So far I've seen two of these. Once crawled into the base of a cabinet, never to be seen again (seriously, we looked like hell for that bastard). Then I find this one in my sink, and was able to capture him.

1) What the hell is it?
2) Do I have to be worried about it nesting in my house? Regardless of what it is, that would be bad.
3) If 2 is a yes, what the hell do I do about it?


This one is kinda of a side/top view.



If you all want better pics/different angles let me know.

7/16/2012 5:02:31 PM

i too am curious what this is

one of these landed on my hand and was holding on like hell.. i thought it was a giant mosquito

7/16/2012 5:36:52 PM

ibKlatypus

7/16/2012 6:18:38 PM

it looks like some sort of cranefly

7/16/2012 6:35:02 PM

paging klatypus

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

7/16/2012 7:12:49 PM

^^all the craneflys ive ever seen have their wings spread out

7/16/2012 8:39:11 PM

spray insecticide and dont worry about what kind

7/17/2012 1:33:44 PM

its some sort of biting fly

i doubt it is "nesting" its just there like any other fly

if youre worried about it being a wasp or something it is not

[Edited on July 17, 2012 at 1:45 PM. Reason : e]

7/17/2012 1:45:22 PM

It's your basic Dump Hopper. They bite but it isn't poisonous, and rarely causes an allergic reaction.

7/17/2012 2:21:03 PM

Dump hopper?

^,^^ thx for the info.

7/17/2012 2:34:18 PM

(so these are the basic things that help when taking bug pictures for ID purposes)

1. what are the colors (sometimes pictures distort the colors)?

2. can you take a picture with it not inside the bag/jar? or put it in a fridge for about 20 minutes to slow it down and then take a picture out of the bag if you don't wish to kill it.

3. I need a wing count so if you can spread the wings that would make it easier?

4. Size reference.

5. Up close picture of it's mouthparts


... in the absence of this info it looks like a robber fly ( family : Asilidae)

it is a predator ( the black spines on it's legs are for grasping prey and holding tight). They eat house flie (maybe why they were indoors?), dragonflies, grasshoppers, beetles, bees, basically any other insect that is larger than them. They suck out all the juices of their prey.

As far as your house, I am not sure why you had 2 in your house, they do not typically invade houses, I think they may have gotten caught inside your house somehow. They can bite, but only if you capture them with your hands. They will not actively feed on humans.


The larvae will eat organic stuff, so I suppose it is possible you have a small colony in your garbage or compost if you have any next to your house or inside. All of these things are a stretch, so I still think it was a coincidence that you found 2.

7/18/2012 9:53:02 AM

LIKE A BOSS

7/18/2012 10:30:14 PM

^^ Cool thanks for the info

7/19/2012 8:56:47 AM

you will all thank me when starship troopers is no longer fiction

7/19/2012 2:55:59 PM

Can those dump hoppers be very colorful?? I feel like I've got a bunch of those in my yard now but they are like bright orange. I saw one of them eating a house fly this morning, so I was like, "thanks bro."

7/19/2012 3:13:08 PM

ok, so I don't know what a dump hopper is.


there are leaf hoppers. they are herbivores mostly.

there are also predatory hoppers, they are less common.

7/19/2012 3:15:15 PM

Best I can figure: Diogmites neoternatus (yes, a robber fly)

[Edited on July 19, 2012 at 4:08 PM. Reason : lol wtf is a dump hopper?]

7/19/2012 4:06:04 PM

I've got one for yall



saw this colorful guy while walking up the steps to my apartment the other day, don't think i've ever seen a bug that looked like it before, anyone know what it is?

7/19/2012 9:49:15 PM

^Ailanthus Webworm Moth

7/19/2012 11:21:50 PM

Ailanthus webworm moth, Atteva aurea.

[Edited on July 19, 2012 at 11:23 PM. Reason : d'oh, left window idle]

7/19/2012 11:23:02 PM

they gonna eat all yo trees.

7/20/2012 9:42:12 AM

Ok what about these little guys? They seem to be quite fond of hanging out on my basil plant.

7/6/2013 6:12:33 PM

looks like a leafhopper, it will suck your plants dry. they cause chlorosis and leaf curling.... are your plant's leaves curling or yellowing in any places? if your basil is looking fine, then there may be a small infestation which is typical and not worthy of chemical treatment, however if they are damaging more than one area and you want to harvest some decent basil then perhaps you should apply a general pesticide like sevendust or something similar. Be sure to follow directions and only use shit that can be used on edibles. The downside is you will be putting your small ecosystem out of whack and killing shit that you may need.

A small leafhopper infestation can often be regulated with predators. Try cultivating predator friendly places in your yard, if you don't already.

7/7/2013 12:29:45 AM

time to rip out that basil. when it gets old and woody like that, the leaves don't taste as sweet

7/7/2013 12:31:19 AM

It was one of those plants you buy at Harris Teeter in the produce section. Perhaps I need to buy one one of the regular ones from the farmers market.

[Edited on July 7, 2013 at 1:23 AM. Reason : thanks for the info klaty]

7/7/2013 1:22:40 AM

im surprised klat responded ... I hear her real passion is grass.

7/7/2013 2:13:49 AM

lol

7/8/2013 8:40:31 AM

found these guys in a the soil of the pot for my tomato plants, and they don't seem to like the light. they burrow back down whenever exposed. Any ideas?

6/3/2014 9:11:15 PM

looks like termites to me



http://www.orkin.com/termites/

6/3/2014 10:45:59 PM

yes. just dump all of them under your house.

6/4/2014 8:45:22 AM

well fuck

6/4/2014 12:23:25 PM