Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Tick or tock?


I saw this on the outside of someone's window and I said it was a tick. It was the right size but after Googling images of ticks, I'm not so sure.

10 comments:

Dave in Tucson said...

I am not an etymologist (but I play one on the Internet!), but it could be a beetle.

The back part has that very characteristic (in my experience, anyway) 'D' shape that many beetles have.

Rebecca Clayton said...

Fear no weevil!

Beetles are not my area of expertise, but this looks like a weevil to me. And Dave's right--weevils are beetles. Take it from an entomologist! Etymologists study words and their origins.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

He looks nervous.


I'm an Entenmennologist...I study cheese danish.

Dave in Tucson said...

Maybe I'll start studying the female characters in The Wizard of Oz. Then I could be an "Aunt Em-ologist".

Stephen Beckner said...

Not enough legs to be a tick--they have 8 legs (arachnids).

Grumpy Old Man said...

"The farmer took the boll weevil,
Put him on a cake of ice.
Boll weevil said to the farmer,
'This is mighty cool and nice,
It'll be my home, It'll be my home.'

Page D. said...

Looks like a Bumble Flower Beetle
Euphoria india http://bugguide.net/node/view/173336
The antenae shape is the same... coloring looks "tickish".

Annette said...

Well, considering it's June, I'd go for guessing it's a June bug or maybe a Japanese beetle. If he's brown on his back, it's probably a June bug, if he's green, then it's a Japanese beetle. That's my 2cents. :-)

Rick Lee said...

It's waaay smaller than a June Bug. It's about 2 or 3 milimeters... in other words, more like the size of a tick. But it is a weevil. Rebecca knows. And I heard through email from my other entomologist friend Peggy Powell that it's indeed a weevil.

Joanna said...

Ticks are arachnids, so they have eight legs. I only count six. Plus, ticks have short legs without obvious joints. Great pic, though.