Oak Grove Regional Park Flora and Fauna

Laetiporus sulphureus is a species of bracket fungus (fungus that grows on trees) found in Europe and North America. Its common names are sulphur polypore, sulphur shelf, and chicken of the woods. Its fruit bodies grow as striking golden-yellow shelf-like structures on tree trunks and branches. Like other bracket fungi, they may last many years and fade to pale grey or brown. The undersurface of the fruit body is made up of tubelike pores rather than... less ↑

Cantharellus cibarius, commonly known as the chanterelle, golden chanterelle or girolle, is a fungus. It is probably the best known species of the genus Cantharellus, if not the entire family of Cantharellaceae. It is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped. On the lower surface, underneath the smooth cap, it has gill-like ridges that run almost all the way down its stipe, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap. It has a fruity smell, reminiscent of apricots... less ↑

Coprinus comatus, the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped caps open out. The caps are white, and covered with scales—this is the origin of the common names of the fungus. The gills beneath the cap are white, then pink, then turn black and... less ↑

Evernia prunastri, also known as Oakmoss, is a species of lichen. It can be found in many mountainous temperate forests throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including parts of France, Portugal, Spain, North America, and much of Central Europe. Oakmoss grows primarily on the trunk and branches of oak trees, but is also commonly found on the bark of other deciduous trees and conifers such as fir and pine. The thalli of Oakmoss are short (3–4 cm in length)... less ↑

Chlorophyta is a division of green algae, informally called chlorophytes. The name is used in two very different senses, so care is needed to determine the use by a particular author. In older classification systems, it refers to a highly paraphyletic group of all the green algae within the green plants (Viridiplantae) and thus includes about 7,000 species of mostly aquatic photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. Like the land plants (bryophytes and tracheophytes), green algae contain chlorophyll a... less ↑

Urtica dioica, often called common nettle or stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting), is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant, native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America, and is the best-known member of the nettle genus Urtica. The species is divided into six subspecies, five of which have many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on the leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce... less ↑

Taraxacum officinale, the common dandelion (often simply called "dandelion"), is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae (Compositae). It can be found growing in temperate regions of the world, in lawns, on roadsides, on disturbed banks and shores of water ways, and other areas with moist soils. T. officinale is considered a weed, especially in lawns and along roadsides, but it is sometimes used as a medical herb and in food preparation. Common dandelion... less ↑

Millipedes are myriapods of the class Diplopoda that have two pairs of legs on most body segments. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together as one (the name "Diplopoda" comes from the Greek words διπλοῦς (diplous), "double" and ποδός (podos), "foot"). Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball, like a pillbug. less ↑

Centipedes (from Latin prefix centi-, "hundred", and pes, pedere, "foot") are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric creatures with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of legs, e.g. 15 or 17 pairs of legs (30 or 34 legs). A key trait uniting this... less ↑

Latrodectus Hesperus, the western black widow spider or western widow, is a venomous spider species found in western regions of North America. The female's body is 14–16 mm (1/2 in) in length and is black, often with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the lower abdomen. This "hourglass" mark can be yellow, and on rare occasions, white. The male of the species is around half this length and generally a tan color with lighter striping on the... less ↑

Phalangium opilio is "the most widespread species of harvestman in the world", occurring natively in Europe, and much of Asia, and having been introduced to North America, North Africa and New Zealand. It is found in a wide range of habitats, including meadows, bogs, forests, and various types of anthropogenic habitats, such as gardens, fields, hedgerows, lawns, quarries, green places in built-up areas, walls and bridges. less ↑

Dermacentor variabilis, also known as the American dog tick or Wood tick, is a species of tick that is known to carry bacteria responsible for several diseases in humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia (Francisella tularensis). It is one of the most well-known hard ticks. Diseases are spread when it sucks blood from the host, which could take several days for the host to experience some symptoms. less ↑

Lepisma saccharina, frequently called a silverfish or fishmoth, is a small, wingless insect in the order Thysanura. Its common name derives from the animal's silvery light grey and blue colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements, while the scientific name (L. saccharina) indicates the silverfish's diet of carbohydrates such as sugar or starches. less ↑

Mayflies or shadflies are insects belonging to the order Ephemeroptera (from the Greek εφημερος, ephemeros = "short-lived" (literally "lasting a day" "daily" or "day-long"), πτερον, pteron = "wing", referring to the brief lifespan of adults). They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies. They are aquatic insects whose immature stage (called "naiad" or, colloquially, "nymph") usually lasts one year in fresh water. The adults are... less ↑

The Green Darner or Common Green Darner (Anax junius), after its resemblance to a darning-needle, is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. One of the most common and abundant species throughout North America and it ranges south to Panama. It is well known for its great migration distance from the northern United States south into Texas and Mexico. It also occurs in the Caribbean, Tahiti, and Asia from Japan to mainland China. It is... less ↑

The Common Whitetail or Long-tailed Skimmer (Plathemis lydia) is a common dragonfly across much of North America, with a striking and unusual appearance. The male's chunky white body (about 5 cm long), combined with the brownish-black bands on its otherwise translucent wings, give it a checkered look. Females have a brown body and a different pattern of wing spots, closely resembling that of female Libellula pulchella, the Twelve-spotted Skimmer. Whitetail females can be distinguished by their smaller... less ↑

The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), also colloquially known as the waterbug, but not a true waterbug since it is not aquatic, or misidentified as the palmetto bug (see Florida woods cockroach for the differences), is the largest species of common cockroach, and often considered a pest. Despite the name, none of the Periplaneta species are endemic to the Americas; P. americana was introduced to the United States from Africa as early as 1625. They are now... less ↑

The German cockroach (Blattella germanica) is a small species of cockroach, measuring about 1.3 to 1.6 cm (0.51 to 0.63 in) long; however, larger individuals have been recorded. It can be tan through brown to almost black, and has two dark parallel streaks running from the head to the base of the wings. Although it has wings, it is unable to sustain flight. Found throughout many human settlements, these insects are particularly associated with restaurants, food processing facilities, hotels, and nursing... less ↑

Zootermopsis angusticollis is a species of termite (Isoptera) in the family Termopsidae, a group known as the dampwood termites. As their name suggests, the dampwood termites can only survive by living off of wood that contains high amounts of moisture. Unlike the more common drywood termites, the dampwood termites are very tolerant of wet conditions and build their colonies in damp wood such as rotting stumps and logs. They have even been found in areas of... less ↑

Forficula auricularia, the common earwig or European earwig, is an omnivorous insect in the family Forficulidae. The European earwig survives in a variety of environments and is a common household insect in North America. The name "earwig" comes from a false superstition that these insects crawl into human ears and enter the brain; in fact, they are harmless to humans. However, they are considered a pest because of their frightening appearance, foul odor, and tendency to... less ↑

The pallid-winged grasshopper (Trimerotropis pallidipennis) is a common grasshopper of the family Acrididae, native to the deserts of western North America from British Columbia to Argentina. They are more active during the summer months, and their pale, mottled coloration makes them hard to see against surfaces such as the granite often found in the gravel of dry river beds. They grow to be 37 millimetres (1.5 in). The behavior of the pallid-winged grasshopper is apparently determined by... less ↑

Antlion, also spelled ant-lion and ant lion, is a name applied to a group of about 2,000 species of insects in the family Myrmeleontidae ("antlions," sometimes misspelled as "Myrmeleonidae"). The most well-known genus is Myrmeleon ("antlion"). Strictly speaking, the term "antlion" applies to the larval form of the members of this family, and several languages have their own terms for the adult. The adults are commonly referred to in English as "antgriffins," or very rarely as... less ↑

Insects in the family Elateridae are commonly called click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae). Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spring beetles or "skipjacks". This family was defined by William Elford Leach (1790-1836) in 1815. They are a cosmopolitan beetle family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few closely related families in which a few members have the same mechanism, but all... less ↑

Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Fly (the taxonomic order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting with Charles W. Woodworth's proposal of the use of this species as a model organism, D. melanogaster continues to be widely used for biological research in studies of genetics, physiology, microbial pathogenesis and life history evolution. It is typically used because it is an animal species that... less ↑

The housefly (also house fly, house-fly or common housefly), Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It is the most common of all domestic flies, accounting for about 91% of all flies in human habitations, and indeed one of the most widely distributed insects, found all over the world. It is considered a pest that can carry serious diseases. less ↑

The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (formerly Iridomyrmex humilis), is a dark ant native to northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and southern Brazil. It is an invasive species that has been established in many Mediterranean climate areas, inadvertently introduced by humans to many places, including South Africa, New Zealand, Japan, Easter Island, Australia, Hawaii, Europe, and the United States. less ↑

Carpenter bees (the genus Xylocopa in the subfamily Xylocopinae) are large bees distributed worldwide. There are some 500 species of carpenter bee in 31 subgenera. Their name comes from the fact that nearly all species build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers (except those in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which nest in the ground). Members of the related tribe Ceratinini are sometimes referred to as "small carpenter bees". less ↑

The western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a species of honey bee. The genus Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera comes from Latin melli- "honey" and ferre "to bear"—hence the scientific name means "honey-bearing bee". The name was coined in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus who, upon realizing the bees do not bear honey, but nectar, tried later to correct it to Apis mellifica ("honey-making bee") in a subsequent publication. However, according... less ↑

The Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme), also known as the Alfalfa Butterfly and in its larval stage as Alfalfa Caterpillar, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, where it belongs to the lowland group of "clouded yellows and sulphurs" subfamily Coliadinae. It is found throughout North America from southern Canada to Mexico, but is absent from the central and southeastern USA. less ↑

The common buckeye or simply, buckeye, (Junonia coenia) is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia and all parts of the United States except the northwest, and is especially common in the south, the California coast, and throughout Central America and Colombia. The sub-species Junonia coenia bergi is endemic to the island of Bermuda. less ↑

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. It may be the most familiar North American butterfly. The monarch butterfly is not currently listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) or protected specifically under U.S. domestic laws. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 cm (3½–4 in). (The viceroy butterfly is similar... less ↑

The One-eyed Sphinx or Cerisy's Sphinx (Smerinthus cerisyi) is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is known from south-eastern Alaska, the southern parts of all Canadian provinces and in the northern border states of the United States south into northern Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio and along the west coast to southern California, eastward to the Rocky Mountains and into western New Mexico north to western North Dakota. It has also been recorded from Illinois and... less ↑

Manduca sexta is a moth of the family Sphingidae present through much of the American continent. Commonly known as the tobacco hornworm and the goliath worm, it is closely related to and often confused with the very similar tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata); the larvae of both feed on the foliage of various plants of the family Solanaceae. The tobacco hornworm is sometimes kept as a pet by children throughout its range. It can be distinguished by... less ↑

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8 million anglers targeting them per year. The popularity of channel catfish for food has contributed to the rapid growth of aquaculture of this species in the United States. less ↑

The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of salmonid native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the Coastal rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus) or redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) that usually returns to freshwater to spawn after living two to three years at sea. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are... less ↑

The bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes. Lepomis, in Greek, means "scaled gill cover" and macrochirus means large hand, which may be a reference to its body shape. A defining characteristic of the bluegill is the bright blue edging visible on its gill rakers. less ↑

The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is a freshwater gamefish in the sunfish family, a species of black bass native to North America. It is also known by a variety of regional names, such as the brown bass, widemouth bass, bigmouth bass, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, gilsdorf bass, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth and (paradoxically) northern largemouth. The largemouth bass is the state fish of Alabama (official freshwater... less ↑

The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is an aquatic frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or “true frogs”. This species has traditionally been classified as Rana catesbeiana, however the classification has been changed to Lithobates due to paraphyly in Ranidae. This frog has an olive green back and sides blotched with brownish markings and a whitish belly spotted with yellow or grey. The upper... less ↑

The western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) more commonly known as Bufo boreas (both names accurate) is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches. Its parotoid glands are oval, widely separated, and larger than the upper eyelids. It has a mottled venter and horizontal pupils but lacks cranial crests. less ↑

Pituophis catenifer is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to North America. Six subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies, Pituophis catenifer catenifer, described here. This snake is often mistaken for a diamondback rattlesnake but can be easily distinguished from a rattlesnake by the lack of black and white banding on its tail, and by the shape of its head which is narrower than a rattlesnake's. less ↑

The California kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) is a nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to the western United States and northern Mexico. It is a relatively small subspecies of the common kingsnake and is naturally found in a wide variety of habitats. One of the most popular snakes in captivity, the California kingsnake can vary widely in appearance due to numerous naturally occurring and captive-developed color morphs. less ↑

The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), also known as red-eared terrapin, is a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is a subspecies of the pond slider. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States and is also popular as a pet in the rest of the world, as, among other factors, it is easy to maintain. It has, therefore, become the most commonly traded turtle in the world. It is native... less ↑

The Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring 70–90 cm (28–35 in) in length, it is an all-black bird which gains a small double crest of black and white feathers in breeding season. It has a bare patch of orange-yellow facial skin.... less ↑

The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores, England and the Netherlands. An all-white population found only in the Caribbean and southern Florida was once treated as a... less ↑

The Great Egret (Ardea alba) also known as Common Egret, Large Egret or Great White Heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized. In North America it is more widely distributed, and it is ubiquitous across the Sun Belt of the United States and in the Neotropics. The Old World population is often referred to as the... less ↑

The Green Heron (Butorides virescens) is a small heron of North and Central America. It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the Striated Heron (Butorides striata), and together they were called "Green-backed Heron". Birds of the nominate subspecies (no matter which taxonomic arrangement is preferred) are extremely rare vagrants to western Europe; individuals from the Pacific coast of North America may similarly stray as far as Hawaii. less ↑