The other day, I found tiny insects were gathering on the inside of the glass on the shop window and the sliding door. I have seen these in years past. However on that particular cloudy and rainy day, I decided to see if I could figure out what the heck they were.
First stop was the dissecting scope. These critters were only two millimeters! So I hunted for the one that I had not squished totally. LOL.
So how do you come up with what it is? Before I go to any experts, I try to find it characteristics. Let’s see, four wings ..check.
Wing veination on upper wing.
Lower or hind wing veination.
Hind wing has hooks!
Ten segmented antennas. It is hard to see the two nearest the head in this photo. Now with this and the other information, I started my search. First stop was the Borror and Delong’s Study of Insects book. I thought I would look at the Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies) first. Of course, I do not know what half the stuff they refer to in the opening paragraphs. I did get to the part where it said they have four wings and hold their wings when at rest in a roof-like manner over the body. My little bug matched. And that was something I understood and it was in the sub-order of Plant-parasitic Hemipterans (Sternorrhyncha). Next step was to look at the drawings of wings. I found that there was a close match. However, it did not show the hooks (hamuli) that were on the hind wing. Indeed, I thought this would be an important clue. I must be in the wrong place, right.
Like this photo, I brought my hands to my face. No hooks, it must be something else. Second stop in the book was the order Hymenoptera (Sawflies, Parasitic Wasps, Ants, Wasps, and Bees). It read four wings…check. And has a row of tiny hooks (hamuli) on the interior margin…check. Hmmm, was I on to something? However, they were not thin waisted. However, there are exceptions to the rules. So I skimmed the pages looking for wing veinations. Nothing seemed to match. Now it was time to check with an entomologist. Claire, Help! Claire gave me suggestions and roped in two more scientists for an opinion in the meantime. Now I got three entomologists looking at my tiny house bug! Next I forwarded my photos to them. Then they asked for more details that the photos were not showing.
Claire asks, are the colors on the wings, scales or hairs or pigmentation? Pigmentation as seen here. Next Diane asks whether it has mandibles or a beak? On this front I had a very hard time telling. Each little critters’ front legs were covering its tiny face as seen in the photo above. Eventually, I did see it had a beak. Another entomologist, who lives in Norway, had not weighted in yet. Brittany (Norway) suspiciously was eyeing Pachypsylla celtidisvesicula as a possible species when she finally saw the email. So with further investigation on BugGuide, visually it looked right. But what about the hooks (hamuli)? Claire asks two more entomologists that she follows on Twitter. One has spent years ID’ing psylloids everyday and never looked for the hooks, just the head. The other had no idea about the hooks either. So when Diane had asked about the mouth, that was apparently the key.
So it looks like the little buggers are in the genus of Hackberry Psyllids (Pachypsylla). The next mystery is why were they in the house? The host plant is a Hackberry. I do not have a Hackberry or its leaves in the house. Claire suggested maybe they snuck in at night while letting Gracie outside to do her business…maybe so. Additionally according to BugGuide, the easiest way to tell which species, is by raising one from its gall which are distinctive. Another project….hmmm. And thank you to all the entomologists. It is easy to get hooked on new stuff to learn about even if the hooks led me astray! 🙂
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know.
8 Comments
Live the al naslaa rock. And no surprise about our blood. Dont see how we could keep from having plastic everywhere in our bodies. Nit a pleasant thought tho.
Live the al naslaa rock. And no surprise about our blood. Dont see how we could keep from having plastic everywhere in our bodies. Nit a pleasant thought tho.
Not pleasant is right.
Fascinating description of how you went about ID’ing this little critter. I know from basic entomology classes how difficult this can be.
So happy that we have experts to ID those little buggers!
That split rock is WOW!! Glad we were able to get you connected with a bug identification. It was an interesting mystery!
Funny how the hooks became “not a clue”. And thanks again to you and your friends!
Whoa, I love a good mystery! Especially when it gets solved! Great post.
Yes, solving it was and is always bring satisfaction. And thanks!