Anyone here know about insects?

[Highway61]

I found a LARGE brown type "fly" sitting on my washing machine. I'm telling you it was 2 - 3 inches long. Just sitting there. I freaked. Biggest damn fly I ever saw. I grabbed it with a paper towel and tossed it outside. It was way too big for a horsefly. I tried to look up what it was online and can't seem to find any site and I am short of time as I have to head out to work. It's been really hot and humid here so I don't know if that has anything to do with it being around. (I can't even figure out how it got IN the house! :scared: Anyone? Thanks in advance.

[dugaresa]

1. flying roach?

[Highway61]

4. Your kidding me right?

I never knew there was such a thing. Besides, I am really a clean nut.

[dugaresa]

6. I wish I was kidding you, but roaches can fly

i spent 2 hellish days in college living in an apt that needed to be condemned.

i couldn't handle it after a roach flew over and landed on my leg, i promptly called my boyfriend at the time and he and his brother came over and moved all my stuff back to my mom's and i called the landlord and told him i was going to call the health board if he thought i was every going to fulfill my end of the lease. he never came after me but found someone who found cohabitating with roaches more appealing.

[Highway61]

8. Jeez

That must have been a nightmare.

[dugaresa]

9. i could not sleep in that apartment, it was like hell

i thought i would wake up covered in bugs. I had spent the first day cleaning it and vacuuming up roaches and realized only when the one flew over and landed on me that i had to be out of my mind to try and "fix" that problem by remaining. there would have been no way i could have studied and lived normally in that place.

when i returned to my mother's she insisted that I leave all my stuff in the yard and we had to meticulously go through everything before she would let me bring anything into her house.

i am actually having the creepy crawlies as I remember this, ugh.

[Skipperoo]

39. Smart mother!

She was very smart to insist that each item be examined meticulously. Roach infestations are almost impossible to get rid of once they move into a home.

[yellowcanine]

23. You mean this guy - the infamous palmetto bug?

[RebelOne]

35. Oh yes, I can attest to that.

When I lived in Miami, I had some of those things in my apartment and they would actually dive bomb me.

[ceile]

15. Waterbugs!!!!

Here in the south flying roaches are an everyday thing. Especially in the spring and summer. Truly disgusting, vile things.

[MineralMan]

2. That's not a fly! It's a super-secred CIA spy camera.

Now you've done it. The black helicopters have been dispatched. Prepare yourself.

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. It was a bat.

[Kali]

5. the question is do YOU know insects?

A fly to somebody that doesn't know insects could be anything with wings.

could it be a dragon fly? where the wings transparent? body shape? antennas? mouthparts? eyes?

[Highway61]

7. somewhat

I grew up on a dairy farm and have seen a lot of critters. I live in a wooded area now. It looked like a horsefly only 3 times the size. To be honest, I never saw one that big.

[Kali]

12. kind of triangular shape when resting and one pair of transparent wings

abdomen thick and rounded? Not a wasp or bee?

gonna have to take the 2 to 3 inch estimate as a bit of an exaggeration unless it was a dragon fly ;-)

maybe start here http://bugguide.net/node/view/117/bgpage

[raccoon]

10. I know a lot about Beatles. nt

[Bertha Venation]

11. Go to this website. You might be able to find it.

And if you do, post a pic!

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/

[HamdenRice]

13. Jeff Goldblum, maybe? nt

[mike_c]

14. I do....

I'm an entomologist. Sorry, though-- your description just does not have enough information. A fly-- you're sure it was a fly?-- bigger than a horse fly? Maybe one of the big robber flies, but the big ones are long and narrow, not squat like a horse fly.

Are you sure it wasn't some other kind of insect?

Dobsonfly comes to mind-- not really a fly at all, but a neuropteran (related to lacewings). Your grabbing it makes that more likely, too-- real flies are pretty hard to catch bare handed. Here's a pic of a dobsonfly:

[Highway61]

16. I think that may be it

It looked like this picture. (hope this comes out) I can't imagine how it got in the house. I did go to the farmer's market earlier in the day, but ya think I would have noticed him/her. Thank you for your input. I really appreciate it. It was dark brown, like a milk chocolate color.

[mike_c]

17. that's a dobsonfly....

The larva is the aquatic hellgrammite. They're harmless-- the adults are short-lived-- basically just mate, lay eggs, and die. They're spectacular insects. Some of the males have very large mandibles.

I presume you live near water!

[yellowcanine]

18. Not so harmless though. They can give a good pinch with those mandibles. The hellgrammite can

hurt you as well. Look at those mandibles!

[Kali]

21. I will never forget the first time I saw some of those -

I was already standing in the pond, when I saw these HUGE sea monsters at the edge of the water. I think I levitated out of there. Had no idea what they were, had NEVER seen them before. All I expected in that water were small tadpoles and waterboatmen.

[Highway61]

34. Indeed

I do live near water.

[pokerfan]

37. What an adorable face

[SacredCow]

26. I LOVED my entomology classes in college....

I was tempted to change my major, but it would have set me back too much.

[leftyclimber]

33. Oh, man. Thanks for reminding me why I went into the social sciences.

:scared:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

38. The males are even cooler...

I saw a lot of these at a summer camp in West Virginia...

[Mugu]

19. With all the smart people on this thread maybe this would be the place to ask.

Now that the OP's question has been answered, I have a creature that I've never seen before and would like to ID. While going through my mail the other day, this guy fell out so I set it on a penny and took this photo. I would guess the size at about 10mm and the location is northern Illinois.

If anybody knows what it is I'd be most appreciative.

[Kali]

20. looks like some kind of weevil

still have it? can you get a shot of its dorsal surface? (that is a cool pic, by the way!)

[Mugu]

22. Unfortunately, after that photo I looked away and when I looked back it was gone.

So I quickly got the vacuum and ran it around the area where I was doing the photograph.

I'm using an inexpensive doubler that I borrowed from a friend so the image isn't as sharp as I'd like. Someday I hope to secure the Canon unit, but thank you for the compliment.

[Kali]

27. Genus Curculio (Nut and Acorn Weevils)

http://bugguide.net/node/view/6619

[Mugu]

28. That appears to be it. I'm most impressed.

I've been over there looking around and just getting more and more frustrated. Apparently I'm not smart enough to figure out how to go about searching.

Thank you for taking the time to find it and then provide a link.

Regards, Mugu

[Kali]

29. it's not the most intuitive site, but if you remember to go back up

and switch from browse to info or whatever, you can find things. Helps to know a little taxonomy as well.

You should send you photo in - great detail on the antennae - that was helpful. Too bad it got away before you could get a few other views.

[Mugu]

30. It's a wonderful site and I'll certainly try your suggestion

because just browsing isn't getting the job done.

About the only place that I show my photos is here because most of my friends couldn't care less about bugs so maybe I'll check and see if they have any use for more pictures. I'm always tickled whenever anybody enjoys looking.

Sorry for the slow response. I stepped outside to see if there was anything worth taking a photo of and ended up spending much longer than intended and then the photos turned out grainy anyway.

Thank you again, Mugu

[mike_c]

32. bingo!

We have a winnah!

[Kali]

36. you know, Mugu...

each time I see this photo I like it more and more (and now I have stolen it and put it on my desktop)

You should do SOMETHING with it! Photo contest or something, I don't know, but more people should see it! Of course it is tempting to turn it into some kind of LOLcat thing, but that is too easy.

Maybe other DUers would have suggestions if you started a new thread with it and asked for their thoughts (if you care - heh)

The dragon fly is nice too, but honestly everybody takes pictures of them. A cute fuzzy weevil with big black eyes on a shiney copper penny is unique!

[Heidi]

24. www.whatsthatbug.com (it's how I identify unidentified bugs)! (nt)

[ThomWV]

25. It would be helpful to at least know which state you are in

[pokerfan]

31. Did it have a white head?

Did it say anything?

http://www.rosswalker.co.uk/movie_sounds/sounds_files_20081223_3107713/fly/help_me.wav
http://www.rosswalker.co.uk/movie_sounds/sounds_files_20081223_3107713/fly/help_me2.wav

[XemaSab]

40. You're happy it wasn't a bot

Trust me. :scared:

[leeroysphitz]

41. Bitches don't know 'bout insects.