| |
|
|
|
|
|
Common Arthropods of the Elfin Forest
| 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 |
| Leafhopper Assassin Bug | Preys on insects |
| Milkweed Assassin Bug | Preys on insects |
| Ringed 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 and baccharis |
| Treehopper | Looks like a thorn or ridge on a branch |
| Aphid | Often "raised" by 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 and adult |
| 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 |
| Ten-lined June beetle | Makes a hissing noise when handled |
| Rove Beetle | Short wing covers |
| Tumbling flower beetle | Short wing covers and a pointy tail |
| 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 |
| Pyramid ants | Small,black with brown jaws |
| 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 midge | Makes wooly galls on sagebrush |
| Horse Fly | Female bite painful, breed in aquatic habitat |
| Robber Fly | Hunts other flys |
| 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 | Deposit live maggots instead of eggs |