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 |
"Ears" are not on head |
| 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 |
|
| Say's Stink Bug |
Produces a strong acrid smell |
| Harlequin Bug |
Eats Brassicacaea species, also stinks |
| Milkweed Bug |
May feed on Asteraceae plants |
| 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 |
| Spittle Bug |
Nymphs hide in spit on ceanothus |
| Treehopper |
Looks like a thorn or ridge on a branch |
| Aphid |
Often "raised" by Argentine 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 |
| 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 |
| Rove Beetle |
Short wing covers |
| 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 |
| Argentine Ant ●● |
Small, common household pest |
| 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 Gnat |
|
| Horse Fly |
Female bite painful, breed in aquatic habitat |
| Bumble Bee Robber Fly |
Resembles bumble bee |
| 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 |
May parasitize Morro shoulderband |
| Order Diptera - Butterflies click here |
|
