Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with insects

What is this pseudo man eating ant?

Polychrome — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:21:35 -0800

What is this big insect in my apartment? Yesterday I found a huge, reddish insect in my bathroom. I reached over to get the bug spray but when I stood back up, it had disappeared. Now I am freaked out, can't find it again, and have no idea what it was.

I thought it might have been a queen red ant; it was about that size (maybe an inch long and half a centimeter wide), reddish colored, shiny, and from what I remember, had three bulbous body segments. I've done an image search in google for "big red ant" and mine didn't look quite like that; my bug's middle segment wasn't tiny, but its body segments were more uniform. It moved with moderate speed (I guess about par with a big ant's speed).

I'm in central Indiana and haven't seen any other insects in my apartment this summer aside from two earwig corpses. I've also spotted two small spiders. I'm going to put out ant traps this weekend anyway, but does anyone have any ideas what this might be? I'm close to blasting my apartment with bug bombs, but I have a cat and it would be a challenge to get her out of there for the day.

Chapter Five: I Am Attacked By Wasps

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:09:51 -0800

Why did the wasps attack me? What are these wasps? And am I a marked person? Shall I seek revenge? I was walking home from getting a pedicure late yesterday afternoon, and walked past the local wasp nest. It's a hole in the ground, surrounded by little stones. When I first spotted it some weeks ago, I thought it was some sort of rat or snake hole, but noticed a few wasps lazily drifting in and out. I thought, well, nice, circle of life, pollinating the world, etc. etc.

So yesterday, I walked by and thought, "Hmm, it's a bit busy at Ye Olde Wasp Hole and HEY OW OW OW OW OW OW" -- I was stung by one, and then immediately stung by several others, (six stings in all), even as I walked briskly away. Even a quarter of a mile away, I was buzzed by a rather angry wasp. Criminy!

The stings were more hot and pinchy at the time, and then raised welts appeared, which we treated with ice and vinegar. They're now a bit itchy, although the redness has subsided.

Now, I was wearing dark clothes, and no perfume per se (although there was lotion used on my legs at the pedicure place).

My husband (after cautiously examining me for any errant stingy things) took a quick look online and announced that if one swats at a wasp and causes it to sting, it leaves a scent that attracts other wasps to attack (sort of a "O HAI HERE IZ SUCKER 2 BITEZ" sign) -- is this true? Is there a half-life to this scent? Another wasp had a go at me this morning (I was far away from the wasp hole) and I wonder if the scent is still clinging to my backpack.

And we did they attack me? Was I just unlucky? I didn't see anything like a kid nearby who may have poked at the hole, or maybe a very bad dog. And what sort of wasps build holes in the ground surrounded by stone defenses, anyway? The wasps of my Southern California youth were paper wasps that built nests under the eaves.

Lastly -- should I contact the city about this (I live in Walnut Creek, CA)? The wasp hole is next to a curb on a street near a well-used paved trail. Luckily I am not allergic to stings, but what if someone else came along who wasn't so lucky? What if it were a small child or an elderly person? My preference is to leave the hole alone, but is it a threat?

Description of the creatures:
:: yellow & black bands
:: live in a hole in the ground surrounded by lots of carefully-arranged pebbles
:: VERY VERY STINGY

Signed,

Ouch Ouch Ouch Ouch Ouch Ouch

A plague o' my house?

mrhaydel — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:17:19 -0800

What might be causing the things seen here in this photo and this photo? The stuff in the first photo kind of looks like an amalgamation of insect...stuff, for lack of a better term.

The second photo looks like droppings to me.

Both photos were taken no more than a foot away from each other, and the wall seen above the baseboard in photo 1 is an external wall in the house. We haven't ever come across either of these things anywhere else in the house.

Has anyone every seen the likes of what's in the photos?

How do I prevent whatever it is from accumulating any more?

ants! ants! ants! kill! kill! kill!

grumblebee — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:40:02 -0800

Help me rid my apartment of ants! They're little black sugar ants, and up until a couple of weeks ago, they were everywhere. I made sure food was packed away, bought a bunch of those little ant "hotels", sprinkled cinnamon and boric acid everywhere... nothing helped. (The ants avoid the cinnamon and boric acid. But they just move to another location in my apartment.)

I finally gave up and called in an exterminator. He sprinkled something that looked like pepper in various places, said "leave that stuff there for a week," and left. I had to go out of town for ten days. I just got back, and there are still ants running around on the kitchen counter.

However: that pepper-like stuff did help. I'd say it killed (or scared off) 80% of the ant population. I feel like if the exterminator had just sprinkled some more if it, in a few more places, I'd be antless.

Does anyone know what the "pepper" is? I don't want to call the exterminator back and pay him to sprinkle stuff on the floor that I could sprinkle myself.

What's bugging my laptop?

meta_eli — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:57:00 -0800

My 15" MacBook Pro is buggy. Literally. Every time I turn it on, one or two very small insects crawl out. So, there are two questions here: what are these bugs, and how do I get rid of them? (pic enclosed) The bugs are tiny. I would guess in the 0.5 to 1mm range. I managed to get a picture of one of the bigger buggers (pic1, pic2). As you can see, that one was about as long as the width of the "F" in "F2." Most of them are smaller. Some are much smaller and lighter in color (larval, I assume). They all move pretty fast given their size. They have a soft shell and squish easily.

The bugs appear to be mainly located in the hinge / system fan / upper keyboard area.

The previous question about roaches in a laptop wasn't a whole lot of help. And these clearly aren't roaches.

(no "debug mode" jokes please)

A bug's life?

progosk — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:26:10 -0800

My son dreams of an insect simulator, so that he can experience what it's like to be a creepy crawly. Is there any game (video/computer/other) that has this premise? Something that runs on a Mac or on a Gameboy would be preferable, but any leads would be very welcome.

How can I keep ants from living in my grill?

underthehat — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:47:19 -0800

Ants make colonies in my new gas grill. How can I keep them from moving in when the burners are off? A couple of weeks ago, I replaced my gas grill. I use it once a week or so, and last week when I pulled off the cover, there was a colony of ants living between the space between the cover and the top of the grill. The ants scrambled to rescue eggs and larvae as I brushed them away. Once they were gone, I grilled with no ill effects.

Last night, 3-4 days since the last grilling, I went to use the grill again. This time the ants had taken up residence in the space between the knob panel and the grill box. Eggs, ants, larvae, same as before. Since they were in s tighter space, I hosed them off.

This is borderline gross, and a pain in the neck. It did not happen with the older grill, and I can't find anything online to help, so I turn to MeFi.

The new grill is a Weber Spirit, in black. The old one, also a Weber, was red (like this). I'm using the same cover. Is it possible the darker color attracts ants?

With the new grill, I've been using a wire brush to clean the grilling surface; in the old one, I would run the grill on thigh after I was done in order to carbonize any residue. Since I don't do that anymore, am I leaving behind more food that attracts the ants? I don't see them inside the actual grill box, though.

The new grill has a cabinet underneath; the old one didn't.

The ants are on the large side, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, and black.

Mosquito screening in Tuscany

feelinggood — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:33:15 -0800

I need ideas for mounting screening on windows during a 3-week visit to Italy. We're staying in a house in Tuscany for 3 weeks and I understand it's not common to screen windows in Italy, and that there a lot of mosquitoes. My only idea is to bring some window screening with me and to stick it up on the window frames with duct tape. I'm a little worried that this might strip the paint off the window frames when I take it down, and I'd rather not do that. I'm not worried about diseases, or anything: I just don't like itching and scratching. And wearing insect repellent to bed isn't exactly attractive.

Also - any ideas about how to attach a mosquito net to the ceiling above a bed without causing a permanent mark or damage?

Thanks.

BBC Documentary Filter

Hutch — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:09:13 -0800

Looking for the name of a BBC documentary involving people performing interpretive dances which portray the lives/mating rituals of insects. I was talking with a friend over lunch about Isabella Rossellini's recent "Green Porn" short films and the documentary in question came up. As an amateur, mainly sample-based VJ, I'm always looking for interesting material and this documentary sounds intriguing. Other suggestions are also quite welcome.

Do locusts really taste like shrimp?

Ariadne — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:44:19 -0800

Are there any markets in Texas that sell edible insects? I'm looking for Mexican style markets, not a novelty item sold at Whole Foods or Central Market. I've only planned on visiting Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston but I might rent a car and drive a little farther for an interesting market.

Is breeding mealworms as easy as it sounds?

Solomon — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:23:04 -0800

Mealworm breeding: what do I need to know? I'd like to have a go at breeding mealworms. I've never bred insects before, so I'm a little unsure of myself. I've read a few websites about it, but I figured I'd check the crowd here to see if they have any tips or experience.

The main thing I'm concerned about is the egg stage. Apparently they're very small, and the substrate needs to be cleaned out every couple of days - how will I manage to save the eggs between cleaning's?

Does anyone here have any advice or experience they'd like to share?

Help me in the war of deadly insects in hot, humid, Houston weather.

isoman2kx — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:02:52 -0800

Will I survive against the carpenter bees? I've been thinking about pursuing a hobby for a while. Today I bought a Rubik's cube (which I know I'll give up on in a few days, or wait until I actually can have time to google how to solve it) and a board game that I really can't play by myself, but has all kinds of cool "truth or myth" facts for me to read.

That being said, I've been looking around the internets (thanks Al Gore) and have encountered woodworking as a hobby/nice little "get away" from the daily battle that is depression/anxiety that I actually have some INTEREST in pursuing long-term. The problem is there are vicious man-eating carpenter (regular bumble) bees that live outside my dad's workshop in the wood and I'm utterly terrified of bees/wasps/etc.

Will I be able to survive if I'm working inside or will they form a coherent game plan and proceed to slaughter me?

If they are able to form a coherent game plan and disrupt my woodworking, do I simply spray them all and run until I kill them?

Regards,

- Travis

Where can I get some Lady Bugs in West LA?

skEwb — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:33:12 -0800

Where can I get some Lady Bugs in West LA? I'm looking to protect a garden from other insects. Thanks! I'm in the mar vista/culver city area.

Lordy mercy what's in the bedroom with us?!??

Mutant — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 04:02:17 -0800

So exactly what is crawling about our bedroom at night and how can we catch it, exile it or kill it? We live in Central London in a two bedroom, two story garden flat.

About one week ago I woke up at night which is rather unusual as I almost always will sleep the entire night through. I've spent a lot of time working in Africa, sometimes in very, very crappy conditions (read that as tents out in The Bush) and that experience seem to have hyper developed my sense towards things creepy crawly.

So I heard some rustling under the bed, but soon fell back asleep. The wife slept soundly.

Same thing happened a few other nights. I'd wake up, hear this rustling (I've got a lot of finance books and research papers lying about the bedroom) but even if I turned on the lights couldn't see anything. And with the lights on the rustling would stop.

We've got these nifty little LED robot lights in some of the longer hallways, that will turn on when motion is detected. It helps us move about the flat in the evenings without turning on the overly bright hall lights. So I unmounted two of the robot lights, but them under the bed thinking perhaps I'd see the lights activate during the night. But even though rustling, still nothing (just a data point that of itself proves nothing as I'm aware that overly slow or rapid motion past a robot light will not trigger it).

Three nights ago I finally woke the wife during one of these episodes. Sure enough, she heard the rustling and her hearing, much finer than my live punk rock show damaged senses, indicated the point of origin in a particular corner of the room, later moving towards our bed (nice one that!).

So we purchase six of those glue traps and they catch. Nothing.

What the hell can this be? Surely if this was a rodent it would prefer to spend time either in the kitchen or a large, walk in upstairs closet where all the food is? And we've seen no rodent droppings. I lived in New York for thirteen years and know the ways of The Roach; specifically, if we had those insects then we'd be seeing them, especially so downstairs in the kitchen.

I fastidiously take out the garbage after each meal, but even so there is bread and potatoes other tidbits in the kitchen. But no signs of either insects or rodents. I might be inclined to think British House Spider but the seasons not appropriate and I've had them in the past; they just sorta scuttle about the flat and surely don't go rustling my research.

So we're foxed on this one. Any idea on what it could be? And how to dispatch it?

Yeh, our flat is indeed haunted but the ghosts never leave The Lounge and really don't bother us anymore than playing music and laughing sometimes late at night.

Orangus Insectus?

proj08 — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 08:52:28 -0800

Please help me find the name of the horrifying insect that scared me as a child. There have been a lot of horrifying insect threads lately. So I am reminded of the Flying Orange Scary Thing, as my sis and I used to call it. What is its scientific name? Here are some details:

The climate was dry and hot (Central California during the summer, about 90-100 degrees). It was orange and black colored. It looked like a dragonfly on steroids. It was surprisingly aggressive- it would chase us away from its home. Its home was near the garage- I couldn't tell if it lived in a hole in the ground, or in a tree. It would fly at head level, and make a loud buzzing noise. That's all I remember.

I am looking for gardening experiments

pracowity — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 10:10:40 -0800

I am looking for gardening experiments I like to watch plants (and any birds and insects that show up) outside in my garden as they go about their business uninterrupted, but sometimes I have the urge to prod Nature in the ribs just to see how she reacts. Can you suggest simple things to try? I don't think I want to replicate Mendel's pea experiments (I don't think I have the room, for one thing), but that's on the right track for what I'm after: basic hands-on botanical play. Are there interesting things to try in a small space of ground (zone 5 or so) filled with runner beans, sweet peas, sunflowers, clover, zinnias, marigolds, ivy, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, wild strawberries, basil, garlic, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, orb spiders, peacock butterflies, ladybirds, chickadees, magpies, and me?

stinkbugs!

Herschel — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 11:44:23 -0800

Stinkbugs are invading! these little buggers keep climbing through the seams of the window in my room. Apparently they like to sneak into warm places when the nights start getting cold. They aren't particularly malignant, but are annoying -- especially when they crawl on me while I am sleeping. And there are at least four or five new ones each day.

I went through the same thing last year, but just kind of stuck it out, and they go away after a few weeks. But I ended up cleaning dozens of dead bugs and bug parts from my windowsill, and it was goddamn disgusting.

They can smell nasty when you squish or try to pick them up with a napkin, so I've been sucking them up with the vacuum. Also, I think the smell tends to attract more of them. Anyone have any tips to deal with this? I tried to duct tape off some of the seams of the window temporarily, but it didn't seem to help. Maybe there is a good repellent?

Ants in the bathroom!

nebulawindphone — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:54:30 -0800

Ants in the bathroom! We're re-caulking a bathtub that badly needs it — the old caulk is black and peeling. When I pulled away the last strip of old caulk, out poured a few dozen tiny red ants. We hadn't been seeing any in the house until now; apparently they were happily living in the wall until I disturbed them.

What's the best solution here?

In particular, do I have to take care of this before I reapply the caulk? We're all looking forward to bathing on Monday, so I'd rather not wait too long unless I have to.

Identify this wurm.

Powerful Religious Baby — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:16:13 -0800

KREECHURfilter: a sunflower seed with a long black worm inside? It was an insect, but I've never seen anything like it--it had a "shell" much like a sunflower seed (though it did not seem to be an actual sunflower seed), and a long black worm-looking body extended from a hole in one end. It was hauling itself up the wall with an elegant humping motion. I'm in Florida, if that helps, and have been undergoing some apartment renovation recently; a few floors have been torn up, so all manner of crawlies are invading, but I'm totally unable to identify this one. I was unable to get a picture of it, but maybe the description will ring some bells. Anyone?

What are these gross little bugs?

radioamy — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 23:25:51 -0800

BugIdentificationFilter: What are these creepy-crawlies in my apartment?

So my boyfriend and I were getting ready for bed when I noticed a couple of these little bugs on the wall above my bed. Boyfriend was nice enough to kill them, then I noticed more. We've seen over a dozen in the past 10 minutes. Any idea what the hell they are?

The living situation: I live in New Orleans on the third floor of an old house-turned-apartment building. Been here about two months. No pets. I have the usual cockroaches and had a minor mouse problem. It's a studio apartment and the crawlies seem to be localized on the wall near the bed and nightstand. It's about as far away from the kitchen and bathroom as you can get. Never noticed them before tonight.

The bugs: They seem to crawl sideways and upwards. About a quarter-inch long. They also fly.

Not another bedbug question

kraigory — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:08:37 -0800

Not another bedbug question: Unidentified bugs in bed, officially not "bedbugs". Can you help me identify them? Okay, so I found a bug scurrying around under the sheets of a bed that is rarely used in an old house that has a history of bug problems. The bed is on the second floor near a wall.

The bug was about a half inch long, very low to the ground and flat. It was a dark grey color. It looked like its eyes were at the end of antennae, and it had lots of antennae, at least two or three at both ends of the body. It also was not very wide- at first I thought it was a really short centipede or something, but it did not appear to have a segmented body.

Any ideas? Thanks!

What are these little wingless red and black beetles in my driveway?

closetphilosopher — Sat, 26 May 2007 19:32:41 -0800

What are these little wingless red and black beetles in my driveway? There are a couple hundred of them swarming a roughly 1.5 meter radius in my driveway. Said driveway is in central Virginia.
The beetle on the rock is just under an inch long.

These dreams go on when I close my eyes

odi.et.amo — Mon, 14 May 2007 11:06:29 -0800

Dream filter: My dreams wake me up occasionally. The dreams that wake me (or cause me to come back to consciousness briefly) are always about bugs. I am 24 - this has happened since I was a small child. It should come as no surprise that I am paranoid about bugs in the bedroom, and get creeped out when I find one in the bedroom. I don't mind bugs in other areas of the house, but the bedroom is "sacred", if you will. I admit to being successful in the dreamy critter search once in my whole life - I believe I found a small spider crawling on the bed after I woke up when I was ... let's say 12.

The dream is typically some sort of creepy crawly that is invading the bedroom or bed in which I sleep. I "see" these things parading towards me or up the wall in my sleep and it causes me to wake up and inspect for the bugs usually after jumping up and turning on a light. More recently, and according to my fiance, I will wake up saying "oh god" and have a brief conversation with him about the bugs. The following morning, when he tells me what we talked about, I always remember these conversations, but I don't remember them if he doesn't tell me. In this state (I always called them half dreams), I would soon become aware that I had been dreaming, and would turn off the lights and go back to sleep. These always happen within 1-2 hours of falling asleep.

This... thing... is not a huge disruption in my life except that I always feel like I lose that time I spent sleeping before I had the half dream. Additionally, I'm sure my fiance would like to be able to sleep all night long, as well. Is there a name for this type of dream, and is there a way I can put a stop to it?

It has been happening more frequently of late as springtails have invaded the lower level of our house. I have no doubt that the infestation is causing the increased occurances, but I still want it to stop. It might be of importance to note that, on a week long vacation last week, this didn't happen at all, presumably because the risk of parading bugs on a cruise ship is pretty low.

How do I go about getting these dreams to stop?

Buying bugs - beneficial or bogus?

ObscureReferenceMan — Thu, 03 May 2007 14:13:20 -0800

Should I purchase some "beneficial insects" for my yard? Being a homeowner (well, land-owner, and therefore plant-owner), I have considered purchasing some beneficial insects (ladybugs, praying matises, etc.). But are they worth it? Earthworms, I could see, maybe. But my gut tells me that buying 1000 ladybugs would be more beneficial to my neighborhood (or town, or county) than my particular yard.

My rationale for considering them? I've seen evidence of some bugs eating my rhododendron, Montauk daisies, and hostas. And I'd rather have "good insects" than "bad chemicals". And before you ask; I plan to figure out what type of creature(s) is doing the eating, before making any purchase.

My yard/garden? No veggies, but I've got a small front lawn (with beds and a few dozen shrubs, flowers, and other assorted plants), and soon-to-be-new back and side lawn (with only a handful of plants, but more will be following shortly). Trees include sycamore (or maybe London planetree?), oak, Japanese maple, sassafras, pine, yew and others.

If you think I'm crazy, tell me why. If not, clue me in to good places to buy bugs, tell me your experiences, etc. Thanks!

How bad can an insect bite be?

godawful — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 13:06:23 -0800

I was thinking of hiking in New England for three weeks this May. Was that is, until everyone started pitching in with scare stories of blackflies and other insects. Am I going to die? I have three weeks to play with in May. My plan was to try some of the Appalachian trail through Massachusetts and Vermont, maybe taking in some of the Long Trail in Vermont.

Only now I'm encountering stories about plagues of insects. How bad will it be? Even if they're everywhere, are their attacks really that bad?

Can one make this a mere inconvenience with suitable precautions?

Thanks everyone!