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  • Odd-looking bug, anybody recognize it?

    From bob prohaska@21:1/5 to All on Wed Jun 9 02:02:53 2021
    Does anybody recognize the insect in these photos? http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug1 http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug2
    Same bug, slightly different pose. The "flag" on
    the hind legs seemed distinctive.

    Three of them turned up on a patch of alfalfa plants I'm
    trying as a groundcover. Their movements were what caught
    my attention; very deliberate and stately, almost like those
    of a mantis.

    I tried looking through various alfalfa pest galleries, but
    nothing came close and I'm not at all sure these are pests.
    I didn't see them feeding and their behavior seemed more like
    an ambush predator than a prey species.

    First noticed them a couple days ago, when one stuck around it
    seemed worth a picture or two.

    Thanks for reading,

    bob prohaska

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  • From hubops@ccanoemail.ca@21:1/5 to bp@www.zefox.net on Tue Jun 8 22:18:18 2021
    On Wed, 9 Jun 2021 02:02:53 -0000 (UTC), bob prohaska
    <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:

    Does anybody recognize the insect in these photos? >http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug1 >http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug2
    Same bug, slightly different pose. The "flag" on
    the hind legs seemed distinctive.

    Three of them turned up on a patch of alfalfa plants I'm
    trying as a groundcover. Their movements were what caught
    my attention; very deliberate and stately, almost like those
    of a mantis.

    I tried looking through various alfalfa pest galleries, but
    nothing came close and I'm not at all sure these are pests.
    I didn't see them feeding and their behavior seemed more like
    an ambush predator than a prey species.

    First noticed them a couple days ago, when one stuck around it
    seemed worth a picture or two.

    Thanks for reading,

    bob prohaska


    leaf footed bug

    https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Western-Leaf-Footed-Bug

    John T.

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  • From songbird@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jun 8 22:25:55 2021
    bob prohaska wrote:

    sorry, can't id that bug, but they look similar to
    some others i've seen. :)


    Three of them turned up on a patch of alfalfa plants I'm
    trying as a groundcover. Their movements were what caught
    my attention; very deliberate and stately, almost like those
    of a mantis.

    alfalfa does not work as a ground cover, the plants give
    off chemicals which will keep others from sprouting too
    close to them so you won't ever get a complete stand plus
    they don't grow that close to the ground so other plants
    can invade. in a mix of other plants they're ok, but they're
    not great. birdsfoot trefoil will take over an area and will
    mix with other plants too, and if you get the wilder kind
    that you can find it will grow closer to the ground. however
    once it's planted it will be hard to remove. i planted an
    agricultural variety here and it was too tall and too
    invasive so i've had to remove it. much fun. :)


    I tried looking through various alfalfa pest galleries, but
    nothing came close and I'm not at all sure these are pests.
    I didn't see them feeding and their behavior seemed more like
    an ambush predator than a prey species.

    i don't think they are either.


    First noticed them a couple days ago, when one stuck around it
    seemed worth a picture or two.

    Thanks for reading,


    songbird

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  • From bob prohaska@21:1/5 to hubops@ccanoemail.ca on Wed Jun 9 04:08:50 2021
    hubops@ccanoemail.ca wrote:
    On Wed, 9 Jun 2021 02:02:53 -0000 (UTC), bob prohaska
    <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:

    Does anybody recognize the insect in these photos? >>http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug1 >>http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug2
    Same bug, slightly different pose. The "flag" on
    the hind legs seemed distinctive.


    leaf footed bug

    https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Western-Leaf-Footed-Bug


    Looks like a match. Unfortunate that they're likely trouble.

    Thank you!

    bob prohaska

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  • From David E. Ross@21:1/5 to bob prohaska on Tue Jun 8 22:07:30 2021
    On 6/8/2021 7:02 PM, bob prohaska wrote:
    Does anybody recognize the insect in these photos? http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug1 http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bugs_on_alfalfa/bug2
    Same bug, slightly different pose. The "flag" on
    the hind legs seemed distinctive.

    Three of them turned up on a patch of alfalfa plants I'm
    trying as a groundcover. Their movements were what caught
    my attention; very deliberate and stately, almost like those
    of a mantis.

    I tried looking through various alfalfa pest galleries, but
    nothing came close and I'm not at all sure these are pests.
    I didn't see them feeding and their behavior seemed more like
    an ambush predator than a prey species.

    First noticed them a couple days ago, when one stuck around it
    seemed worth a picture or two.

    Thanks for reading,

    bob prohaska


    See <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_footed_bug>. In the photo
    gallery at the end of that page, the right-most photo in the first row
    strongly resembles your photos.

    --
    David E. Ross
    <http://www.rossde.com/>

    The Republican Party has abandoned all principles and has
    instead become a personality cult worshiping Donald Trump.

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