What are these big flying bugs? (Palm Springs, San Fernando: home, scorpions, move to)

[BacktoBlue]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

June bugs are pretty harmless. I used to play with them when I was a kid. They walk on your hand and it kind of tickles, but they don't have any bite and even move sort of slow. The most dangerous behavior they have is that they might fly away if you annoy them too much.

oh good to know lol. I just have never seen a bug like that before and it like popped out of nowhere.

[1greatcity]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

I noticed these bugs because I was spending a lot of time outside replacing wood siding on my house and painting it. (That's a lot of work, a lot of time.) I'm doing this because I'm intent on selling my house and leaving the state. So long story short I don't care if the bugs eat any plants. They're welcome to them. My gardener has already killed most of the plants by whacking them to death.

As long as they don't sting me. I was startled at first when they started buzzing me, thinking they might be deranged or rabid bumble bees, but after a while I realized they weren't bumble bees, partly because I've never seen more than 1-2 bumble bees at any one time and I've been seeing dozens of these critters at a time. There's something a bit different about the way they fly too, different patterns.

These bugs must be really really stupid. I don't look anything like a flower.

All this information reinforces my opinion that they are carpenter bees. They are about the size of bumble bees (slightly larger), and they are usually seen in groups. You said you're replacing old wood siding, and this type of bees actually eat into sawn wood surfaces. They make holes in fences, decks, siding, and such that serve as their nests. They really do seem "deranged" because they act defensively, dive-bombing and hovering near whoever or whatever they perceive as a threat. They don't have the capability of stinging like other bees, but they can deliver a bite if need be. Mostly, though, they are all bluff.
If this description sounds right, well, that's got to be what you have. And if so, I can tell you that they're not going away until after they're done using those nests. Your only recourse would be to use a caulking gun and fill the holes up with liquid nails, wood glue, or adhesive caulk.

[Lovehound]

They aren't focusing on my siding and in fact they've ignored it. They are nowhere around my work surface (which is by the way done, thank the gods!).

I'm pretty certain they are cicadas.

Forget the caulking gun, I need my buddy's nail gun! Shoot them sumbitches!

[Vary]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

Where are you from??? I'd call that a huge bug if it's 1 cm wide. Most bugs are sort of oval shape, longer than width, so that would make your bug maybe 2 cm long, almost a whole inch!!! I can't think of hardly any bugs around here that big!

I've seen tarantulas about the size of my palm (legs included, the spider not my palm) out in the nearby deserts. That's really big! I'm glad tarantulas don't run!

Nope, they're like shield bugs--about as long as they are wide. So they're not too big. About the side of a fingernail, maybe a tad smaller.

We had the japanese beetles in New York. I've lived most of my life in the Nevada desert, so yeah, it's nice that tarantulas don't run. But vinegaroons...those suckers are like lightning and hideously ugly. Never got used to them.

[Vary]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

"Despite their common names, as adults, crane flies do not prey on mosquitoes..."

Crane fly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well, I'll be...learn something new every day! We've always called them mosquito hawks.

Speaking of "hawks," In the desert we had tarantula hawks. Talk about your loud bugs...I called them B-52 bugs because they sounded like a bomber passing by! They're gigantic black wasps with orange wings. Very creepy, but they're usually on their way to take out a tarantula, so they don't both with people much.

[Vary]

Originally Posted by SoCalBrad

lol recently I walked into the bathroom to wash my hands and I saw one of those huge june bug beetle things in the sink and I freaked out lol. it scared the sh*t out of me. I thought it was a cockroach at first.

lol...I'd have a heart attack myself!

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by Vary

I've lived most of my life in the Nevada desert, so yeah, it's nice that tarantulas don't run. But vinegaroons...those suckers are like lightning and hideously ugly. Never got used to them.

Heh, yeah tarantulas are pretty sedate. Not so sedate that I'd pick one up though. I've seen people do it but I'm not a spider lover. I can like them just fine on the ground and not near my feet.

I didn't know that about vinegaroons. I was working in Palm Springs and one of my colleagues got bitten by a vinegaroon, they sent him to the emergency room.

Originally Posted by Vary

Speaking of "hawks," In the desert we had tarantula hawks. Talk about your loud bugs...I called them B-52 bugs because they sounded like a bomber passing by! They're gigantic black wasps with orange wings. Very creepy, but they're usually on their way to take out a tarantula, so they don't both with people much.

Yikes! I HATE wasps! I agree that they usually ignore people as long as the people ignore them. They're just so eerie and alien. I don't know why I see them as more alien than bees or other bugs. I always feel like they're looking at me although with those eyes there's no telling what they're looking at.

Once I was replacing a patio light fixture and when I removed the old fixture I discovered a nest of yellowjackets! I was so startled I jumped off my ladder and fell through a sliding screen door! Lucky thing the glass door was open. I hate wasps!


With June bugs, just pick them up and put them outside. They'd make too big a mess if you squashed them, and don't cause any harm anyway.

[Coldjensens]

Snacks

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

They aren't focusing on my siding and in fact they've ignored it. They are nowhere around my work surface (which is by the way done, thank the gods!).

I'm pretty certain they are cicadas.

Forget the caulking gun, I need my buddy's nail gun! Shoot them sumbitches!

That would be great if we have cicadas in California because they have a sort of loud singing similar to locusts. But I've never heard of cicadas in the West before.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by Vary

Speaking of "hawks," In the desert we had tarantula hawks. Talk about your loud bugs...I called them B-52 bugs because they sounded like a bomber passing by! They're gigantic black wasps with orange wings. Very creepy, but they're usually on their way to take out a tarantula, so they don't both with people much.

The Pepsis Wasp. The sting of the Pepsis Wasp is one of the most painful insect-delivered stings or bites you'll ever encounter, and that means anywhere in the world. Good thing they mostly leave us alone.