BajaNomad

Big Favor to Ask - Bug ID?

Ken Bondy - 2-14-2011 at 08:25 AM

Any help in identifying this guy would really be appreciated. The body is 3/4" long:

Cypress - 2-14-2011 at 08:27 AM

May be some sort of pine beetle?

Ken Bondy - 2-14-2011 at 08:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cypress
May be some sort of pine beetle?


He appeared inside the house, along with several of his relatives. He has wings but does not fly readily. Any possiblility he is a winged termite?

mcfez - 2-14-2011 at 08:36 AM

I "think" this bug is what I used to see in Los Angeles as a kid. Not sure if that helps...but the area of residence might

Ken Bondy - 2-14-2011 at 08:47 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by mcfez
I "think" this bug is what I used to see in Los Angeles as a kid. Not sure if that helps...but the area of residence might


mcfez we are in Bell Canyon, southwest corner of the San Fernando Valley near Woodland Hills and Calabasas.

Cypress - 2-14-2011 at 08:48 AM

long horned wood boring beetle?

bajaking76 - 2-14-2011 at 09:52 AM

hmmm.....I belive this is the Paloverde Root Borer Beetle....

[Edited on 2-14-2011 by bajaking76]

durrelllrobert - 2-14-2011 at 10:02 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajaking76
hmmm.....I belive this is the Paloverde Root Borer Beetle....

[Edited on 2-14-2011 by bajaking76]

yep, they have them in Phoenix too because of the large number of Palo Verde trees growing there. phoenix.about.com/od/.../paloverdebeetle.htm

BigOly - 2-14-2011 at 12:26 PM

Ken, I was brought up in Woodland Hills! Used to ride my bike to Calabasas to archery hunt rabbits, deer, rats or anything that moved. Caught rattlesnakes etc. Bet it's all houses now? Graduated Taft Hi. Learned about life working at the Ventura West Car Wash.

mcfez - 2-14-2011 at 01:28 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Quote:
Originally posted by mcfez
I "think" this bug is what I used to see in Los Angeles as a kid. Not sure if that helps...but the area of residence might


mcfez we are in Bell Canyon, southwest corner of the San Fernando Valley near Woodland Hills and Calabasas.


I grew up in Arcadia.

I see this bug many times...it will come to me in time as to what it is.

Potato bugs is another that is not see anymore.




[Edited on 2-14-2011 by mcfez]

Ken Bondy - 2-14-2011 at 01:31 PM

Thanks for the responses. I should have been more direct, what I really wanted to know is if this damn thing is a termite. From your helpful answers I take it that it is not.

mcfez we see a potato bug in the yard every so often, less and less now. Strange creatures.

BigOly, small world. I am a regular customer at the Ventura West Car Wash (Ventura Blvd.), went to North Hollywood High School, and yes, it is all houses now :)

mcfez - 2-14-2011 at 01:36 PM

Look here I just found....
http://bugguide.net/forum/12

ecomujeres - 2-14-2011 at 06:14 PM

Ken: it is not a termite. Termite bodies are similar in structure/form to ants, but they have wings (or not). Ants have a tight stricture between the thorax and abdomen, like wasps and bees, to which they are related.

In your "bug", the tell-tale clue to it being a beetle, rather than a "true bug", or a termite, is the vertical line along it's back. This is where the elytra (hardened fore wings) join and cover the softer hind wings.

Think of a lady bug (lady beetle) when it takes off and you can see the little dark wings that are then carefully tucked in when it lands and all you see is a faint vertical line.

A "true bug" has an X on it's back, where the wings fold and cross over each other.

bigzaggin - 2-14-2011 at 06:29 PM

Ken - You can always submit to my fave bug id site: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/

As for potato bugs - interesting factoids:

A.) They do not eat potatoes

B.) The Spanish name is niņa de la tierra.

C.) I think technically, they are crickets.

David K - 2-14-2011 at 06:37 PM

I work in the dirt, and valve boxes/ water meter boxes...

By far the most common bug I see after ants are black widow spiders... every time I open a valve box or meter box 90% of the time there's one or more black widows in there.

Next come worms (in the dirt), and grubs in the lawn.

I see a few potato bugs now and then... they are called that because they emit a strong patoto odor.

flyfishinPam - 2-14-2011 at 07:07 PM

my kid says its called a bisturon (sp?)

woody with a view - 2-14-2011 at 07:16 PM

looks like a cantidate for a Chapulin.....

Phoracantha recurva

Skipjack Joe - 2-14-2011 at 08:17 PM

Found it.

Phoracantha recurva, a long-horned wood-boring beetle introduced into southern California from Australia. According to A. V. Evans and J. N. Hogue (Field Guide to Beetles of California, 2006), it was first discovered at the University of California at Riverside in 1995. Another closely related species (P. semipunctata) was found in 1984 on dying eucalyptus trees in Orange County. The larvae of both species tunnel between the bark and wood, but construct their pupal chambers in the heartwood. Adult beetles are attracted to fallen branches and injured or water-stressed trees.

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/redmite3.htm

[Edited on 2-15-2011 by Skipjack Joe]

Ken Bondy - 2-14-2011 at 08:46 PM

Awesome Igor!! Can't thank you enough for this. It explains everything. We recently brought some firewood from an outside woodpile into the house, and it included some eucalyptus. Now, thanks to you, we know not only what this guy is but where he came from. What a relief that he is NOT a termite, and that he didn't come from the timber framing in our house. Thanks again!! ++Ken++

Skipjack Joe - 2-14-2011 at 09:11 PM

Gee, I wonder if it's the one responsible for all of the eucalyptus trees near King City. You know those rows of trees along highway 101 that the farmers used to block the wind. About 10 years ago I noticed they started to look real sickly and most of the rows are now gone. Some beetle, they said. Or was it fungus?

We're losing our Valley Oaks to some invader as well.

Skipjack Joe - 2-14-2011 at 09:17 PM

I better remove the image. There is a copyright and this looks like a serious bug photographer.