Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#1875431
Furry legged mystery - Planetella

Furry legged mystery - Planetella
Horse Hill Nature Reserve, Merrimack, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA
August 14, 2020
Size: leg span app 13 mm.
This nematoceran was slowly flying by with it's legs spread ptychopterid-style. However it's legs and wings were covered in dense black hairs. This was sighted along an slow-flowing outflow of Long Pond at Horse Hill Nature Reserve. It would occasionally land as it was flying close to the ground, navigating through the tall grasses, but would never stay still long enough for me to take particularly good shots. This and one other were the only pictures I was able to take that were remotely useable for ID.
To take the other, I had to catch the poor thing (something I really don't like doing but this insect was *so* unusual I felt that I had to in order to make sure I had anything I could use to document my find given that a photo that looks good on a camera's view screen may turn out to be poor after being uploaded onto my computer screen), but it dropped one of its feet in the process before I gave up and let the poor thing continue on its way. Sorry about the harassment, you poor thing. :(

Images of this individual: tag all
Furry legged mystery - Planetella Furry legged mystery - Planetella

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Planetella?
Planetella?

 
...
WOW. OK. I didn't believe you at first, but, yeah, maybe that is what this is? :O
I'm not entirely certain, though, because there are very few Planetella photos to compare with here on BugGuide and most don't seem as hirsute as this one was, but there are some photos which are similar, so I think you're right.

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.