It’s been a few years since I saw it, and I never could identify it. Having found the SDMB a few months ago, I figured I’d give it a shot. I don’t have a picture, but it was the scariest bug I’ve ever seen, so hopefully my memory will be enough. I’d really appreciate if anyone can give me a clue, becuase it’s bothered me ever since I saw it. Here goes.
First of all, it was in Nashville, TN, but I have a feeling it may not have been native. It was HUGE. About 4-5 inches long, with an oval shaped abdomen that must have bee 1-1.5 inches in diameter. I can’t remember if it had one pair of wings or two, but I think it was two. The wings were transluscent and perpindicualr to the body, and a wide wingspan. It’s color was blue, or maybe greenish-blue. The thorax was small compared to the abdomen (the abdomen is the last part, right?). I’d never seen a bug w/ a head like this. It was crusty and white, and what I suppose were its eyes were 4 (I’m pretty sure it was 4) orangish-yellow stripes that ran vertically along the head. I’ve never seen anything like this and it’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten the details I can remember more or less right.
It was stuck to the window of I a restaurant where I waited tables. It stayed in one spot for at least two days. Bugs that don’t move are particularly scary. When a guy touched it, it flinched a little, but otherwise didnt move.
So, any entomologists out there? Anyone have a clue? I’d appreciate any help.
Thanks, TellMeI’mNotCrazy , but I don’t think that was it. At lease, it didn’t look like any of the insects in the pictures on that site, and I’ve seen cicadas before. The site says cicadas are 1-2 inches long, can a cicada grown to 4 inches long and 1.5 inches around?
Thanks for the guesses, cher3 and TwoTrouts. I don’t think either of them are correct, though. Imagine the stone fly if it was 1-1.5 inches thick, that’s closer to what it looked like. Also, the head doesn’t look right, and I don’t remember any tails.
I’m almost positive that I remember seeing a photograph of an insect like you’re describing in a book about insects found in Florida, but it’ll have to wait until I get home to verify. And I’m going to guess that it was a cicada.
Thanks again, TwoTrouts, but that’s not it either. Man, I’m hoping that it hasn’t morphed into some super bug in my memory, but I’m pretty sure I have the size and description right. Especially about the blue body and the head looking white and crusty, and the eyes being orangish yellow stripes that ran vertically along the head. I’ll never forget that. While the insects suggested are getting closer to what I remember, none of them are big and freaky looking enough to stick out in my head as the biggest, scariest bug I’ve ever seen several years after the fact. It was big enough that we all stood around looking at it trying to figure out what the heck it was, which none of the one’s suggested would cause.
Wow, this is a stumper, even for someone who took entomology in grad school. Some things in your description prompt a certain guess, only to be contradicted by something else in your description. This exacerbated by the difficulty that you don’t have the insect with you so I can’t ask if it has 4 tarsii or 5
None of the Orders I can think of match every single thing you describe, so can you tell us which characteristics are you most sure you remember, and which you would attribute to a less than perfect memory:
That it was 4-5 inches long? (since this is really rare for something that has all the other chars. you describe)
That it had transparent wings, held flat and perpendicular to the body?
That its body color was blue/greenish blue?(or did you mean its wings are blue/greenish blue?)
That its abdomen was oval (not cylindrical?), and 1.5 inches WIDE?
That its crusty white head had orangish yellow stripes; and by vertically you mean from anterior to posterior of head, (i.e., from “tip” of head to thorax).
Hemiptera (true bugs); some possibilities here; but I can’t think of any off the top of my head that have all wings transparent. Unless it was a cicada. More hemiptera pics here.
Are you sure it was not a cicada? It’s the best guess that would match the size & oval abdomen. This one has orange-yellow stripes, and this one is blue-green.
Or maybe a huge Plecoptera that had its “tails” broken off?
Getting into WAG territory here, but maybe abeetle that had its hard forewings broken off?
Hi Aragowyn, thanks for replying. This one Cicada is getting closer. It has the right abdomen shape, though the wrong head and I remember it being more blue that green. To answer your questions:
Yes, like I said, it was so big that we all stood around it rather freaked out by it. People were being called from the kitchen to come look at it. Perhaps it’s gotten a bit bigger in my memory and it’s not quite 4-5 inches, but it was freaking huge.
Pretty sure about the transparent wings, not so sure about them being held perpindicular.
Yes, the body was blue/greenish blue. If I was forced to guess the color of the wings I’d say orangeish or brownish, but I really don’t trust my memory of their color.
Not sure of the difference that you mean but I remember it being round and rounded at the end (i.e. it didnt come to a sharp point). It’s abdomen looked kinda like a big swollen thumb, minus the knuckles. And like I said, it was freaking huge, I’d say at least an inch wide, maybe a bit more.
Definitely. It’s head is what I found to be the most freaky. As it was stuck to a window I was able to get close to its head from the inside. If bugs had a face like ours I’d say they ran vertically along its face from the nose/chin area to the top of the head.
Okay, I found what I was thinking of, but I don’t think it’s what you’re looking for. A juvenile Treehopper has the white with orange stripes like you described. But nothing else seems to match up, especially the size.
Hello again FlyingDragonFan, but again I’m afraid that’s not it. For my insect only the head was white, and it was crusty like it was made of rock salt or something. Darn it, I wish I could put a sketch of it in here.
Anyone know a site where you can look at pictures of insects by physical description? All the ones I found require you to find it by species.
