Arachnids |
(Spiders, Mites, Scorpions) |
Common Scorpion |
1.25", sting is painful |
Burrowing Scorpion |
2.5", ambushes prey from burrow |
Sun Spider (Wind scorpion) |
Hairy nocturnal no stinger |
Daddy Long-legs |
Not true spider, no fangs doesn't bite |
Sow Bug Killer Spider |
No web, kills Sow & Pill Bugs |
Western Black Widow Spider |
Venom is a neurotoxin |
Mouse Spider |
1/4", dull brown |
Orb Web Weaver Spider |
Web is wheel shaped |
Jeweled Araneus Spider |
Spins loose orb web up to 6' |
Trash-web Spider |
Weaves a composite web |
Jumping Spider |
Can jump some distance |
Green Lynx Spider |
Large body of 3/4", no web |
Crab Spider |
Has no web, crab-like appearance |
Spider Mite |
Spin fine silken carpets under leaves |
Velvet Mite |
Inhabits the soil, large, 1/4", bright red |
Pacific Coast Tick |
Feeds on blood of vertebrates |
Centipedes |
Multicolored Centipede |
3 to 4", bite can be painful |
Millipedes |
Hiltonius Millipede |
Prefer moist conditions, 3" |
Crustaceans |
|
Common Pill Bug |
Rolls into a tight ball when disturbed |
Dooryard Sow Bug |
Larger than pill bug, can't roll up |
Insects |
|
Order Colembola |
Snaps tail-like appendage to move |
Leaf Litter Springtail |
1/8" |
Dung Springtail |
1/8" |
California Springtail |
1/8" |
Common Springtail |
1/8" |
Order Thysanura |
Long Tailed Silverfish |
Covered with shiny, slick scales |
Bristletail |
Nocturnal, abhor light like silverfish |
Order Ephemeroptera |
Immature forms are aquatic |
Mayfly |
|
Order Odonata |
Immature forms are aquatic |
Pastel Skimmer Dragonfly |
1.75" |
Big Red Skimmer Dragonfly |
2.5", orange-red |
Common Green Darner Dragonfly |
Large, 3.25" |
Multicolored Darner Dragonfly |
2.5", blue & black |
Violet Dancer Damselfly |
1 to 2", intense blue |
Order Dermaptera |
Pincers weak & mostly harmless |
European Earwig ● |
0.75", females care for young |
Ring-legged Earwig ● |
0.75", also from Europe |
Maritime Earwig |
|
Order Orthoptera |
Chaparral Katydid |
Pallid Band-wing Grasshopper |
1.5" |
Clear Winged Grasshopper |
|
Gray Bird Grasshopper |
Females to 2.5" |
Tree Cricket |
0.5", live in trees and shrubs |
Field Cricket |
0.5 to 1.25", black or brown |
Jerusalem Cricket |
Large, 2" with bald head, nocturnal |
California Camel Cricket |
Secretive, hump backed |
Sand Roach |
Found in coastal dunes |
Western Wood Roach |
Found in sage & chaparral |
Minor Ground Mantis |
1.25", carnivore, run on ground |
Order Isoptera |
Live in colonies |
Western Subterranean Termite |
Swarms in the fall |
Western Drywood Termite |
No ground contact needed |
Pacific Dampwood Termite |
Likes buried wood |
Order Hemiptera |
|
Closterocoris amoenus |
Nymphs are ant mimics |
Lopidea nigridia |
Feeds on silver dune lupine |
Say's Stink Bug |
Produces a strong acrid smell |
Harlequin Bug |
Eats Brassicacaea species, also stinks |
Milkweed Assassin Bug |
Preys on insects |
Bordered Plant Bug |
Can congregate in large numbers |
Bee Assassin |
Preys on ants, bees, and beetles |
Order Homoptera |
Blue-green Leaf Hopper |
1/4", iridescent |
Spittlebug |
Nymphs hide in spit on ceanothus |
Treehopper |
Looks like a thorn or ridge on a branch |
Aphid |
Often "raised" by Argentine ants |
Order Neuroptera |
|
Snakefly |
Long prothorax and head are snake-like |
Green Lacewing |
Go to light at night, larvae eat aphids |
Brown Lacewing |
Wings covered by micro bristles |
Antlion (Doodlebug) |
Larvae dig pits to trap ants |
Order Coleoptera |
Thickened hard fore wings |
Groundselbush Beetle |
iridescent larvae |
Black Ground Beetle |
5/8", long-legged, fast-running |
Snail Eater Ground Beetle |
Prey on slugs, snails |
Tiger Beetle |
Live in moist sand near water, eat insects |
Rove Beetle |
Short wing covers |
Blister Beetle |
Contain cantharidin causing skin blisters |
Click Beetle |
Makes an audible clicking sound |
Western Spotted Cucumber Beetle    |
1/4" |
Ladybird Beetle |
Voracious predator of aphids & scale |
Subterranean Dune Beetle |
Wooly Ground Beetle |
Wooly reddish-brown hairs |
Darkling Ground Beetle |
Iron Clad Beetle |
Hard body, found under oaks |
Scarab Beetle |
Antennae with a club of leaf-like plates |
Order Hymenoptera |
|
California Harvester Ant |
Large, red, stings, vegetarian |
Argentine Ant ●● |
Small, common household pest |
Carpenter Ant |
Large, black & red, stings |
Paper Wasp |
Makes paper mache-like nest |
Live Oak Gall Fly (wasp) |
Forms galls on Oaks |
Spider Wasp |
Stings, preys on spiders |
Sand Wasp |
Also known as digger wasps |
Ichnumen Wasp |
Solitary wasp |
Velvet Ant |
Stings, female is wingless |
Hornet |
Protective of nest, stings if disturbed |
Yellow Jacket |
Stings, attracted to meat & fruit |
Burrowing Bee |
Nest is constructed in a sand bank |
Sweat Bee |
Solitary bee |
Honey Bee |
Stings, but not easily provoked |
Bumble Bee |
Stings, but not easily provoked |
Order Diptera |
|
Common Crane Fly |
Often mistaken for giant mosquito |
Giant Crane Fly |
Body 1.3", wing span 3" |
Mosquito |
Buzz is high-frequency vibration of wings |
March Fly |
1/4", poor fliers, scavengers of decay |
Wooly Sagebrush Gall Gnat |
|
Horse Fly |
Female bite painful, breed in aquatic habitat |
Bumble Bee Robber Fly |
Resembles bumble bee |
Flower Fly |
Hover about flowers, destroy aphids |
Deer Louse Fly |
Ectoparasites of deer, sucks blood |
Bee Fly |
Look/act like bees, feed on nectar |
Hover Fly |
Common House Fly |
Regurgitation leaves fly specks |
Tachinid Fly |
Have stiff bristles, parasitize cutworms |
Green Bottle Fly |
Infest garbage & fresh dog feces |
Sarcophagid Fly |
May parasitize Morro shoulderband |
Order Lepidoptera - Butterflies |
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