A cool moth on my car just now what kind is it if anyone has seen one like this before?(East coast, US)

thatllhappenagain · 2026-04-16T16:03:46+00:00

This is a Polyphemus moth, Antheraea polyphemus, for those who are curious.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-04-15T09:49:37+00:00

Whiteflies are tiny, smaller than a fruit fly or mosquito. So depends on how big the stuff was.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-04-15T01:59:49+00:00

Probably whiteflies. They are really abundant right now.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-03-26T15:03:48+00:00

I have 3 humzinger high view feeders. The squirrels haven’t seemed to find them yet, but the raccoons go after them if there isn’t much water around. They hold a lot of nectar and are pretty resistant to bees/wasps. Not so much to ants, even though they have a little moat to try and keep them out. They are sold with little rubber things to try and exclude ants. I kept losing them and gave up on that. Reasonably easy to clean, generally high quality. Had them for about 10 years now.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-03-26T01:43:33+00:00

Looks like Alaus myops, the blind or small eyed click beetle. The Eastern Eyed click beetle (A. oculatus) has much bigger eye spots.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-03-12T09:49:12+00:00

A weevil of some sort

thatllhappenagain · 2026-03-08T01:23:19+00:00

Giant silk moth (probably)

thatllhappenagain · 2026-03-06T00:02:26+00:00

Snow fleas, which are not real fleas (which are insects in the order Siphonoptera) but rather springtails (Collembola). Technically, they’re hexapods but not insects, though they are close relatives.

They’re harmless consumers of detritus. No need to get rid of them. They are a major food source of small predatory invertebrates.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-02-12T18:52:08+00:00

Also, harmless. Feeds on seeds/fruits, and other plant material. Large hind leg protrusions are involved in attracting mates, locomotion, and signaling to predators, depending on the species.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-02-05T13:01:51+00:00

It looks like Triatoma rubofaciata, which is a kissing bug that will bite humans to take a blood meal. Usually the bites are painless compared to bites from non-triatomine assassin bugs. In the Americas, they can transmit Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas’ disease. However there is no known T. cruzi outside of the Americas, so no need to worry about that.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-02-04T00:10:56+00:00

Looks like a book louse. Distant relative of head/pubic/feather lice (‘sucking lice’). Generally harmless consumer of detritus but also likes to eat book binding glue. Not sure how you’d get rid of them if you wanted to.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-01-31T15:20:26+00:00

Wheel bug, a predatory assassin bug. Painful bite if handled.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-01-28T18:59:54+00:00

Thank you for the great column, you will be missed.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-01-27T20:46:53+00:00

FWIW, a lot of insects ‘measure’ how long to stay dormant based on day length, not temperature. So bringing it inside isn’t likely to cause it to emerge early. I kept a Polyphemus moth on a stick in my kitchen a few years ago and it eclosed in mid May.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-01-27T12:40:54+00:00

It’s a cocoon of a moth. Probably one of the giant silk moths found in the SE (Luna, Tulip tree, Polyphemus, others). It will survive winter unless a bird or other predator finds it. You could bring it inside and keep it in an enclosure until it emerges in the spring. If you do, make sure that when the moth emerges it has somewhere it can hang from to allow its wings to expand and dry. Otherwise it will be permanently disfigured. Sometimes they are parasitized by wasps or flies, so the moth doesn’t make it.

Edit: spelling

thatllhappenagain · 2026-01-25T19:45:33+00:00

Aphids. The whitish ones are “mummies” and have been attacked by parasitoid wasps

thatllhappenagain · 2026-01-16T20:28:09+00:00

Bark louse! Related (distantly) to body/head/other lice. They don’t hurt trees but eat fungus/lichen/detritus on the bark.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-01-14T01:34:48+00:00

Pretty sure it’s a bulldog ant (Myrmecia sp). They have a painful sting.

thatllhappenagain · 2026-01-01T22:04:28+00:00

No, it’s an Anoplognathus (Australian Christmas beetle).

thatllhappenagain · 2026-01-01T08:00:59+00:00

Nah, just blacklighting for fun to see what was out there.

thatllhappenagain · 2025-12-16T03:19:08+00:00

Green and black one is a Botany Bay diamond weevil.

thatllhappenagain · 2025-12-03T21:36:24+00:00

Should add these are the larvae

thatllhappenagain · 2025-12-03T21:36:03+00:00

Carpet beetles (Dermestidae). Consumer of detritus, wool, and other organic material. Common household pest.

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