Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 
Clickable Guide
Interactive image map to choose major taxa 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
Upcoming Events

National Moth Week was July 19-27, and the Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » Plant-parasitic Hemipterans (Sternorrhyncha) » Scales and Mealybugs (Coccoidea) » Ground Pearls (Margarodidae)
Photo#2097977
Ugly Critter
Copyright © 2022 Alice Abela

Ugly Critter
Santa Barbara County, California, USA
February 28, 2022
Size: 8 mm
Found in sandy coastal black dune habitat, may have been unearthed during restoration planting activities

Images of this individual: tag all
Ugly Critter Ugly Critter
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Alice Abela on 15 March, 2022 - 10:47pm
Last updated 16 March, 2022 - 8:55pm

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Alice Abela, 16 March, 2022 - 8:55pm login or register to post comments

"Ground pearl"
This is actually the female of a root-attacking scale-bug called a "ground pearl". The things that look like a pair of fangs are actually the front legs. Unfortunately it's also a group that's been largely neglected here on BugGuide.
… Jonas Insinga, 16 March, 2022 - 9:48am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks!
This one had me stumped.

Maybe Heteromargarodes sp.? Ground pearls: A generic revision of the Margarodidae sensu stricto (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea) (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271945416_Ground_pearls_A_generic_revision_of_the_Margarodidae_sensu_stricto_Hemiptera_Sternorrhyncha_Coccoidea) . Has a illustration of Heteromargarodes americanus that looks to be close. The 8 mm size for this species also matches with mine. I can't see the pores and other tiny features necessary to take it through the key.
… Alice Abela, 16 March, 2022 - 8:58pm login or register to post comments

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

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact