Idaho entomology 101: le Snoach

[try another castle]

I'm assuming at least some of the RMA alum know what I am talking about. The smelly, sputtery bugs that always bumbled their way indoors during the fall to find a nice toasty place to play dead/hibernate for the winter. (Normally the windowsill.) I don't remember who came up with the name, but it started while I was there, if memory serves (87-89). The portmanteau stood for slow as a snail, ugly as a roach. I somehow stumbled upon a listing in the urban dictionary, (I think someone pointed it out to me) where the OP stated that the nickname started at the monarch school. (I corrected him, goddammit.)

I fucking HATED those things. They gave me the willies, especially since I have a healthy phobia of all things of the order Hemiptera. (true bugs) I don't know why, that shield shape just freaks me out. *shivers* They always made me scream, and I always ended up having to be the one to trap them and kick them out of the dorm. The minute I got the faintest whiff of sour apples, I sought the guilty party out and got rid of it.

However, normally the things I am the most phobic of are also the things that fascinate me, and I always wondered what KIND of bug it was. I assumed it was a stink bug (family Pentatomidae), but I found out that it's actually a leaffooted bug (family Coreidae). It's binomial name is Leptoglossus occidentalis, otherwise known as the Western conifer seed bug, or pine seed bug. (Wiki says that Ohioans refer to it as the walky bug, because of its gait.)

http://bugguide.net/node/view/3393
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_conifer_seed_bug

As far as smelly bugs go, its stinkyness was rather pleasant. (I grew up in texas with black stink beetles. oh lord those were nasty. Smelled like the rotting vomit of a diabetic.)

Oh, and I'm sorry, average max size of 2cm? Yeah, my ass they were that small. Nuh fucking uh.

Anyway, I just finished up a job with a guy who went to spring creek lodge in montana, and yup, he had to deal with them too. (SCL has swamp coolers on the roof, and the bitches would fly in there and stink up the whole dorms.)


This post is part of the CEDU forum continuing series: "What The Fuck Were Those Things All About."

Thank you.

[dishdutyfugitive]

I ate a bowl of those during my 3rd ishi.

Tasty little @#$*%ers.

Best idaho breakfast treat ever. Apple jacks al fresco.

I think it was Alberto who used to carve, paint and schellack their back shields every night.

[try another castle]

Joking aside, they probably don't taste like apples, despite the fact that they smell like them. They probably taste very bitter. I'm guessing this particular species of true bug smells this way is because of its diet of pine seeds. However, eating them will cause no harm, it will just cause you to make an ugly face.

It is considered an accidental pest, since its preferred place to hibernate is in leaf litter and tree bark. However, inside a chilly dorm is as good a place as any.

Let's review:

1. Their slow gait is most likely to prevent the triggering of hunting instinct in predators.
2. If that doesn't work, their pungent smell will certainly do the trick. (although some mantids have been known to eat smelly true bugs, [mostly stinkbugs] if they are super hungry)
3. They can also give you a nice stab with its beak if you fuck with it, which is normally reserved for feeding. (as opposed to the assassin bug and kissing bug, which are carnivorous.)
4. Originally, their diet consisted only of lodgepole and ponderosa pine seeds, but they  have adapted to also eat the seeds of white pine and douglas fir. They have spread as far as Maine, and have also spread to Europe.
5. It can drop one of its legs at will if caught. (Unknown whether it can be regenerated. Doubtful.)
6. It overwinters in stasis, and does not need to eat.

HOW MANY DEFENSE MECHANISMS DOES ONE BUG NEED?

Even though they give me the creepy crawlies, especially when they take off and make that hideous sputtering sound, their faces are soooooo cuuuuute!! Whose face izzat? It's your face, seed bug! Yes it is! a boochie boochie boo!

If you catch one and live in a warm climate, and decide you would like to keep it as a pet, it's advisable to refrigerate it during hibernating season, since it won't go into stasis otherwise, but it WILL stop eating, and therefore starve, since it will burn up its reserves moving around.

I swear to god, some people actually do keep these as pets. I have no idea why.


I am also nonplussed as to why these little bastards fascinate me. Probably because they scare me.

[dishdutyfugitive]

who keeps them as a pet?

You've overlooked their 7th and most powerful jedi mechanism. The ability to put students into a terminal trance.

What we here at the institute call "castlestasis".

[try another castle]

who keeps them as a pet?

You've overlooked their 7th and most powerful jedi mechanism. The ability to put students into a terminal trance.

What we here at the institute call "castlestasis".

I know, I was shocked as well.

I was perusing some forums last night and someone was asking how to keep one over the winter. They also mentioned that they know other people who keep them, so I suppose it's hearsay from that standpoint. What I do know is that the OP was a layperson, because they weren't even sure what type of bug it was at first.

Also, entomologists can be quite geeky when it comes to their subjects, so I am sure there are some members of the Hemiptera order which are kept as more than just specimens, although I am sure that particular bug room is quite smelly.

I would also speculate that among all of the smelly bugs, the conifer seed bug would probably be the most popular, since its smell is quite pleasant and fruity, and they are a bit on the mellow side.

Hehe. I remember a buggin with Ruud episode where he actually ate a green stinkbug (on purpose). The only time I've seen someone make a face like that is when their hand has been slammed in a door.

I also remember that several of the Idaho staff were so used to them, that they let them buzz around their houses without the risk of exile, even allowing them to land on their person and hang around.

[dishdutyfugitive]

that's not a pet

that's a specimen.

[try another castle]

that's not a pet

that's a specimen.

In the last case, no its not.

It's a parrot.

[stina]

you boys are hilarious. castle...i can only imagine that you have WAY too much time on your hands these days and are reaching desperately for something to stimulate that brain of yours. true bugs? the assassin bug and kissing bug? really? is spore missing you these days?

i remember those damn bugs. they were enormous. they'd always end up in my hair and i think they've contributed signifigantly to my serious distrust and hatred of junebugs (another innocuous bug, minus the smell), as well as any kind of apple air freshener.

[try another castle]

you boys are hilarious. castle...i can only imagine that you have WAY too much time on your hands these days and are reaching desperately for something to stimulate that brain of yours. true bugs? the assassin bug and kissing bug? really? is spore missing you these days?

i remember those damn bugs. they were enormous. they'd always end up in my hair and i think they've contributed signifigantly to my serious distrust and hatred of junebugs (another innocuous bug, minus the smell), as well as any kind of apple air freshener.

For a second there I was getting all excited, thinking "How do you know about the assassin bug and kissing bug??" and then I realized, "oh yeah, duh, I mentioned them."

And yes, I actually made an L.occidentalis in my spore creature creator. It looks ok.

This has nothing to do with having too much time... it has to do with being obsessive. I would classify it as unhealthy except for the fact that I'm learning stuff about things...

How on god's green earth did something as huge and weird looking as a conifer seed bug make you freaked out by a little scarab beetle such as a junebug?

[psy]

And yes, I actually made an L.occidentalis in my spore creature creator.

Got a picture?  I need something to sculpt for my portfolio and some sort of bug will do just fine.  I already did a wasp, but yours sounds more fun and I'd like to scupt it this time.

[try another castle]

And yes, I actually made an L.occidentalis in my spore creature creator.

Got a picture?  I need something to sculpt for my portfolio and some sort of bug will do just fine.  I already did a wasp, but yours sounds more fun and I'd like to scupt it this time.

You would most definitely be better off with anatomical photos. I can give you the thumbnail if you want to download it and put it in your CC or copy of spore. But you know, spore is more about working with the parts  you've got, so it's not a very good representation.

Here's a page with some great shots of a clypealis. Same genus (leptoglossus), different species.

http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~sjtaylor/core ... ealis.html

I love the closeup pic of the white stripe on the corium. That actually *does* look like its been sculpted.

Also, here's the link to the coreidae (leaf-footed) family in the bugguide. They have some good closeups of body parts, too.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/93


And here's my spore version:

http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-500219851551

[psy]

Cool cool. Thanks!

[stina]

How on god's green earth did something as huge and weird looking as a conifer seed bug make you freaked out by a little scarab beetle such as a junebug?

i think the fact that they both have ended up ridiculously tangled in my hair on more than one occasion has something to do with it. they both serve NO purpose other than to annoy...and junebugs have these weird claws that allow them to hook and bury themselves into my carpet leaving me really no option other than taking a butter knife and prying them off. and that weird hissing noise they make ~ shiver ~ i hate those damn bugs. maybe they won't have them up here in the great north west. one can hope.

i like your spore bug. i'm glad that you haven't abandoned your creature creator. you brilliant thing.

[stina]

EWWWWW. i just looked up your assasin and kissing bugs. remind me to cross central and south america off of my vacation to do list. now i'm gonna be itchy all freakin day.

[try another castle]

EWWWWW. i just looked up your assasin and kissing bugs. remind me to cross central and south america off of my vacation to do list. now i'm gonna be itchy all freakin day.

Actually, assassin bugs/kissing bugs are in the states, too. Assassin bugs (reduviidae) are a family, so it contains many genus and species. (specifically, 47 genera and 154 species.) in North America.

The Kissing Bug (Triatoma: bloodsucking conenoses) is one of the genera under the assassin bug family, and contains 11 species, several of which we have in the states. The one which is known for transmitting chagas disease (triatoma infestans) is exclusively in south america. It is believed that the species that are in the southern united states do not carry the disease, but may carry the parasite. Also, the american species do not poop while they are feeding, and since the disease is transmitted through the poop when it gets into the bloodstream, they are of little risk, imo.

You don't feel them when they are feeding on you, but if you fuck with one and it sticks you, it apparently hurts like a major motherfucking bitch.

Yeah, those are gross, but I still hate all of the different kinds of waterbugs the most. I can't even look at pictures of those without freaking out. We used to get a real big nasty type in the pond that would hang out on the bottoms of inner tubes. They would also bite the living shit out of you if you fucked with them. Remember those guys?


How could the leaf-foots get tangled in your hair? Don't you have straight hair? I'm amazed they never got tangled in my hair, cause it was a mess. Although, I don't think any ever landed there to begin with. They probably knew that it wouldn't be a very good idea. It could be due to their back legs, since that's where they flare out. Did you end up combing a lot of back legs out of your hair during late summer and fall?

Jeez, that must be one of the worst bugs to get caught in your hair (aside from the stabby kinds.) The more tangled up it gets, and the more you are trying to get it out, the stinkier it's going to get. Did you ever have to shampoo your hair during those seasons? I would see little point. You were stuck smelling like apples no matter what.

Also, I had no idea junebugs made noise. My first sublet after school had a bit of a population, specifically in my room. It didn't  bother me, though. They ate little.

they both serve NO purpose other than to annoy...

I've often wondered what purpose stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs serve, and my guess is that they exist to moderate vegetation. Probably explains why they are such pests in orchards.

i hate those damn bugs. maybe they won't have them up here in the great north west. one can hope.

Dunno about june bugs, but you might be getting a blast from the past, depending on how many trees have around your house. (you won't see the bugs now. They're sleeping.. shhh.) Although, I think you said you got there in fall, so they would have been coming indoors to find places to hibernate, so if you didn't see any, they might not be in that region. (However, the pacific northwest is their origin habitat.)

Anyway, tell one of them I said hi.