AboutEd Saugstad Expertise Will accept most questions in general entomology, including those related to medical entomology, taxonomy, ecology, arthropod surveillance, and pest management.
If you are requesting a 'mystery bug' identification, PLEASE either attach an image to your question, or post an image on a web page (such as Flickr) so that I can look at it, as verbal descriptions frequently are insufficient for a definitive identification.
Experience 21 years in the U.S. Army as a medical entomologist; duties varied from surveillance of pest populations (including mosquitoes, cockroaches, ticks, and stored products pests) to conducting research on mosquito-virus ecological relationships and mosquito faunal studies. Ten years as a civilian analyst for the Department of Defense, primarily on distribution of vector-borne diseases worldwide. Limited experience on surveillance of agricultural insects in North Dakota and Indiana.
Organizations Entomological Society of America, West Virginia Entomological Society, Society for Vector Ecology, National Speleological Society, West Virginia Association for Cave Studies.
Publications American Journal of Public Health, Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, Japanese Journal of Sanitary Zoology, Journal of Economic Entomology, Mosquito News, and Mosquito Systematics.
Education/Credentials B.S. in entomology from North Dakota State University in 1963, M.S. in entomology from Purdue University in 1967.
I live in hot and humid Malaysia. It's rather far from the US, but I thought I'd try asking anyway.
Lately I've been noticing these bugs/things appearing around my house, notably in dry and dusty corners, though some have ocassionally been seen on the walls. I've never seen them before, and they're creeping me out.
Outward appearance is always of similar shape (as seen in pic), almost always white with ocassional black/brown streaks/spots/splotches, and are always very thin (about 0.5-1.0 mm. Length is about 10-15mm, and width is about 5mm.
Close examination of the bug shows an absence of any legs of any kind (the fibres you see in the pic are dust).
I did notice, however, that when there IS movement, it is only at either of the pointed ends of the thing. When that happens, you can see something tiny and black with microscopic legs wiggling about, but it does not leave the shell.
I did also try squeezing one of the shells to see if I could coax the inhabitant? out, but all I got was a transparent, whitish fluid (similar to pus).
So do you have any idea what it is?
p.s. sorry about the bad picture. It looked darn clear on my mobile phone...
Answer Dear Alex - i suspect that this is a case-bearing caterpillar in the family Tineidae, a large group that includes clothes moths among other things. A very similar species occurs in the United States; known as a household casebearer or plaster bagworm, it feeds primarily on old spider webs and the like, doing no real harm but often considered a nuisance pest. See http://tinyurl.com/dn4jn5 for detailed information on these insects to see if it is what you may have. If after reviewing the material you believe that you have something different, please get back to me with additional details.
Hope this helps,
Saugy
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