Moth ID?

[Westicles]

Sounds like a big moth.I am in Mississippi as well and have not seen any yet but will look forward to the day i do.

 

[MrGhostMantis]

Very pretty moth, sucks shes slowing down. You guys talking about toe biters and wheel bugs is making me jealous!! The only cool bugs I have where I live are Jerusalem crickets and a very mantis every so often (aka like once every 2 years).

 

[Doodlebird]

Very pretty moth, sucks shes slowing down. You guys talking about toe biters and wheel bugs is making me jealous!! The only cool bugs I have where I live are Jerusalem crickets and a very mantis every so often (aka like once every 2 years).

Don't you guys have those little lizards all over the place? I've visited California a couple times and I could happily spend all day catching them

 

[chanda]

Haha yeah that's what makes me nervous. I also don't know if I can make a large enough enclosure for them to thrive while still hiding them from my parents.

While the bite is reputed to be very painful, they aren't aggressive. As long as you don't do anything threatening (like picking them up bare-handed) or try to hand-feed them, you should be fine. I've kept assorted assassin bugs (including wheel bugs) for years and have never been bit. I don't handle them per se - but I have had assassins crawl onto my hands during rehousing or cage cleanouts, with no problems. I use the bristles of a paint brush to guide them to where I want them to go, whether it's into a cup or onto a piece of bark - or just off my hand.

If you want just a single wheel bug (which is probably best - otherwise you risk cannibalism) you don't need a very large container. It just needs to be secure so the wheel bugs (and feeders) don't escape - and needs to have twigs, bark, or other vertical surfaces for the wheel bugs to climb. If you get a nymph or subadult, it will also need sufficient space underneath the vertical surfaces to hang while molting. And of course, you'll need a reliable source of feeder insects. If you want to try keeping multiples wheel bugs, you'll need a larger container - and plenty of hiding spots. When keeping multiple assassin bugs (I do this with my African assassins) you may want to over-feed a bit, to reduce the risk of cannibalism. I dump in a bag of crickets once a week - and toss in a little dry cat food and some veggies for the crickets to eat, so they don't starve before they get eaten.

Assassins are fun to keep - and an added bonus is that they don't hide all the time like some other critters, so you actually get to see them!

 

[chanda]

Very pretty moth, sucks shes slowing down. You guys talking about toe biters and wheel bugs is making me jealous!! The only cool bugs I have where I live are Jerusalem crickets and a very mantis every so often (aka like once every 2 years).

We have all kinds of cool bugs here in SoCal!

We do have "toe biters" (Belastomatidae). I've caught them several times and kept them as pets. They're pretty easy to keep - you just need a covered aquatic enclosure so they don't get out. I use those plastic "breeder boxes" that people also keep tarantulas and other inverts in. They don't need deep water - a couple of inches is fine - plus some rocks, fake plants, or other objects to rest on, and a dark place to hide. Since they are air breathers, you don't even need to oxygenate the water. They do just fine in stagnant water - but if you are giving them feeder fish, then you may need to add a bubbler to keep those alive. Some of my water bugs have done just fine with crickets or roaches - but I did have one that wouldn't take them, so I ended up dropping in some feeder guppies and just feeding the guppies until they were eventually eaten.

While we don't have wheel bugs, we do have plenty of other local assassin bugs. The bee assassins (Apiomeris) may lack the steampunk crest of the wheel bugs - but they're still pretty cool, and what they lack in hardware, some of them make up for with pretty colors!

If you go out at night - particularly on hiking trails or in wilderness areas - you'll also find tarantulas, wolf spiders, scorpions, solifugids, and all sorts of other cool bugs!

 

[MrGhostMantis]

We have all kinds of cool bugs here in SoCal!

We do have "toe biters" (Belastomatidae). I've caught them several times and kept them as pets. They're pretty easy to keep - you just need a covered aquatic enclosure so they don't get out. I use those plastic "breeder boxes" that people also keep tarantulas and other inverts in. They don't need deep water - a couple of inches is fine - plus some rocks, fake plants, or other objects to rest on, and a dark place to hide. Since they are air breathers, you don't even need to oxygenate the water. They do just fine in stagnant water - but if you are giving them feeder fish, then you may need to add a bubbler to keep those alive. Some of my water bugs have done just fine with crickets or roaches - but I did have one that wouldn't take them, so I ended up dropping in some feeder guppies and just feeding the guppies until they were eventually eaten.

While we don't have wheel bugs, we do have plenty of other local assassin bugs. The bee assassins (Apiomeris) may lack the steampunk crest of the wheel bugs - but they're still pretty cool, and what they lack in hardware, some of them make up for with pretty colors!

If you go out at night - particularly on hiking trails or in wilderness areas - you'll also find tarantulas, wolf spiders, scorpions, solifugids, and all sorts of other cool bugs!

PFFFT! We have all that? I knew about the tarantulas and scorpions, didn’t know about the solifugids though! Amazing!

 

[MrGhostMantis]

Don't you guys have those little lizards all over the place? I've visited California a couple times and I could happily spend all day catching them

We do, I just got bored of catching them

Side blotched lizards, fence lizards, geckos, skinks, and a few others I

 

[Doodlebird]

We do, I just got bored of catching them

Side blotched lizards, fence lizards, geckos, skinks, and a few others I

Those are so pretty! The only lizards I've seen in Michigan are five lined skinks, and even then it's mostly just a flash of blue tail. We do have some fun snakes though

 

[MrGhostMantis]

Those are so pretty! The only lizards I've seen in Michigan are five lined skinks, and even then it's mostly just a flash of blue tail. We do have some fun snakes though

Yep, we have the five lined skinks! Pretty cool lizards, I’ve caught a few. The babies are adorable. Yeah, I never see snakes in cali, jealous of most other places reptiles.

 

[Westicles]

Yep, we have the five lined skinks! Pretty cool lizards, I’ve caught a few. The babies are adorable. Yeah, I never see snakes in cali, jealous of most other places reptiles.

Cali is full of awesome snakes. As I understand it, you just have to look in the right places and hope lady luck is on your side! Kinda like it is down here.

 

[Introvertebrate]

On my Florida visits I would spend all day catching anoles, and all night catching geckos.

 

[Westicles]

In Florida I’d spend all day catching anoles, and all night catching geckos.

That's definitely the mecca of reptiles! Florida is an awesome place to search for herps! Several years ago I very stupidly hand grabbed a large mature green iguana in south FL. and got shredded by it. It was 100% my own fault. I only did it for picture taking, but I still should have let the guy be. Lesson learned!!

 

[Doodlebird]

On my Florida visits I would spend all day catching anoles, and all night catching geckos.

That's definitely the mecca of reptiles! Florida is an awesome place to search for herps! Several years ago I very stupidly hand grabbed a large mature green iguana in south FL. and got shredded by it. It was 100% my own fault. I only did it for picture taking, but I still should have let the guy be. Lesson learned!!

I want to visit Florida for that reason! I've visited Malawi and Zambia, and they have the coolest wildlife. I was exploring a bit and I picked up a chameleon that was hanging out on a tree. Not sure what kind it was but it was a very cool reptile.

 

[Westicles]

I want to visit Florida for that reason! I've visited Malawi and Zambia, and they have the coolest wildlife. I was exploring a bit and I picked up a chameleon that was hanging out on a tree. Not sure what kind it was but it was a very cool reptile.

That's awesome. I'd love to visit Africa or Australia. Great places for insects, arachnids, reptiles, and marine life!

 

[chanda]

PFFFT! We have all that? I knew about the tarantulas and scorpions, didn’t know about the solifugids though! Amazing!

You just need to get out of the city. Hit the hiking trails, nature preserves, wilderness parks, or other "wild" areas - especially at night, with a couple of good flashlights! (Of course, keep in mind that some areas - like nature preserves - are great for seeing the cool critters and taking pictures of them - but collecting is prohibited.)

 

[MrGhostMantis]

You just need to get out of the city. Hit the hiking trails, nature preserves, wilderness parks, or other "wild" areas - especially at night, with a couple of good flashlights! (Of course, keep in mind that some areas - like nature preserves - are great for seeing the cool critters and taking pictures of them - but collecting is prohibited.)

Kinda hard when I can’t drive! I’ve gone to mission trails quite a bit, saw a scorp.