Coastal Bugs

©2022 Karen Richards

I’ve seen a couple of interesting true bugs on visits to the Oregon coast recently. The long, lean bug above is a Lupine Bug or, I dare you to say this out loud, Megalotomus quinquespinosus. Here are two interesting things about it: 1. It uses those spines on the back leg to make sounds (both males and females have them and use stridulations for mate-finding); 2. Believe it or not, the juveniles are convincing ant-mimics (see the last images on this page).

©2022 Karen Richards

This is also a true bug in the Hemiptera order. It’s called a Red Cross Shield Bug. I saw the adult first, and then I found juveniles in a couple of different stages nearby. Since most bugs spend the winter as adults, I guess this older individual, above, is also of a newer generation, and it and the younger cousins below will find a comfortable place to hole up for the colder seasons soon.

©2022 Karen Richards

Here’s a younger version of the same bug. You can see the wings on the sides that are developing but not yet functional.

©2022 Karen Richards

And here it is at probably the second or third (of five) nymph stages. These bugs are associated with Alder trees, which are common on this part of the coast.

Cheers!

Gumshoe in the gumweed

©2022 Karen Richards

The other day I walked past a patch of gumweed and at first glance, I didn’t see any insects other than the usual suspects this time of year: yellowjackets, hoverflies, and Ceratina bees. Then I noticed a small dark creature (the weevil above), and the closer I looked, the more types of insects I detected.

©2022 Karen Richards

This sort of thing happens all the time. It’s often while looking closely at one thing that I find something more interesting nearby. The tiny wasp above is, I think, in the Eurytoma genus. It’s part of the super-family Chalcid wasps that are some of my favorite because they have giant thighs and take a wheelbarrow stance. This one doesn’t have the big gams.

©2022 Karen Richards

I’ve no idea what genus, species or even family this micro-moth belongs to. The pattern on its tail is like a textile, but I didn’t get any side-view images that are in focus at the head and the tail at the same time.

©2022 Karen Richards

Tree crickets are the opposite of that old adage about children: They are usually heard but not seen. And given the volume of their chirp, you’d expect them to be bigger than they are (usually 2/3rds of an inch long). I only noticed this one when I was trying to get photos of the next gumweed denizen.

©2022 Karen Richards

This stink bug nymph is super, super tiny. It’s probably only three or four millimeters wide. But I noticed it because of the black against the light green plant. When I got home I looked it up and found out it’s a Red Shouldered Stink Bug nymph, probably the second stage (of five) out of the egg. See the life cycle pictures on BugGuide for the progression.

This same species, Thyanta custator, is the subject of my latest column for Mt. Pisgah… only the one I found isn’t red-shouldered, it’s pink!

Cheers!