Wildlife of Castlewood Canyon State Park
Castlewood Canyon State Park is located in central Douglas County, one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. It lies east of Interstate 25 and is equidistant between the two largest metropolitan areas within Colorado - Denver and Colorado Springs. The park lies at the intersection of ...more ↓
Horace's Duskywing
Horace's Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from Massachusetts, west to eastern South Dakota, south through most of the eastern United States to Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southern Texas, south in the west through south-eastern Utah, Colorado, north-eastern Arizona, and New Mexico. Fringes are brown. Upperside of male forewing is ...more ↓
Weidemeyer's Admiral
Limenitis weidemeyerii, or Weidemeyer's admiral, is a butterfly from the Nymphalinae subfamily, found in western North America.
Field Crescent
Phyciodes pulchella, the field crescent, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in the Nearctic realm.
Gorgone Checkerspot
Chlosyne gorgone, the gorgone checkerspot, is a species of Nymphalinae butterfly that occurs in North America.
Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui is a well-known colorful butterfly, known as the painted lady, or in North America as the cosmopolitan. This butterfly has a strange habit of flying in a sort of screw shape.
Mourning Cloak
Nymphalis antiopa, known as the mourning cloak in North America and the Camberwell beauty in Britain, is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America.
Hoary Comma
The hoary comma (Polygonia gracilis) is a species of butterfly, common in boreal North America from Alaska, across southern Canada to New England and the Maritime Provinces and south to New Mexico from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The wings have a distinctive ragged edge.
Satyr Comma
Polygonia satyrus, the satyr comma, is a North American butterfly of the nymphalid family. It is primarily found in western Canada, where it is locally common. It bears a resemblance to Polygonia comma, the eastern comma, with which it is frequently confused.
Milbert's Tortoiseshell
Milbert's Tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti), also known as the Fire-rim Tortoiseshell, is the only species of Aglais that occurs in North America.
Aphrodite Fritillary
The Aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite) is a fritillary butterfly, from North America.
Edwards's Fritillary
Speyeria edwardsii, the Edwards' fritillary, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family of North America. It is common from Alberta west to Manitoba and south as far as northern New Mexico.
Monarch
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 ...more ↓
Gray Hairstreak
The Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), is one of the most common hairstreaks in North America, ranging over nearly the entire continent. It occurs also throughout Central America and in northern South America.
Western Pine Elfin
The Western Pine Elfin (Callophrys eryphron) is a North American butterfly that ranges from British Columbia east to Maine and south to southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Males are brown and females are orange-brown, with both having bold patterned hind wings. The top of the wings have dark bars with a lighter chevron shaped margin. The body is 19–32 mm in ...more ↓
Juniper Hairstreak
The Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus) is a butterfly native to North America. It belongs in the family Lycaenidae.
Silvery Blue
The Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) is a small butterfly native to North America. Upperside is a light blue in males, a dull grayish blue in females. Underside is gray with single row of round spots of differing sizes depending upon region.
Ancilla Blue
Euphilotes ancilla, the Rocky Mountain dotted blue, is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from Washington south to California and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan south through the Rockies and high plains to Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and northwestern New Mexico.
Marine Blue
Leptotes marina, the marine blue or striped blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in from South America through Mexico up to Southern Texas, Arizona and California.
Melissa Blue
The Melissa blue (Plebejus melissa) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western North America, from Canada to Mexico. The Karner blue (Plebejus melissa samuelis) is a subspecies of the Melissa blue, and was described by the novelist/lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov.
Dainty Sulphur
The Dainty Sulphur or Dwarf Yellow (Nathalis iole) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Orange Sulphur
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 ...more ↓
Cabbage White
The Small White (Pieris rapae) is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the Yellows-and-Whites 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.
Checkered White
Pontia protodice, the checkered white or southern cabbage butterfly, is a common North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its green larva is a type of cabbage worm.
Spring White
Pontia sisymbrii, the spring white, California white, or Colorado white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in mountainous areas of western Canada and the United States.
Black Witch
The erebid moth Ascalapha odorata, commonly known as the black witch moth, is a large bat-shaped, dark-colored nocturnal moth, found from Brazil until the southern United States. It is the largest noctuid found in the continental United States. In the folklore of many cultures in Latin America and the Caribbean, it is associated with death or misfortune.
Spotted Tussock Moth
Lophocampa maculata (spotted tussock moth, mottled tiger or spotted halisidota) is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found across Canada, the western parts of the United States, south in Appalachians to South Carolina and Kentucky.
Odorous House Ant
Tapinoma sessile is a species of small ant that goes by the common names odorous house ant, sugar ant, stink ant, and coconut ant. Their colonies are polydomous (consist of multiple nests) and polygynous (contain multiple reproducing queens). Like many social insects, T. sessile employs complex foraging strategies, allocates food depending on ...more ↓
Western Carpenter Ant
Camponotus modoc or western carpenter ant is a black carpenter ant with dark red legs. Workers range in size from 7 to 13 mm (0.28 to 0.51 in).
Uncertain Field Ant
Formica incerta is a species of ant found in eastern North America. It is the most common species of Formica in many areas and excavates underground nests with small entrance holes. Its diet includes nectar produced by extrafloral nectaries and honeydew which it obtains from aphids and treehoppers. It is the main host for the slave-making ant Polyergus lucidus. ...more ↓
Pale Field Ant
Formica pallidefulva (field ant)is a species of ant found in North America. It is a red to dark brown ant with a shiny body, and varies in shade across its range. Colonies of this ant are found in a variety of habitats, where they excavate underground nests with galleries and chambers. In some parts of its range, the nests may be raided by slave-making ants, most notably ...more ↓
Allegheny Mound Ant
The Allegheny mound ant (Formica exsectoides) is a species of ant native to the Atlantic area of North America. Its range extends from Nova Scotia to parts of Georgia. Like other field ants, the Allegheny mound ant builds large mounds, however this species tends to build some of the largest. Aside from the mounds, the ants also act as pests by killing vegetation within 40 to 50 ...more ↓
Western Thatching Ant
Formica obscuripes (the western thatching ant) is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. It is native to North America. It produces large mounds covered by small pieces of plant material. The number of adult workers per colony may be as high as 40,000. F. obscuripes feeds upon a number of insect species, consumes nectar from homopterous insects they tend, and ...more ↓
New World Black Ant
Formica neogagates is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. Found throughout North America and Canada, introduced in Europe, France.
Short-horned Meadow Ant
The yellow meadow ant, (also yellow hill ant, formal name Lasius flavus), is one of the most common ants in Central Europe, and it also occurs in Asia and North Africa, but populations in North America are a different, related species (Lasius brevicornis).
Pennsylvania Ponera
Ponera pennsylvanica is a species of ant that is usually found in mesic forests in the Eastern United States. The species' nests are usually found under rotting logs, in rotting stumps or logs, in acorns, in soil, and in leaf mold. Ant colonies usually have no more than 100 worker ants.
Hairy Pheidole
Pheidole pilifera is a species of ant and a higher myrmicine in the family Formicidae.
Cherry Ant
Crematogaster cerasi is a species of ant in tribe Crematogastrini. It was described by Fitch in 1855.
Crematogaster coarctata
Crematogaster coarctata is a species of ant in tribe Crematogastrini. It was described by Mayr in 1870.
Blue-winged Scoliid Wasp
Scolia dubia, also known as the blue-winged wasp, is a 2.0–2.5-centimeter (0.8–1.0 in) long wasp that ranges from New England to Florida and west to the Rocky Mountains in North America. The head, thorax, and first two abdominal segments are black, while the remainder of the abdomen is red with two bright yellow spots on the third abdominal segment. The distal section of ...more ↓
Brown-belted Bumble Bee
Bombus griseocollis is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the brown-belted bumblebee. It is native to much of the United States except for the Southwest, and to the southernmost regions of several of the provinces of Canada.
Hunt's Bumble Bee
Bombus huntii is a species of bumblebee. It is native to western North America, where it occurs in western Canada and the United States as far east as Manitoba and Minnesota, and in Mexico as far south as the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. It is known commonly as the Hunt bumblebee or Hunt's bumblebee.
Western Honey Bee
The western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bee worldwide. The genus name Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera is the Latin for "honey-bearing", referring to the species' production of honey for the winter.
Sunflower Burrowing-Resin bee
Paranthidium jugatorium is a species of hymenopteran in the family Megachilidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Western Paper Wasp
Mischocyttarus flavitarsis is a social paper wasp found in western North America. Their nests can be found both in forests close to rivers or in close proximity to human life under the eaves of roofs. Despite the fact that M. flavitarsis nests are frequently in close contact with humans, M. flavitarsis typically will not sting, but rather ram into the threatening ...more ↓
Western Yellowjacket
The western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica) is a Nearctic species of wasp in the genus Vespula. It is native to regions of North America, largely in areas with northern temperate climates. Its reproductive behavior is constrained by cold weather, which successfully reduces the number of western yellowjackets in cold months. However, in the absence of cold weather, ...more ↓
Common Claybank Tiger Beetle
Cicindela limbalis is a species of tiger beetle. The length of the beetle is 12–16 millimeters (0.5–0.6 in). The beetle's back is reddish purple and sometimes may be dull green or brown. The species can commonly be found on steep, moist bare clay soil. The beetle can live for 3 years.
Western Tiger Beetle
Cicindela oregona, also called the Western Tiger Beetle, is a species of ground beetles native to North America.
Convergent Ladybeetle
Hippodamia convergens, commonly known as the convergent lady beetle, is one of the most common lady beetles in North America and is found throughout the continent. Aphids form their main diet and they are used for the biological control of these pests.
Seven-spotted Ladybird
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 ...more ↓
Ornate Checkered Beetle
Trichodes ornatus, commonly known as Ornate Checkered Beetle, is a beetle species of checkered beetles belonging to the family Cleridae, subfamily Clerinae which can be found only in North America.
Polydrusus impressifrons
Polydrusus impressifrons, known generally as the pale green weevil or leaf weevil, is a species of broad-nosed weevil in the family of beetles known as Curculionidae. It is found in North America.
Batyle suturalis
Batyle suturalis is a species of beetle in the Cerambycidae family. It was described by Thomas Say in 1824.
Colorado Soldier Beetle
Chauliognathus basalis, the Colorado soldier beetle, is a species of soldier beetle in the family Cantharidae. It is found in North America.
Goldenrod Soldier Beetle
The goldenrod soldier beetle or Pennsylvania leatherwing (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) is a species of soldier beetle (Cantharidae).
Eastern Eyed Click Beetle
Alaus oculatus, commonly called the eastern eyed click beetle or eyed elater, is a species of click beetle.
Emerald Euphoria
Euphoria fulgida, the emerald euphorium, is a species of scarab beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.
brown scarab beetle
Phyllophaga lanceolata is a species of scarab beetle in the family Scarabaeidae. It is found in North America.
Speckle-winged Rangeland Grasshopper
Arphia conspersa, known generally as the speckle-winged rangeland grasshopper or speckled rangeland grasshopper, is a species of band-winged grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is found in North America.
Lichen Grasshopper
Trimerotropis saxatilis, the lichen grasshopper, is a species of band-winged grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is found in North America.
Two-striped Grasshopper
Melanoplus bivittatus, the two-striped grasshopper, is a poikilothermic species of grasshopper belonging to the genus Melanoplus. It is commonly found in North America, with high quantities inhabiting Canadian prairies and farmland.
Spotted Bird Grasshopper
Schistocerca lineata, known generally as the spotted bird grasshopper or birdwing grasshopper, is a species of bird grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is found in North America.
Oleander Aphid
Aphis nerii is an aphid of the family Aphididae. Its common names include oleander aphid, milkweed aphid, sweet pepper aphid, and nerium aphid.
Common Water Strider
Aquarius remigis, known as the common water strider, is a species of aquatic bug. It was formerly known as Gerris remigis, but the subgenus Aquarius was elevated to generic rank in 1990 on the basis of phylogenetic analysis. Aquarius remigis is found throughout North America, but is most prevalent in the mid-west of the United States.
Large Milkweed Bug
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 ...more ↓
Pale Snaketail
Ophiogomphus severus is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is commonly known as the pale snaketail.
Western Forktail
Ischnura perparva, the western forktail, is a species of narrow-winged damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is found in North America.
Willow Pinecone Gall Midge
Rabdophaga strobiloides, the willow pinecone gall midge, is a species of gall midges in the family Cecidomyiidae.
Cylindromyia intermedia
Cylindromyia intermedia is a species of bristle fly in the family Tachinidae. It is found in North America.
Thistle Stem Gall Fly
Urophora cardui or the Canada thistle gall fly is a fruit fly which, contrary to its common name, is indigenous to Central Europe from the United Kingdom east to near the Crimea, and from Sweden south to the Mediterranean.
Virile Crayfish
Faxonius virilis is a species of crayfish known as the virile crayfish, northern crayfish, eastern crayfish, and lesser known as the lake crayfish or common crawfish. Faxonius virilis was reclassified in August 2017, and the genus was changed from Orconectes to Faxonius. It is native to eastern United States and southeast ...more ↓
Wasp Mantidfly
Climaciella brunnea, known sometimes by the common name wasp mantidfly and Brown mantidfly, is a predatory insect.
