A reader sent me this picture, asking for an ID - it was taken in upstate New York:
Search
Profile
My scientific specialty is chronobiology (circadian rhythms and photoperiodism), with additional interests in comparative physiology, animal behavior and evolution. I am not an MD so I cannot diagnose and treat your sleep problems. As well as writing this blog, I am also the Online Discussion Expert for PLoS. This is a personal blog and opinions within it in no way reflect the policies of PLoS. You can contact me at: Coturnix@gmail.com
Buy the 2008 Science Blogging Anthology:
Buy the 2007 Science Blogging Anthology:
Buy the 2006 Science Blogging Anthology:
Recent Posts
- The Amazing Bouncing Pebble Toad (video)
- Today's carnivals
- Clock Quotes
- The craziest fish jaws ever (video)
- Interview with Felice Frankel
- National Day of Listening (and blogging about it)
- The Open Laboratory 2009 - one of the last calls for submission!
- Today's carnivals
- ScienceOnline2010 - Program highlights 3
- Clock Quotes
Recent Comments
- The Emotion Machine on The Amazing Bouncing Pebble Toad (video)
- Tanja Sova on The Amazing Bouncing Pebble Toad (video)
- jlawac on 'Pulp Fiction' does not need to pay copyright, just be honest
- Michael D. Barton on Museum lecture traces historic Beagle voyage
- Child Psych on Seasonal Affective Disorder - The Basics
- Karen James on ScienceOnline2010 - introducing the participants
- Coturnix on Introducing the (rigorously peer-reviewed, of course) PLoS store!
- supplements on Introducing the (rigorously peer-reviewed, of course) PLoS store!
- daedalus2u on New and Exciting in PLoS this week
- Tracy on Introducing the (rigorously peer-reviewed, of course) PLoS store!
Archives
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
Blogroll
Find me on...
Make Me Happy
Add Scienceblogs to your Technorati Favorites!
Make Me Solvent
I Support
Bloggie Stuff
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
« Herschel Space Observatory - Time Magazine's Best Inventions (video) | Main | Clock Quotes »
What bug is this?
Category: A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words • Insects • Invertebrates
Posted on: November 15, 2009 7:23 PM, by Coturnix
Find more posts in: 
Life Science
Share this: Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon Reddit Email + More
TrackBacks
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/124836
Comments
Box Elder Bug.
Posted by: John | November 15, 2009 7:29 PM
Just a shot in the dark. Could it be a species of cockroach?
Posted by: lyle | November 15, 2009 7:31 PM
They are boxelder bugs: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG0998.html
Posted by: Karen the Microblogologist | November 15, 2009 7:33 PM
Ok, I go with John he sounds authoritative.
Posted by: lyle | November 15, 2009 7:33 PM
You and your readers might like knowing about a site called BugGuide, where pictures like the ones your reader submitted of Boisea trivittata or other North American insects and spiders can be submitted for identification:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/6/bgimage
http://bugguide.net/node/view/3598/bgimage
Posted by: Bob Carlson | November 15, 2009 8:06 PM
I concur with the box elder bug consensus. And agree with Bob that bugguide.net is awesome!
Posted by: Julie Stahlhut | November 15, 2009 8:17 PM
Boisea trivittata (Eastern Boxelder Bug)
Posted by: cfeagans | November 15, 2009 8:26 PM
Wow.. in the time I took to pay for Pizza and eat a couple slices there were 6 answers! I agree: bugguide is great. My daughter and I use it on occasion ID various creepy-crawlies around the house.
Posted by: cfeagans | November 15, 2009 8:29 PM
They did not send it to Bug Girl?
Posted by: Anon | November 15, 2009 8:48 PM
yup, it's a boxelder. I sent you the same link karen did on facebook before I saw it here.
Posted by: dorid | November 15, 2009 9:26 PM
Box Elder bugs are way more than common around here in late fall and early spring. (Mpls, Minnesota) They're harmless, they come in to get away from the cold, and die. Only control needed is a vacuum cleaner.
Posted by: GoatRider | November 15, 2009 10:04 PM
Hahaha. while I was waiting for the page to load, I thought...bet it's a box-elder bug. When I was growing up we had so many of these on the wood casing of the outside of the window of our house that it was black. Little bastards were prolific and everywhere. They mainly like to hang out near the box-elder trees for which they are named, which also happen to harbor lots of little green worms that hang down on really long strings. Not sure why they do that. The box elder trees would put out some really interesting looking "flower", though. Every once in a while I'd see a box-elder bug that was round and a bit fatter. I'm still trying to figure out what that one was.
Posted by: Scrabcake | November 16, 2009 1:15 AM