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  ABC > Home > THE FAUNA PROJECT > Survey September 21, 2017


The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Fauna Project

Nine volunteers completed this week's survey; conditions were hot and partly sunny. Lovebugs, a type of fly, are almost never seen alone; that common name comes from the fact that they seem to always be mating. The unusually solitary individual shown below is a male, distinguished by his enormous compound eyes that cover most of his head.

Select Photos and Complete List of Sightings:


Eumorpha fasciatus (banded sphinx larva)
photo by Val Bugh


Acronicta lepetita (dagger moth larva)
photo by Val Bugh


Strymon melinus (gray hairstreak larvae)
photo by Val Bugh


Hemiargus ceraunus (ceraunus blue)
photo by Val Bugh


Schinia chrysellus (broomweed flower moth)
photo by Val Bugh


Aleiodes politiceps (braconid wasp)
photo by Barbara Ribble


Plecia nearctica (lovebug, male)
photo by Val Bugh


Senopterina caerulescens (signal fly)
photo by Dan Zinn


Pachydiplax longipennis (blue dasher)
photo by Barbara Ribble


Libellula pulchella (twelve-spotted skimmer)
photo by Val Bugh


Epicauta sp. (blister beetle)
photo by Val Bugh


Pasimachus californicus (ground beetle)
photo by Val Bugh


Unknown sp. (stink bug eggs)
photo by Val Bugh


Chinavia hilare (green stink bug hatchlings)
photo by Val Bugh


Arhyssus sp. (scentless plant bug hatchlings)
photo by Val Bugh


Arilus cristatus (wheel bug)
photo by Barbara Ribble


Cyrpoptus sp. (fulgorid planthopper)
photo by Val Bugh


Prairiana orizaba (leafhopper)
photo by Val Bugh


Mecaphesa sp. (crab spider)
photo by Val Bugh


Centruroides vittatus & Pediodectes bruneri
(striped bark scorpion eating Bruner shieldback's head)
photo by Val Bugh

  • Birds:
    American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
    Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
    Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus)
    Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)
    Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
    Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
    Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
    Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
    Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
    Hummingbird (Archilochus sp.)
    Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)
    Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
    Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
    Purple Martin (Progne subis)
    Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
    White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus)
    Woodhouse's Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma woodhouseii)

  • Mammals:
    Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
    Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
    White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

  • Reptiles:
    Texas Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus)
    Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)
    Redstripe Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus rubrilineatus)

  • Misc.:
    Harvestman (Leiobunum sp.)
    Striped Bark Scorpion (Centruroides vittatus)
    Greenhouse Millipede (Oxidus gracilis)

  • Insects & Spiders:
    orderfamilygenus/speciescommon name

    lepidoptera  nymphalidae  Danaus gilippus  Queen
        Danaus plexippus  Monarch
        Agraulis vanillae  Gulf Fritillary
        Vanessa cardui  Painted Lady
      pieridae  Phoebis sennae  Cloudless Sulphur
        Eurema lisa  Little Yellow
      lycaenidae  Hemiargus isola  Reakirt's Blue
        Hemiargus ceraunus  Ceraunus Blue
        Strymon melinus  Gray Hairstreak (adult & larva)
      hesperiidae  Erynnis horatius  Horace's Duskywing
        Thorybes pylades  Northern Cloudywing
        Wallengrenia otho  Southern Broken-dash
        Euphyes vestris  Dun Skipper
      noctuidae  Heliothis virescens  Tobacco Budworm (larva)
        Schinia chrysellus  Broomweed Flower Moth
        Acronicta lepetita  Dagger Moth (larva)
        Diastema tigris  Lantana Moth (larva)
      arctiidae  Estigmene acrea  Saltmarsh Moth
      sphingidae  Eumorpha fasciatus  Banded Sphinx (larva)
      crambidae  Petrophila jaliscalis  Moth
      pyralidae  Alpheioides parvulalis  Moth
      elachistidae  Haplochrois bipunctella  Moth

    coleoptera  coccinellidae  Harmonia axyridis  Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle
        Coccinella septempunctata  Seven-spotted Lady Beetle
      cerambycidae  Sphaenothecus bivittata  Longhorn Beetle
      carabidae  Pasimachus californicus  Ground Beetle
      tenebrionidae  Eleodes goryi  Darkling Beetle
        Lobopoda sp.  Comb-clawed Beetle
      meloidae  Epicauta pennsylvanica  Blister Beetle
        Epicauta sp.  Blister Beetle
      curculionidae  Curculio sp.  Nut Weevil

    hemiptera  coreidae  Acanthocephala terminalis  Coreid Bug
        Leptoglossus zonatus  Leaf-footed Bug
        Leptoglossus phyllopus  Eastern Leaf-footed Bug (adult & nymph)
        Chelinidea vittiger  Opuntia Bug (nymph)
        Hypselonotus punctiventris  Coreid Bug (adult & nymph)
      largidae  Largus sp.  Largus Bug (adult & nymph)
      lygaeidae  Ochrimnus mimulus  Seed Bug
      rhopalidae  Niesthrea louisianica  Scentless Plant Bug (adult & nymph)
        Arhyssus sp.  Scentless Plant Bug (egg & nymph)
      tingidae  Teleonemia scrupulosa  Lace Bug
      reduviidae  Arilus cristatus  Wheel Bug
      scutelleridae  Homaemus proteus  Shield Bug
      pentatomidae  Chinavia marginata  Green Stink Bug (nymph)
        Chinavia hilare  Green Stink Bug (adult & nymph)

    homoptera  cicadellidae  Neokolla dolobrata  Leafhopper
        Prairiana orizaba  Leafhopper
      cercopidae  Lepyronia quadrangularis  Spittlebug
        Unknown sp.  Spittlebug (nymph)
      issidae  Dictyonissus griphus  Planthopper (nymph)
      flatidae  Metcalfa pruinosa  Citrus Planthopper
      fulgoridae  Cyrpoptus sp.  Planthopper

    hymenoptera  apidae  Apis mellifera  Honey Bee
        Bombus pensylvanicus  American Bumble Bee
        Centris atripes  Digger Bee
      halictidae  Lasioglossum sp.  Sweat Bee
      megachilidae  Megachile sp.  Leaf-cutter Bee
        Anthidiellum notatum  Bee
      vespidae  Polistes dorsalis  Paper Wasp
        Polistes exclamans  Paper Wasp
        Polistes rubiginosus  Red Wasp
        Vespula squamosa  Southern Yellowjacket
      sphecidae  Sphex ichneumoneus  Great Golden Digger Wasp
      braconidae  Unknown sp.  Braconid Wasp
        Aleiodes politiceps  Braconid Wasp

    diptera  syrphidae  Ocyptamus fascipennis  Flower Fly
      tachinidae  Atacta brasiliensis  Tachinid Fly
      ulidiidae  Notogramma sp.  Picture-winged Fly
      platystomatidae  Senopterina caerulescens  Signal Fly
      tephritidae  Neotephritis finalis  Fruit Fly
        Trupanea sp.  Fruit Fly
      dolichopodidae  Condylostylus sp.  Long-legged Fly
      phoridae  Unknown sp.  Scuttle Fly
      bibionidae  Plecia nearctica  Lovebug
      chironomidae  Unknown sp.  Midge
      culicidae  Aedes albopictus  Asian Tiger Mosquito
        Ochlerotatus trivittatus  Mosquito

    odonata  libellulidae  Tramea lacerata  Black Saddlebags
        Libellula croceipennis  Neon Skimmer
        Libellula pulchella  Twelve-spotted Skimmer
        Erythemis simplicicollis  Eastern Pondhawk
        Pachydiplax longipennis  Blue Dasher
        Pantala sp.  Glider
      aeshnidae  Anax junius  Common Green Darner
      coenagrionidae  Ishnura posita  Fragile Forktail

    orthoptera  acrididae  Melanoplus differentialis  Differential Grasshopper
        Melanoplus ponderosus  Ponderous Grasshopper
        Amblytropidia mysteca  Brown Winter Grasshopper (nymph)
        Syrbula montezuma  Montezuma's Grasshopper
        Lactista aztecus  Aztec Bandwing (adult & nymph)
        Schistocerca nitens  Gray Bird Grasshopper (nymph)
        Schistocerca obscura  Obscure Bird Grasshopper (nymph)
      tettigoniidae  Pediodectes bruneri  Bruner Shieldback
        Microcentrum rhombifolium  Greater Angle-wing
      gryllidae  Oecanthus sp.  Tree Cricket (nymph)
        Unknown sp.  Ground Cricket

    mantodea  mantidae  Stagmomantis carolina  Carolina Mantis
      thespidae  Oligonicella scudderi  Scudder's Mantis

    araneae  araneidae  Argiope aurantia  Black and Yellow Garden Spider
        Gasteracantha cancriformis  Spiny-backed Orbweaver
        Neoscona crucifera  Orbweaver
        Mangora gibberosa  Orbweaver
      salticidae  Phidippus audax  Bold Jumper
        Anasaitis canosa  Jumping Spider
      thomisidae  Mecaphesa sp.  Crab Spider
      oxyopidae  Peucetia viridans  Green Lynx
      miturgidae  Cheiracanthium inclusum  Sac Spider
      dictynidae  Dictyna sp.  Meshweb Weaver
      uloboridae  Uloborus glomosus  Feather-legged Orbweaver

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