Natural Science Forum / Biology / Entomology / June 2007

Hello fellow bug fans,
While pulling parsley for my Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillar, I
found the strangest darn things under a brick edging the herb bed - two
'leaf cigars' made out of precision cut leaves (possibly privet),

I'm hoping someone can help me identify this bug.
I came across this beautiful bug yesterday (June 27, 2007) in Chicago
around 1:30pm.
I have detailed close-up photos of it (can't post here, I guess).  The

I collect flies for fish in my fish pond!  The last couple of years I
have trapped a lot of flies that look like winged ants!  Seems new to
Colorado - to me at least!  Each year they seem to be getting more
numerous!  What are they and where did they come from?

Yesterday I was hiking in Boulder Colorado and came across three sites
with bee colonies!  Each one had its own hole but there must have been
from 60 to 100 holes with bees in them!  They were all clusted
together on high ground!  What would such an arrangement of bees be?

I need help identifying an insect.  They're about 1/20" long, gray
colored.  The bodies are shaped long and thin, sort of like the shape
of a grain of rice, but much smaller.  I find them all over my window
sills.  They crawl around but jump if you try to touch them.  I know

I'm not a entomologist, but I have never seen an insect look like the
one I have seen today.
It is black with black and grey spikes, no wings, brown paws and some
orange parts.

I found this bug in the yard of my home in Novi, Michigan, USA:
http://shh.homelinux.net/HTML/20070617/index.html
It looks like it could jump like a grasshopper, but when I took
the pictures, it moved very slowly, if at all.

A friend of mine told me that this fly (see attached photos) is a deer
fly. I don't find a photo on the web that exactly matches it. Can
someone clear this up for us? Thanks.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mlfranks/FlyPix/photo#5077076036373387874

This guy was on a desk in an office.  Very fast moving.  Any ID help
would be appreciated!  --Aaron
Photos: http://www.pbase.com/abilyeu/unknown
Description: Body approx. 6-7 mm long.  (Grid on bottom of dish is

Hi Lepsters,
I use the wood block & thread method for spreading my specimens and I am
having 60 or so new ones made. I was wondering if anyone has any
opinions about the best kind of wood for this kind of block.

Would anybody care to speculate on who this little fellow might be?
What is his usual habitat and what would he normally eat?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/salimfadhley/sets/72157600335218329/
After a stroll through Alexandra park on a hot day, I spotted this guy

Since a few weeks we are overwelmed with beetles in our front garden.
When young they are almost completely red.
When grown up they show a peculiar design on the back, almost like a
mask with 2 black eyes.

Wake Forest University - Press Release
WFU study finds that moths mimic sounds to survive
May 29, 2007
In a night sky filled with hungry bats, good-tasting moths increase

This spider was on my porch this morning.  They are pretty common
around here, though I'm not sure how many species we actually have.
I'm pretty sure it's in the family Pholcidae, but any suggestions as
to genus and/or species would be appreciated.  

I wish to know what kind of insect is this.
http://www.photo4u.it/viewcomment.php?pic_id=210150
Many thanks
MAF