New and Unread Tree-Mails
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Bradford UK  Kathysmith70 Sep 19, 2021 2:05 PM CST |
I found 3 of these in the living room.. does anyone e know what they are? |
Name: stone near Macon Georgia (USA) (Zone 8a)     stone Sep 19, 2021 2:30 PM CST |
| Looks like a weevil. Really need a pic of proboscis to be sure. Do you have any autumn decorations... like corn or other grains brought in and hung on a hook or nail? |
Bradford UK Kathysmith70 Sep 19, 2021 2:39 PM CST |
| Thank you. I don't know what proboscis is/are. We don't have any autumn decorations, but this is an old house. There were 2 big house spider very very close to these insects. This is the only picture I have. Are these dangerous, do i need to do anything, apart from freaking out |
Name: stone near Macon Georgia (USA) (Zone 8a) stone Sep 19, 2021 2:52 PM CST |
| maybe other seeds, like rice or even the saved garden seed? Probiscus refers to the mouth parts. Weevils are refered to as "snout nosed beetles". Once you see the 'snout', you don't forget it. Personally, I'd probably step on the weevil after positive identification. Good on you having house spiders that you encourage. Maybe you could post pics? |
Bradford UK Kathysmith70 Sep 19, 2021 3:17 PM CST |
| I don't have pictures of the spiders, I tend to keep away from them, they are H U G E though. I will pluck up the course to take a picture next time. The last time a fight broke out between my fella, a glass or red wine a cream carpet and a very fast massive spider..... the spider won. This resulted in a new £700 carpet  So we tend to leave them alone now |
Name: Tiffany purpleinopp Opp, AL 🌵🌷⚘🌹🌻 (Zone 8b)           purpleinopp Sep 19, 2021 3:19 PM CST |
| LOL!! 👀😁😂 - SMILE! -☺😎☻☮👌✌∞☯🐣🐦🐔🐝🍯🐾 The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The 2nd best time is now. 👒🎄👣🏡🍃🍂🌾🌿🍁❦❧ 🍃🍁🍂🌾🌻🌸🌼🌹🌽❀☀🌺 ☕👓 The only way to succeed is to try. |
Name: stone near Macon Georgia (USA) (Zone 8a) stone Sep 19, 2021 4:01 PM CST |
| I have a southern house spider that lives behind a painting in my kitchen... one day, I noticed that she had caught a palmetto bug...  Good spider! |
Name: Zoë Albuquerque NM, Elev 5310 ft (Zone 7b)          NMoasis Sep 19, 2021 5:33 PM CST |
stone said:I have a southern house spider that lives behind a painting in my kitchen... I agree! It interests me that what you call palmetto bugs we call cockroaches. Maybe a minor species difference but basically the same creature I absolutely detest. I once caught terrific video of a black widow battling and wrapping a cockroach twice her size. More than happy to accommodate her and her sisters! Here are a couple of frames from the video. The bug was still alive and fighting.   Oh, about that weevil: they get into grain foods like flour, crackers, cereal and you don't want them in the house. Some also chew fabrics, I think. Others destroy crops. Proboscis is like a long snout. For me, gardening is really just an excuse for playing in the dirt. Admittedly, plants are a satisfying by-product. |
Bradford UK Kathysmith70 Sep 20, 2021 4:20 AM CST |
Thank you everyone for your replies.  |
Bradford UK Kathysmith70 Sep 20, 2021 6:41 AM CST |
| So.... thank you everyone again. I have just discovered another one of these insects at work. This was in the bathroom. Are we still saying a weevil??    |
Name: Porkpal Richmond, TX           porkpal Sep 20, 2021 7:10 AM CST |
| How big is it? Porkpal |
Bradford UK Kathysmith70 Sep 20, 2021 7:23 AM CST |
| I have just received this about my insect "Many thanks for contacting The Royal Entomological Society with your interesting insect. This looks to be Niptus hololeucus (Golden spider beetle) or a close relative. These insects can feed on almost any type of dried vegetable material and are a common pest of stored products such as cereals, flour, grains, spices and dried fruit. They are also associated with debris found around old birds' nests in roof-spaces and beneath floor boards. I would suggest checking in the food cupboards and discarding anything that is infested. Removing old birds' nests if they are the source will help cure the problem." Thank you for everyone's help... very much appreciated  |
Name: stone near Macon Georgia (USA) (Zone 8a) stone Sep 21, 2021 7:19 AM CST |
| Certainly looks like a weevil to me.... As does the listed food... @NMoasis cockroaches and palmetto bugs are the same species.... But our palmetto bugs are monsters that fly across the room... Hate those things.... they chew holes in any vegetables and fruits left out. I trap them for the chickens... Take a freshly emptied peanut butter jar and add an inch of water in the bottom... leave out... check for roaches in the morning... chili with beans is also a good bait... Or... if you'd rather get personal with them.... one year I left squash slices out and turned off the lights... went back in armed with flashlight and fly swatter... lot of work, though... better to just trap them, and the chickens consider them treats! |
Bradford UK Kathysmith70 Sep 21, 2021 7:26 AM CST |
I actually think it is a weevil as well. It does seem to have a snout. I don't know of you saw the other pictures.  |
Name: Steve SE PA (Zone 7a)    elgecko Sep 21, 2021 7:44 AM CST |
| There are many different kinds of Weevils. The thing that makes me think it is not a Weevil, I thought they were beetles with a hard shell. It looks like the back is soft and fuzzy. I can be totally wrong... |
Bradford UK Kathysmith70 Sep 21, 2021 7:47 AM CST |
| The back is furry and fuzzy, but it does have a snout |
Southwest U.S. (Zone 7a) MsDoe Sep 21, 2021 8:19 AM CST |
| In my opinion, the Royal Entomological Society is clearly correct, this is a beetle, somewhat disguised. It looks a lot like a spider at first glance, but doesn't have enough legs. Beetles and weevils are closely related. Beetle or weevil, I think we can safely agree that it would be considered a "pantry pest" (one of the few I'm not personally acquainted with). I freeze any newly arrived products for one to two weeks, to avoid bringing in new critters. After the freezer treatment, I store everything in absolutely airtight containers or in the refrigerator. Pet food and birdseed can also harbor insect pests--the pets and birds don't seem to mind, but I do! Any dried food, seeds, grains, crackers, cereal products, pasta, flour, spices or anything you can store in the pantry is seen as food by some small creature. Any of these items get the freezer treatment on arrival to my house. Spraying with insecticides won't get rid of the source, they're living in your groceries. Here's a link to some general information about various pantry pests: https://cals.arizona.edu/yavap... |
Name: Zoë Albuquerque NM, Elev 5310 ft (Zone 7b) NMoasis Sep 21, 2021 10:34 AM CST |
| A brief search reveals that a weevil is in fact a type of beetle, so we're in the ballpark, at least as far as behavior. I will most certainly defer to the Royal Entomological Society! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik... New fun fact for me: a weevil's snout is not a proboscis but a rostrum. Katy, "true" weevils' snouts are unmistakably pronounced, almost cartoon-like. Glad you don't have a house weevil, but that critter sounds equally pesky! https://www.thoughtco.com/weev... Stone, whatever their names, can't stand them, but after ten years in New Mexico I'm much less squeamish than when I first arrived and encountered them. Obviously, if I take videos like the above, I'm not the squeamish type, but here they are incredibly numerous and diverse, and I think their SPEED is part of the creepiness. The worst here are the Germans, very small, incredibly fast, and explode in population this time of year especially under flowerpots on the ground. People are sternly warned not to allow house invasion because they are apparently near-impossible to eradicate. Ew, got the heebie-jeebies just writing about them!😵💫 For me, gardening is really just an excuse for playing in the dirt. Admittedly, plants are a satisfying by-product. |
Bryan, TX WAMcCormick Sep 21, 2021 12:10 PM CST |
| This insect appears to me to have two antennae, not one snout. If it takes a long time to grow, remember that if nobody plants it, nobody has it. |
Bradford UK Kathysmith70 Sep 21, 2021 1:57 PM CST |
Thank you everyone, after, unwillingly, scrutinising the photos, I have decided to go on the spider beetle. Funny thing though, neither findings where anywhere near food or seeds. 3 (all playing together, while being watched by 2 enormous spiders, within 2 inches away) were found in my living room on my carpet under my living room radiator, and the other was in my works bathroom sink, which is situated in the cellar of a very old building.    |
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