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Litaneutria minor, or the agile ground mantis, is native to the drier regions of the United States. States known to have L. minor are: Colorado, Arizona to Mexico, and the eastern regions of Washington to California. They also can be found in Canada in the southern Okanagan Valley and are Canada's only native mantis. They are very active hunters and will be seen running across the ground from early spring to late summer. less ↑

Harmonia axyridis, most commonly known as the harlequin, multicolored Asian, or simply Asian ladybeetle, is a large coccinellid beetle. This is one of the most variable species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of color forms. It is native to eastern Asia, but has been artificially introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids and scale insects. It is now common, well known, and spreading in those regions, and has also established in... less ↑

The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names depending on region include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black veined brown. It may be the most familiar North American butterfly, and is considered an iconic pollinator species. Its wings feature an easily recognizable black, orange, and white pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 cm (​3 1⁄2– less ↑

Vanessa atalanta, the red admiral or previously, the red admirable,is a well-characterized, medium-sized butterfly with black wings, orange bands, and white spots. It has a wingspan of about 2 inches (5 cm). It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. The red admiral is widely distributed across temperate regions of North Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and New Zealand. It resides in warmer areas, but m less ↑

The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) is a bright orange butterfly of the family Nymphalidae and subfamily Heliconiinae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae are "longwing butterflies", which have long, narrow wings compared to other butterflies. Gulf fritillary is the only member of genus Agraulis. less ↑

Battus philenor, the pipevine swallowtail or blue swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly found in North America and Central America. This butterfly is black with iridescent-blue hindwings. They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests. Caterpillars are often black or red, and feed on compatible plants of the genus Aristolochia. They are known for sequestering acids from the plants they feed on in order to defend themselves fr less ↑

The brown recluse, Loxosceles reclusa, Sicariidae (formerly placed in a family "Loxoscelidae") is a recluse spider with a necrotic venom. Similar to other recluse spider bites, their bite sometimes requires medical attention. The brown recluse is one of three spiders (the others being black widow and Loxosceles laeta, the Chilean recluse) with medically significant venom in North America. 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 determi less ↑

Coccinella septempunctata, the seven-spot ladybird (or, in North America, seven-spotted ladybug or "C-7"), is the most common ladybird in Europe. Its elytra are of a red colour, but punctuated with three black spots each, with one further spot being spread over the junction of the two, making a total of seven spots, from which the species derives both its common and scientific names (from the Latin septem = "seven" and punctus = "spot"). less ↑

The queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus) is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae with a wingspan of 70–88 mm (2.8–3.5 in). It is orange or brown with black wing borders and small white forewing spots on its dorsal wing surface, and reddish ventral wing surface fairly similar to the dorsal surface. The ventral hindwings have black veins and small white spots in a black border. The male has a black androconial scent patch on its... less ↑

Phidippus audax is a common jumping spider of North America. It is commonly referred to as the daring jumping spider, or bold jumping spider. The average size of adults ranges from roughly 13–20 millimetres (0.51–0.79 in) in length. They are typically black with a pattern of spots and stripes on their abdomen and legs. Often these spots are orange-tinted in juveniles, turning white as the spider matures. The spider belongs to the genus Phidippus, a group of... less ↑

The western pygmy blue (Brephidium exilis or Brephidium exile) is one of the smallest butterflies in the world and the smallest in North America. It has reached Hawaii, as well as the Persian Gulf, including eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Upperside copper brown with dull blue at the bases of both wings. Underside of hindwing is copper brown with white at the base; fringe mostly white; 3 small black spots near base;... less ↑

Oncopeltus fasciatus, known as the large milkweed bug, is a medium-sized hemipteran (true bug) of the family Lygaeidae. It is distributed throughout North America. It ranges from Central America through Mexico and the Caribbean to southern areas in Canada. Costa Rica represents this insects southern limit. It inhabits disturbed areas, roadsides and open pastures. Due to this widespread geographic distribution this insect exhibits varying life history trade-offs depending on t less ↑

Pieris rapae, the small white, is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is also known as the small cabbage white and in New Zealand, simply as white butterfly. The names "cabbage butterfly" and "cabbage white" can also refer to the large white. The butterfly can be distinguished by the white color with small black dots on its wings. They are further distinguished by the smaller size and lack of the... less ↑

Papilio polyxenes, the (eastern) black swallowtail, American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma and New Jersey. An extremely similar-appearing species, Papilio joanae, occurs in the Ozark Mountains region, but it appears to be closely related to Papilio machaon, rather than P. polyxenes. The species is named after the figure in Greek mytholog less ↑

Colias eurytheme, the orange sulphur, also known as the alfalfa butterfly and in its larval stage as the 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 United States. less ↑

The American snout or common snout butterfly (Libytheana carinenta) is a member of the Libytheinae subfamily, in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. This species is found in both North and South America. The larval host plants are Celtis species on which the eggs are laid singly. Massive migrations of this species often attract attention in the Texas and Mexican newspapers. less ↑

The eastern amberwing (Perithemis tenera) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is very small, reaching a total length of no more than 25 mm. The males have orange or amber wings. Both genders have a red pterostigma. The eastern amberwing dragonfly is one of the only types of dragonfly that actively mimics a wasp. The yellow and brown stripes on its abdomen encourage predators to stay away. When perched, they will wiggle their... less ↑

Erythemis simplicicollis, the eastern pondhawk, also known as the common pondhawk, is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to the eastern two-thirds of the United States and southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is a dragonfly of ponds and still waters. The species is distinguished in that the female is bright green with a banded abdomen and the mature male has a blue abdomen with a green face and green and blue thorax. 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, it also 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 ↑

Euptoieta claudia, the variegated fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Even though the variegated fritillary has some very different characteristics from the Speyeria fritillaries, it is still closely related to them. Some of the differences are: variegated fritillaries have two or three broods per year vs. one per year in Speyeria; they are nomadic vs. sedentary; and they use a wide range of host plants vs. just violets less ↑

The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is approximately 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long, with a bright yellow/orange body and five bold brown stripes along the length of each of its elytra. Native to America, it spread rapidly in potato crops across America and then Europe from 1859 onwards. less ↑

Pantala flavescens, the globe skimmer, globe wanderer or wandering glider, is a wide-ranging dragonfly of the family Libellulidae. This species and Pantala hymenaea, the "spot-winged glider", are the only members of the genus Pantala from the subfamily Pantalinae. It was first described by Fabricius in 1798. It is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly on the planet with good population on every continent except Antarctica although rare in less ↑

The red-mantled saddlebags or red saddlebags (Tramea onusta) is a species of skimmer dragonfly found throughout the eastern United States. It has translucent wings with red veins, and has characteristic dark red blotches at their proximal base, which makes the dragonfly look as if it is carrying saddlebags when flying. The last two bands and the cerci of these dragonflies are black. less ↑

Spodoptera ornithogalli (yellow-striped armyworm, cotton cutworm) is a moth of the family Noctuidae found in Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Saint Kitts, Dominica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica. In North America, it is found from California to Florida plus the eastern states, west to Kansas, and in south-eastern Canada from Nova Scotia to Ontario. In South America, it is found in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, and Venez less ↑

The six-spotted fishing spider, Dolomedes triton, is an arachnid from the nursery web spider family Pisauridae. This species is from the genus Dolomedes, the fishing spiders. This species of fishing spider is named after the mythological Greek god Triton who is the messenger of the big sea and the son of Poseidon. These spiders can be seen scampering along the water’s surface when a person walks by in which they are often referred to as dock... less ↑

The fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) is a moth in the family Erebidae known principally for its larval stage, which creates the characteristic webbed nests on the tree limbs of a wide variety of hardwoods in the late summer and fall. It is mainly an aesthetic pest and is not believed to harm otherwise healthy trees. It is well known to commercial tree services and arboriculturists. less ↑

Stephens' gem or the bilobed looper (Megalographa biloba) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is widely distributed from the southern parts of the United States, south through Central America and South America up to Argentina. As a seasonal migrant it occurs even farther north into the northern parts of the United States and southern Canada. Here it usually produces one or two generations each summer, but rarely survives the winter this far north. It... less ↑

Jadera haematoloma, the red-shouldered bug, goldenrain-tree bug or soapberry bug is a species of true bug that lives throughout the United States and south to northern South America. It feeds on seeds within the soapberry plant family, Sapindaceae, and is known to rapidly adapt to feeding on particular hosts. People often confuse this species with the boxelder bug. less ↑

The blue mud dauber (Chalybion californicum) is a metallic blue species of mud dauber wasp that is the primary predator of black widow spiders. Females build their own nests, but occasionally refurbish nests abandoned by other mud dauber wasps, particularly Sceliphron. It is not normally aggressive. It is similar in shape and colour to the steel-blue cricket hunter (Chlorion aerarium). Like other types of wasps, males do not have an ovipositor, therefore cannot sting. less ↑

Polistes exclamans is a social wasp and is part of the family Vespidae of the order Hymenoptera. It is found throughout the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas and parts of Canada. Due to solitary nest founding by queens, P. exclamans has extended its range in the past few decades and now covers the eastern half of the United States, as well as part of the north. This expansion is typically attributed to changing global climate and... less ↑

Halictus ligatus is a species of sweat bee from the family Halictidae, characterized by those bees that mine or burrow into the ground to create their nests. Moreover, As a member of the Halictidae, H. ligatus is commonly categorized a sweat bee due to its attraction to the salts of human perspiration. H. ligatus, like Lasioglossum zephyrum, is a primitively eusocial bee species, for which aggression is one of the most influential behavioral attitudes for less ↑

Dactylotum bicolor, also known as the rainbow grasshopper, painted grasshopper, or the barber pole grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is native to the United States, Canada and northern Mexico and exhibits aposematism (warning coloration). It was first described by the German entomologist Toussaint de Charpentier in 1843. less ↑

Peridroma saucia, the pearly underwing or variegated cutworm, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The variegated cutworm feeds on many plants, especially common fruits and vegetables. The moth undergoes 2–4 generations per year. The development of the moth slows in colder temperatures, indicative of its migratory nature. All stages of the life cycle have a developmental threshold for temperatur less ↑