Bugs In The News

Hogna baltimoriana Wolf Spiders in Kempner, Texas

admin — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 01:28:00 +0000

My first glance at Robert's photos told me this was going to be an interesting study. It was obviously a wolf spider in the Lycosidae family, based on the easily observable arrangement of the eyes. Richard Bradley, in his recently published book Common Spiders of North America, put it this way: "Wolf spiders are easy to recognize --- they all have an unusual arrangement of their eight eyes... Four of the eyes, the posterior ones, are large, forming a trapezoid at the top of the high carapace. The posterior median eyes are usually the largest and face forward. The posterior lateral eyes are also large and are well behind the PME on the head region, usually facing to the side or even backward... In front of the PME there is a row of four smaller anterior eyes." [...]

An Orchard Orb Weaver in Houston, Texas

admin — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 03:17:05 +0000

It isn't a surprise that Troy was not cognizant of this species. It's a small spider, and hides itself and its modest web well among the leafy boughs of trees and shrubs of forests and back yard haunts. If I search my back yard thoroughly in mid-summer, I may find one or two of them among the lowest branches of a pyracantha or cedar elm, but never does the spider or its web flaunt its presence. The out-of-the-way web it builds is oriented in the horizontal plane, so we humans are not as likely to realize we've bumped into one in the field, the way we are when we come across the in-your-face webs of ordinary orb weavers like the yellow garden spider or the arabesque orb weaver, both of which brazenly stretch their webs directly across our garden paths. [...]

Vegetarian Jumping Spiders in Blanco, Texas

admin — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 01:31:56 +0000

— BugsInTheNews is a VIEWER-PARTICIPANT WEBSITE. Click on the link for information on what that means. This article by Jerry Cates and Katie Baker, first published on 1 December 2012, was last revised on 19 December 2012. © Bugsinthenews Vol. 13:12(01).

—————————————–

001. Frontodorsal habitus

Katie wrote me on 26 November 2012:

Hello, [...]

A Male Wolf Spider in College Station, Texas

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:36:36 +0000

On 24 November 2012 Sarah A. Woller, of the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, wrote that she had taken some photos of a wolf spider, and that while the spider was in captivity it exuded a mucus-like material that covered much of its abdomen. Would I like copies of the photos? Sarah, an outstanding photographer, had already sent me a number of excellent images, all of which I hope to post on bugsinthenews soon. I knew the products of her photographic labors would almost certainly be of extraordinary quality, and that led to an immediate reply in the affirmative. Not that I insist on using only high quality images here. Mediocre, even poor photos of important organisms make worthy postings if they are the best to be had. My latest micrograms, for example --- which prove that shooting good photos through a dissecting microscope lens is an art I've yet to master --- testify to that. But I digress... [...]

Longhorn Crazy Ants in Victoria, Texas

admin — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 18:27:59 +0000

One of my clients in the city of Victoria, Texas, reported seeing tiny black "sugar ants" in certain locations several months in a row, yet not a single ant was present whenever I was at the site. That, of course, is the way Murphy's Law works. So, by way of contravening the nefarious effects of said Law, I provided the client's maintenance director, Ramon Alaniz, with a set of alcohol-filled specimen collection vials, a swab, and a set of labels, so he could snatch up a few of these critters next time they reappeared. I knew Ramon would come through on this, and my faith was rewarded. On my next visit he handed over several vials of ants, which he'd managed to collect from different locations at the site. [...]

Puss Caterpillar Stings Visitor to San Antonio River Walk

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:53:38 +0000

My husband and I live in Phoenix, but we visited San Antonio this past weekend, and had dinner at a restaurant along the River Walk. It was a nice restaurant with an open patio. I had a sweater with me, as temperatures were brisk. I didn't notice that the sweater had fallen to the floor while I ate and talked with friends. Afterward, on leaving the restaurant, I put the sweater over my arms and we drove to another place. Soon afterward I noticed that my right forearm, near my elbow, began to burn and become painful... [...]

Acrobat Ants in South Austin, Texas

admin — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:38:36 +0000

On 12 October 2012 the maintenance director of a medical facility located near the southern tip of Austin, Texas, called to say that a moderately sized ant, with a red head and midsection, and a black abdomen, had invaded one of their facility bedrooms. Since the invasion appeared to involve the much-feared red imported fire ant (RIFA), I immediately rearranged my schedule and drove to the site. By the time I arrived, the ants were no longer present, but specimens had been collected and were on hand for me to examine. One look with the unaided eye determined --- to my relief --- that they were harmless acrobat ants. Glancing out the bedroom's window, it was easy to see where they had come from. Some 20 feet from the window stood a good sized island of lush, thick, well-tended botanicals, as high as it was wide. My mind's eye immediately envisioned extensive colonies of aphids, mealybugs and scale, hidden from view within the island's leafy boughs. [...]

Pharaoh Ants Rebound in Round Rock, Texas

admin — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:11:33 +0000

As mentioned in an earlier article (published on 27 June 2011) on little black ants, there once was a time when, in Texas, the pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis Linn. 1758) was one of the most significant pests of human dwellings. Leland Howard, in his 1914 monograph on the insects, stated plainly that what he called the “little red ant” was "a pest of households." [...]

Formosan Termites Swarm in Dripping Springs and Wimberley, Texas

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:59:04 +0000

On 17 September 2012, upon arriving at a commercial building in downtown Dripping Springs, Texas to conduct a scheduled periodic inspection and treatment program at that site, I was told that flying insects had lately been bothering the building's employees while they were outside after sundown. The insects were present in large numbers, swarming around the outside lights and making pests of themselves. They didn't bite or sting, but they were fairly large and quite annoying. "Let's go take a look," I said. [...]

Rasberry Crazy Ants in West Houston, Texas

admin — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 06:14:59 +0000

In late August 2012 I was called to a medical facility in the western portion of the city of Houston, Texas, to deal with an invasion of ants that were gaining access to the interior of the facility. The ants involved at that time were... [...]