are these most tiny bugs called
These bugs are the smallest bugs I've ever seen in my life and they are very annoying, throughout the day, I just feel sudden scratches on my body and when I look closely, the cause are these bugs ...
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ant ID montreal, qc canada
I'd like to know what type of ants this is. These appeared in my basement recently.
I am thinking those are called "pavement ants" after comparing online. Please help me identify them.
( ...
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What species of insect is this, spotted south-east of Berlin? Habitat: forest near lake shore, Size: body 40mm, w/o antennas and ovipositor
This insect has been spotted south-east of Berlin (2021-10-31).
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Can someone identify this male Zygaenidae (subfamily Procridinae)?
Photo taken in 2018, Near Berlinchen, Germany.
The immediate vincinity is Calluna on sands. The area has a an interesting vegetation with heather and broom, species-rich grasslands on poor and ...
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What changes do ants make to the soil they use for building ant hills
I live in South India ,and among the many species of ants in and around our house, some of them except the weaver ants build the typical small ant hills in the garden.
I have examined the coarse sand ...
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What is the minimum atmospheric pressure at which bees can live/thrive?
Bees are amazing little critters. (Gosh, they're cute.) But what if we colonize Mars and start terraforming it? At what point will bees (and other insects) be able to live/thrive in that environment?
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Identification of the bug on the curry leaf- Delhi, India
I found this bug on my curry leaf in early morning. Which bug is this?
Size- 1-2 cm
Habitat- Delhi, India.
The bug was on one of the curry leaf of the curry plant pot in my residential balcony
Time- 7:...
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What is this insect in Southern Colorado?
We have found this insect in a bit of a swarm on a concrete pad and on some insulation next to and around our greenhouse in which we have tomato plants.
The insect is about 2mm wide at its widest, ...
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What kind of worm/bug is this?
Recently, I found a few worms in my bathroom and I am wondering what kind of worms are they. They move slowly and they are about 6-9 millimetres long. It seems that they are not sensitive to water. ...
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Identification of larva on cat fur
I found this larva (assuming it is a larva) when my cat jumped off my bed, I'm assuming she just picked it up outside. However, I'm not quite sure what it is or if it should be a concern she had it on ...
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