BROWN RECLUSE SPIDER
The brown recluse, also known as the fiddler or violin spider gets its common names from its coloration and reclusive habits. Adults usually are about 1/4 - 1/2 in body length and has a tan to brown color with the dark brown fiddle-shaped markings on the top of the cephalothorax, whose neck points toward the abdomen. Immatures are very similar to adults except being smaller and paler.

Both males and females can inject venom, and must be considered dangerous to humans. Injection of their venom may produce necrosis or dead tissue, resulting in an ulcering type of sore. A small blister usually appears and the surrounding bite area becomes swollen.

An antitoxin is available, but must be administered within a few hours for best results. If you have been bitten, call a physician or go to an emergency room immediately and take the spider along for proper identification if at all possible.

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BLACK WIDOW SPIDER
These spiders get their common name from the popular belief that the female eats the male after mating, a phenomenon which rarely happens in nature. Adult female body length is about 1/4 - 3/8 inch in diameter, with overall length including legs of about 1 1/2 - 1 3/8 inch with males about half that size.

They typically have black abdomens on ventral or underneath side with 2 reddish triangular markings usually joined to form a reddish hourglass-shaped marking.

These spiders spin an irregular web and hang from it in an inverted or upside down position. the web is used to ensnare prey. The female avoids light in sheltered places, and tends to work her web at night.

In terms of poisonous bites, only the female is of concern. The black widow bite is not always felt, so the only reliable evidence of a bite is a slight local swelling with 2 tiny red spots where the fangs entered. However, pain is almost immediate and reaches its maximum in 1-3 hours, continues for 12-48 hours, and then gradually subsides. If bitten immediately call a physician or go to the emergency room, an antitoxin is available.

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GERMAN COCKROACH
The German cockroach is by far the most important and usually the most common of the cockroaches. In addition to being a nuisance, it has been implicated in outbreaks of illness, the transmission of variety of pathogenic organisms including at least one parasitic protozoan, and allergic reactions in many people. These species has worldwide distribution.

Adults are about 1/2 - 5/8 inch long. The color is light brown to tan except for 2 dark, almost parallel longitudinal stripes/ bars/ streaks on the pronotal shield. The female is darker than the males and her abdomen broader.

The ootheca or egg capsule is yellowish brown but usually two-toned and is attached to the female; about 1/4-3/8 inch long with about 15-20 eggs on each side. On an average these females will produce about 5 oothecas averaging 30-40 eggs each and usually 3 to 4 generations per year.

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ORIENTAL COCKROACH
Contrary to its common name, the oriental cockroach is thought to be of north African origin. Many people will refer to the oriental cockroach also as a "black beetle" or "waterbug" or "shad roach". This species has a worldwide distribution.

Adult males are about 1 inch long whereas, females are 1 1/4 inch long. The color is usually shiny black but may vary to dark reddish brown. Males wings cover 75 % of his abdomen, leaving 3-5 abdominal segments exposed. Females with much reduced wings, resemble nymph wing pads but have veins. Adults do not fly.

On an average the female will produce about 8 oothecas with each containing about 16 eggs. In many areas the oriental cockroach survives quite well outdoors and spends considerable time there. It is typically found under debris, stones and leaf litter, but also inwalls and porch voids. It has been observed to survive outdoors during 13 weeks of almost continuous freezing weather.

They feed on all kinds of food and decaying matter, but prefer to feed on starchy foods. They are much despised because of their strong "roachy" odor and because they feed on fifth.

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AMERICAN COCKROACH
The American cockroach, despite its name is not native to North America but was most probably introduced via ships from Africa. It is worldwide in distribution.

Adults are about 1 3/8 - 2 1/8 inch long. Their color is reddish brown except for a sub marginal pale brown to yellowish band around the edge of the prontal shield. Both sexes are fully winged with wings of the male extending beyond the tip of the abdomen whereas, the female's do not; are poor to moderately good fliers.

The ootheca or egg capsule is dark red to blackish brown; about 3/8 inch long and usually has 8 eggs on each side. Although American cockroaches are found in residences, they are much more common in larger commercial buildings such as restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, food processing plants, hospitals, etc. During summer months, they can be found outdoors in yards and alleys. Although they feed on many different food, they show particular fondness for fermenting food.

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CARPENTER BEE DAMAGE
Carpenter bees get their common name from their habit of boring into wood to make galleries for the rearing of their young. These are worldwide. The carpenter bee are about 1 inch long, robust in form, resembling bumble bees, but with top surface of abdomen largely bare and shiny. Carpenter bees are not social insects and do not live in nests or colonies. Male carpenter bees tend to be territorial and often become aggressive when humans approach, sometimes hovering a short distance in front of the face or buzzing one's head.

The female typically bores a circular hole ( same diameter as her body ) straight into the wood across the grain for a distance equal to her body length. Then the galleries takes a right-angle turn, usually with the grain of the wood and parallel to the outer longitudinal surfaces. New galleries average 4-6 inches long but galleries developed/used by several bees may extend up to 10 feet. Cells are created and closed off after each egg is deposited with a mass of pollen and regurgitated nectar, making a chamber. The process is completed until 5-6 cells are completed, about one cell per day. Developmental time is about 36 days.

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BED BUGS
Bed bugs are small, 3/16 inch long, broadly oval, flat, brown to reddish-brown true bugs. When fully engorged, an adult bed bug's body looks somewhat cigar-shaped.

Bed bugs feed on blood. They have five numphal instars, and each needs at least one blood meal to develop to the next instar. A female lays 200-500 eggs in her lifetime. These bug may produce a series of bites in "rows" or fairly straight lines, usually along an edge beside an item of clothing or a bed sheet that was lying against their human host's skin at the time the bed bugs fed.

Bed bugs are nocturnal, hiding in many places near their hosts, including bed frame joints, cracks, crevices, inside box springs, mattress seams, along "tack strips" under edges of rugs, in furniture drawers or hollow legs, and even behind wallpaper or pictures on nearby walls. It may take three to twelve minutes for one bug to feed to repletion.

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ASIAN LADY BEETLE
This species of lady beetles is ¼ - 3/8 inch long. The elytra are mustard yellow to dark reddish orange, normally have several black spots. However, the spots may be indistinct or absent. The lady beetle is found throughout most of the United States and parts of Canada.

Asian lady beetles feed on aphids, scale insects, and mealy bugs, which is why some refer to them as the farmers friend, helping with crop and fruit pests. This beetle has adapted well and has multiplied in such numbers that it has become quite a problem in many structures.

When they move into a structure, they are looking for a place over winter. Then the warm days arrive and they enter the living area, many times by the thousands. The problem comes in the fall, hibernating in various cracks, crevices and wall voids. Overwintering adult ladybugs emerge from hibernation and deposit their orange eggs in single or multiple groups. They are looking for plants infested with aphids, mealy bugs, scale insects and other soft bodied insects. The larvae molt four times and mature larvae attach to leaves by the tip of their abdomen and pupate without forming a cocoon.

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