Riverside Citizen Science - Insects
Use this guide as a reference to insect species documented to occur within the City of Riverside. Riverside Citizen Science seeks to engage our community in observing and documenting Riverside's natural environment. Observers are welcome to contribute to a growing database of biodiversity ...more ↓
Western Tiger Swallowtail
The Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) is a common swallowtail butterfly of western North America, frequently seen in urban parks and gardens as well as in rural woodlands and riparian areas. It is a member of the Papilio genus, of which Papilio appalachiensis and Papilio xuthus are also members. It is a large, brightly colored and active butterfly, ...more ↓
Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui is a well-known colourful butterfly, known as the Painted Lady, or in North America as the Cosmopolitan. This butterfly has a strange pattern of flying in a sort of screw shape.
Monarch Butterfly
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 ...more ↓
Gulf Fritillary
The Gulf Fritillary or Passion Butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) is a bright orange butterfly of the family Nymphalidae and subfamily Heliconiinae. It was formerly classified in a separate family, the Heliconiidae or longwing butterflies, and like other longwings this species does have long, rather narrow wings in comparison with other butterflies. It is not closely related ...more ↓
White-lined Sphinx Moth
The White-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata) is a moth of the Sphingidae family. Its range extends from Central America, through the United States and into parts of Canada.
Giant Swallowtail
The Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) is a swallowtail butterfly common in various parts of North America and marginally into South America (Colombia and Venezuela only). In the United States and Canada it is mainly found in the south and east. With a wingspan of about 10–16 cm (3.9–6.3 in), it is the largest butterfly in Canada and the United States.
Fiery Skipper
The Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae and are approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. The males are orange or yellow with black spots while the females are dark brown with orange or yellow spots. The caterpillars are greenish pink with a black head. The caterpillars are often considered pests and can feed on bermudagrass, creeping bentgrass, ...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.
vagrant grasshopper
Schistocerca nitens is a species of grasshopper known by several common names, including vagrant grasshopper and gray bird grasshopper. It is a close relative of the desert locust, which is in the same genus. This grasshopper is native to southern North America including Mexico and the southwestern United States from California to Texas. It is also present in parts ...more ↓
Praying Mantis
Mantis religiosa, referred to as the European Mantis outside of Europe and known simply as the Praying Mantis in Europe and elsewhere, is one of the most well-known and widespread species of the order Mantodea.
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.
Orange Sulphur
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 ...more ↓
green June beetle
Cotinis nitida, commonly known as the June bug or June beetle, is a beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. It occurs in the eastern United States, where it is most abundant in the south. It is not easily distinguished from the related southwestern species, Cotinis mutabilis.
Tomato Hornworm
The five-spotted hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata) is a brown and gray hawk moth of the Sphingidae family. The caterpillar, often referred to as the tomato hornworm, can be a major pest in gardens. Tomato hornworms are closely related to (and sometimes confused with) the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). This confusion arises because caterpillars of both species ...more ↓
Western Pygmy Blue
The Western Pygmy Blue (Brephidium exilis or Brephidium exile) is one of the smallest butterflies in the world and is the smallest in North America. It has reached Hawaii. It has a wingspread of about half an inch.
Southern Dogface
The Southern Dogface, Colias cesonia, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae (until recently the species was sometimes placed in the related genus Colias instead of Zerenia).
Lorquin's Admiral
The Lorquin's Admiral (Limenitis lorquini) is a butterfly in the Nymphalinae subfamily. The butterfly is named after Pierre Joseph Michel Lorquin, a French naturalist who came to California from France during the Gold Rush and made important discoveries on the natural history of the terrain.
Leafhopper Assassin Bug
Zelus renardii is an assassin bug. First instar larvae have been observed to collect a sticky substance from their eggs and rub it on their legs, which improves predation success on flies.
Sara Orangetip
Sara Orangetip or Pacific Orangetip (Anthocharis sara) is a butterfly which ranges along the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico.
Pale Swallowtail
The Pale Swallowtail or Pallid Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) is a relatively common swallowtail butterfly found throughout much of the western United States. It is found on the Pacific coast from northern Baja California to southernmost British Columbia and inland to New Mexico and the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is present from the coast to western Montana and ...more ↓
Queen Butterfly
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 ...more ↓
Anise Swallowtail
The Anise Swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, is a common swallowtail butterfly of western North America. Both the upper and lower sides of its wings are black, but the upper wing has a broad yellow stripe across it, which gives the butterfly an overall yellow appearance. There are striking blue spots on the rear edge of the rear wing, and the characteristic tails of the ...more ↓
Cloudless Sulphur
The Cloudless Sulphur or Cloudless Giant Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) is a midsized butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the New World. There are several similar species such as the Yellow Angled-sulphur (Anteos maerula), which has angled wings, or other sulphurs, which are much smaller.
Sleepy Orange
The Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
