DAMSELFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA Damselflies of North America Order Odonata / Suborder ZygopteraLive adult damselflies photographed in the wild at DuPage County, Illinois, USA. Damselflies complete a life cycle in one or two years. The adults mate over the shallow water, sometimes in flight but often while clinging to the exposed portions of weed beds or shoreline vegetation.

Immediately

ROYALTY CRABAPPLE

The Royalty Crabapple is an outstanding ornamental with single, dark red blossoms in spring that produce large, dark red fruit in the fall. The new foliage is a glossy rich purple with a green undercast, turning purple-green in mid-summer and brilliant purple in the fall. This very hardy, blight resistant crabapple has outstanding foliage

with

LANCELOT CRABAPPLE

Lancelot Crabapple is a compact, upright crabapple covered with snowy-white blooms in spring and crisp green foliage throughout summer.Fall shows gold foliage giving way to a golden veil of fruit, which persists well into the new year. This is an excellent crabapple

for small areas .

ORD - THE HISTORY OF ORCHARD PLACE - DOUGLAS FIELD - NORTH I grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois. during the 1950s and 60s, and I am intimately acquainted with the evolution of Orchard Place / Douglas Field into the world's busiest airport, O'Hare Field – ORD.. It was a simpler time. In the late 60s it was possible to drive into the airport interior by way of the access road at the southern terminus of Mt. Prospect Road – there was only one "guard

AMES JUNIPER

Ames Juniper – Juniperus chinensis 'Ames'Family CupressaceaeAn intermediate sized, dense ornamental evergreen which prefers full sun and well-drained soil Custom Search Ames juniper is an intermediate sized, dense ornamental evergreen which prefers full sun and well-drained soil. Drought and wind resistant, it is also salt-tolerant. It is used in the landscape as a specimen, screen, SUGAR TYME CRABAPPLE Sugar Tyme Crabapple , from planting, is 25 years old Sugar Tyme® Crabapple grows to about 10 feet, with a wide-spreading form. Pink buds open to huge, blindingly-snow-white blossoms, followed by glossy red, winter-persistent apples. Most growers claim this variety grows to 18 feet, but I think these photos shed more light on Sugar

Tyme

OAKLEAF MOUNTAIN-ASH Oakleaf mountain-ash takes its common name from its leaf resemblance to those of the oaks ().The synonym "quercifolia' also reflects this superficial similarity. The mountain ash and related species (most often the European Mountian ash, Sorbus aucuparia) are sometimes referred to in folklore as "Rowan" trees, but this use has almost disappeared from the modern lexicon. PENNSYLVANIA HAWTHORN Pennsylvania hawthorn, also called Tatnall's hawthorn, is native in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, and is cultivated elsewhere.This species does not have the objectionable thorns of the more well-known Cockspur (Crataegus crus-galli).White flowers bloom in early summer are said to have a disgusting smell of rotten fish (I'll check this out next time) followed by rather SUGARBERRY - CELTIS LAEVIGATA - NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS Sugarberry – Celtis laevigataFamily Ulmaceae – Zelkova, Hackberry, ElmAlso called sugar hackberry, Texas sugarberry, lowland hackberry, or palo blanco (white hair). Custom Search This huge sugarberry tree at the Morton Arboretum is 72 years old. Sugarberry is a native deciduous tree growing to 60 to 100 feet . Mature trees are

typically 18 inches

ORMISTON ROY CRABAPPLE Malus 'Ormiston Roy'- Ormiston Roy Crabapple, from a planting, is 25 years old. These pictures speak for themselves. This 25-year-old specimen at the Morton Arboretum red buds opening to white blossoms (sorry I missed the best his time) and dark green foliage. I think the stature of this specimen belies the "20-25 foot" mature height given

by

DAMSELFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA Damselflies of North America Order Odonata / Suborder ZygopteraLive adult damselflies photographed in the wild at DuPage County, Illinois, USA. Damselflies complete a life cycle in one or two years. The adults mate over the shallow water, sometimes in flight but often while clinging to the exposed portions of weed beds or shoreline vegetation.

Immediately

ROYALTY CRABAPPLE

The Royalty Crabapple is an outstanding ornamental with single, dark red blossoms in spring that produce large, dark red fruit in the fall. The new foliage is a glossy rich purple with a green undercast, turning purple-green in mid-summer and brilliant purple in the fall. This very hardy, blight resistant crabapple has outstanding foliage

with

LANCELOT CRABAPPLE

Lancelot Crabapple is a compact, upright crabapple covered with snowy-white blooms in spring and crisp green foliage throughout summer.Fall shows gold foliage giving way to a golden veil of fruit, which persists well into the new year. This is an excellent crabapple

for small areas .

ORD - THE HISTORY OF ORCHARD PLACE - DOUGLAS FIELD - NORTH I grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois. during the 1950s and 60s, and I am intimately acquainted with the evolution of Orchard Place / Douglas Field into the world's busiest airport, O'Hare Field – ORD.. It was a simpler time. In the late 60s it was possible to drive into the airport interior by way of the access road at the southern terminus of Mt. Prospect Road – there was only one "guard

AMES JUNIPER

Ames Juniper – Juniperus chinensis 'Ames'Family CupressaceaeAn intermediate sized, dense ornamental evergreen which prefers full sun and well-drained soil Custom Search Ames juniper is an intermediate sized, dense ornamental evergreen which prefers full sun and well-drained soil. Drought and wind resistant, it is also salt-tolerant. It is used in the landscape as a specimen, screen, SUGAR TYME CRABAPPLE Sugar Tyme Crabapple , from planting, is 25 years old Sugar Tyme® Crabapple grows to about 10 feet, with a wide-spreading form. Pink buds open to huge, blindingly-snow-white blossoms, followed by glossy red, winter-persistent apples. Most growers claim this variety grows to 18 feet, but I think these photos shed more light on Sugar

Tyme

OAKLEAF MOUNTAIN-ASH Oakleaf mountain-ash takes its common name from its leaf resemblance to those of the oaks ().The synonym "quercifolia' also reflects this superficial similarity. The mountain ash and related species (most often the European Mountian ash, Sorbus aucuparia) are sometimes referred to in folklore as "Rowan" trees, but this use has almost disappeared from the modern lexicon. PENNSYLVANIA HAWTHORN Pennsylvania hawthorn, also called Tatnall's hawthorn, is native in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, and is cultivated elsewhere.This species does not have the objectionable thorns of the more well-known Cockspur (Crataegus crus-galli).White flowers bloom in early summer are said to have a disgusting smell of rotten fish (I'll check this out next time) followed by rather SUGARBERRY - CELTIS LAEVIGATA - NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS Sugarberry – Celtis laevigataFamily Ulmaceae – Zelkova, Hackberry, ElmAlso called sugar hackberry, Texas sugarberry, lowland hackberry, or palo blanco (white hair). Custom Search This huge sugarberry tree at the Morton Arboretum is 72 years old. Sugarberry is a native deciduous tree growing to 60 to 100 feet . Mature trees are

typically 18 inches

ORMISTON ROY CRABAPPLE Malus 'Ormiston Roy'- Ormiston Roy Crabapple, from a planting, is 25 years old. These pictures speak for themselves. This 25-year-old specimen at the Morton Arboretum red buds opening to white blossoms (sorry I missed the best his time) and dark green foliage. I think the stature of this specimen belies the "20-25 foot" mature height given

by

ORD - THE HISTORY OF ORCHARD PLACE - DOUGLAS FIELD - NORTH I grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois. during the 1950s and 60s, and I am intimately acquainted with the evolution of Orchard Place / Douglas Field into the world's busiest airport, O'Hare Field – ORD.. It was a simpler time. In the late 60s it was possible to drive into the airport interior by way of the access road at the southern terminus of Mt. Prospect Road – there was only one "guard JAPANESE FLOWERING CRABAPPLE Japanese Flowering Crabapple. Crabapples thrive in full sun and grow best in well drained, slightly acidic soils (pH 5.5-6.5); however, they will grow well in many soil types. Most crabapple selections tolerate the (used to be) cold winters and hot summers prevalent in the American Midwest. There are about 55 different species in the

genus

ACCOLADE ELM

Accolade Elm is a cross of Japanese and Chinese species selected their vase shape, vigorous growth, excellent drought tolerance and good strong yellow fall color. It has excellent disease resistance to both Elm Yellows and to the dreaded Dutch Elm Disease. Mayor Daley of Chicago chose Accolade to bring elms back to Chicago’s Grant Park in

2002.

RED JEWEL CRABAPPLE

Red Jewel Crabapple. boasts an abundance of persistent red fruit that hang around nearly all winter.. They are replaced by a profusion of snow-white flowers. Grows to 15 feet tall with an upright, spreading form. Moderately resistant to fireblight, good resistence to cedar-apple rust, scab, and mildew.

DAVID CRABAPPLE

David Crabapple thrives in full sun and grows best in well drained, slightly acidic soils (pH 5.5-6.5); however, they will grow well in many soil types. Delicate pink buds give way to showy white, fragrant flowers. Its small stature and compact form makes David crab an attractive specimen planting for small areas, as well as accent plant groupings in large lawns.

SENTINEL CRABAPPLE

Sentinel crab has an outstanding, upright vase shape, "upstanding like a sentinel." Opening from pink buds, Sentinel crabapple's snow-white flowers are a spring highlight. The tree's lovely, upright vase-shaped crown make this an outstanding ornamental for smaller spaces. Sentinel is susceptible to fire blight and apple-scab but good resitence

PROFUSION CRABAPPLE

Profusion crabapple offers a stunning profusion of scarlet-burgundy flowers, deep red, winter-persistent fruit and disease resistance. Its relatively small stature makes for a nice multiple specimen plantings as evidenced by The Morton Arboretum's 25-year-old triptych. There are about 55 different species in the genus Malus, and there are SUGARBERRY - CELTIS LAEVIGATA - NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS Sugarberry – Celtis laevigataFamily Ulmaceae – Zelkova, Hackberry, ElmAlso called sugar hackberry, Texas sugarberry, lowland hackberry, or palo blanco (white hair). Custom Search This huge sugarberry tree at the Morton Arboretum is 72 years old. Sugarberry is a native deciduous tree growing to 60 to 100 feet . Mature trees are

typically 18 inches

ROBINSON CRABAPPLE

Robinson crabapple grows 25 feet tall and 25 wide. It has an up / spreading form, with crimson buds and pink flowers. Apples are winter persistent, dark red. Crabapples (Malus) are the most stunning of spring flowering trees for Midwest landscapes and are a great choice for the home garden. Many of them are small in stature and can

maintain

MILDEW-EATING LADY BEETLE Order Coleoptera: Beetles are the dominant form of life on earth: one of every five living species is a beetle. Coleoptera is the largest order in the animal kingdom, containing a third of all insect species. There are about 400,000 known species worldwide, ~30,000 of which live

in North America.

Custom Search

* Insects

* Bees & Wasps

* Aculeata – Bees, Ants, & Stinging Wasps

* Bald-Faced Hornet

* Ground Hornet

* Family Apidae – Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble & Honey Bees * Family Formicidae – Ants * Family Halictidae – Halictid Bees * Family Sphecidae – Thread-Waisted Wasps, Mud Daubers * Parasitica – Parasitic Apocrita * Superfamily Evanioidea – Aulacids, Ensigns, and Gasteruptids * Superfamily Ichneumonoidea – Braconids & Ichneumons * Giant Ichneumon Wasp Megarhyssa * Symphyta – Sawflies, Horntails, & Wood Wasps

* Beetles

* Cantharidae – Soldiers * Carabidae – Ground & Tiger * Cerambycidae – Longhorns * Red Milkweed Beetle * Chrysomelidae – Leaf Beetles * Curculionidae – Weevils * Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil * Elateridae – Click Beetles * Meloidae – Blister Beetles * Scarabaeidae – Scarab Beetles

* Gray Garden Slug

* Green Lacewing

* Harvestman

* Isopoda: Sow & Pill Bugs * Millipedes and Centipedes

* Bugs

* Auchenorrhyncha – Cicadas, hoppers & allies * Sternorrhyncha – Aphids, Scales, Mealybugs * Miridae – Plant Bugs

* Box Elder Bug

* Large Milkweed Bug

* Leaf-Footed Bugs

* Pentatomidae – Stink Bugs * Phymatidae – Ambush Bugs

* Butterflies

* Skipper Butterflies * Lycaenidae – Blues, Coppers, & Hairstreaks * Nymphalidae – Brush-Foots * American Snout Butterfly

* Question Mark

* Red Admiral Butterfly * Papilionidae – Swallowtails * Pieridae – Whites, Sulphurs, and Yellows

* Dragonflies

* Calico Pennant

* Eastern Pondhawk

* Green Darner

* Flies

* Bee Flies

* Bee fly Bombylius major

* Robber Flies

* Syrphid Flies

* Tachinid Flies

* Orthoptera

* Mantis

* Moths

* American Dagger Moth * Woolly Bear Caterpillar * Ailanthus Webworm Moth * Superfamily Pyraloidea – Pyralid and Snout Moths

* Beet Webworm Moth

* Subfamily Arctiinae – Tiger and Lichen Moths

* Spiders

* Barn Funnel Weaver

* Cobweb

* Black Widow Spider * Cobweb Spider E. ovata

* Crab Spiders

* Northern Crab Spider

* Jumping Spiders

* Bold Jumping Spider * Jumping Spider P. undatus

* Lynx Spiders

* Green Lynx Spider

* Lynx Spider – O. salticus

* Nursery Web

* Orb Weaver Spiders * Arabesque Orbweaver * Banded Garden Spider * Black and Yellow Garden Spider

* Cat-Faced Spider

* Cross Spider

* Furrow Orb Weaver

* Humpback Orb Weaver * Marbled Orbweaver Spider * Spined Micrathena Spider * Venusta Orchard Orbweaver * Vibrating / Cellar

* Wolf Spiders

* Pirate Wolf Spider

* Chicago

* Cloud Gate Sculpture

* Picasso Sculpture

* Tree Encyclopedia

* Aceraceae – Maples * Betulaceae – Alder, Birch & Hornbeam * Cupressaceae – Redwood, Cypress, Arborvitae, Juniper * Fabaceae – Legumes

* Redbud

* Sunburst honey locust * Fagaceae – Beech, Chinkapin and Oak

* Ginkgo Biloba

* Hamamelidaceae – Witch Hazel, Sweet gum, Ironwood * Hippocastanaceae – Horse-Chestnuts & Buckeyes * Juglandaceae – Walnut, Hickory, Pecan

* Shagbark Hickory

* Magnoliaceae – Magnolia, Tuliptree * Oleaceae – Olive, Ash, Lilac

* Pinaceae

* Rosaceae – Rose Family; Fruit Trees * American Mountain Ash * Salicaceae – Willow, Cottonwood, Aspen * Eastern Cottonwood * Golden Weeping Willow * Tiliaceae – Basswood, Linden, Lime * Ulmaceae – Zelkova, Hackberry, Elm

* Hackberry

* Contact

SPIDERS are the largest group of arachnids. They are easily recognized by their eight legs, and there are few creatures great or small that elicit such irrational fear in mankind. The vast majority of spiders are completely harmless. SPIDER

INDEX

HYMENOPTERA: BEES, WASPS, & ANTS belong to this large order, which also includes sawflies. Most species are solitary, but some, such as the domestic honeybee , exhibit a complex social structure in which exist sterile female workers and fertile male and

female royalty.

Hymenoptera (Latin for “membrane wing”) is a vast assemblage of insects second only to Coleoptera (beetles) in the number of described species. Hymenoptera number some 115,000 species vs. 450,000 in Coleoptera. 18,000 of these species call North America home. Hymenopterans inhabit a wide variety of habitats, and show an incredible diversity in size, behavior, structure and color. The social colonies formed by bees and ants are among the most complex societies on earth, which may contain millions of individual insects; all programmed with a simple ruleset that describes their every motion through every stage of their lives. Leaderless. Commanded and guided with pheromones and other communicative chemicals generated by her peers and her queen, these little suckers are indeed masters of their environment. They practice sustainable agriculture and only use renewable resources – and have for millions of years. Humans, take

note!

Most hymenopterans are happiest (I hope such creatures are capable of feeling well-being) and most active on warm, sunny days, but there are those on the dark side; nocturnal or crepuscular. All adults have chewing mouthparts; bees and some wasps have modified tongue-like structures for drinking liquid nectar. Winged species have four membranous wings which can be hooked together in pairs during flight. This arrangement allows then to fold their wings while at rest, and provides a larger, more efficient wing structure while in the air. COLEOPTERA: BEETLES are the dominant form of life on earth: one of every five living species is a beetle. Coleoptera is the largest order in the animal kingdom. There are about 450,000 species of beetles, 30,000 of which live in North

America.

Aristotle described beetles as “insects with wing cases” = Coleoptera, from Greek koleon, “sheath”, and pteron, “wing.” Beetles live in nearly every habitat, and for every kind of food, there’s probably a beetle species that eats it. Beetles first appeared during the lower Permian period, about 270 million years ago. Along with butterflies, bees, flies, moths and some other invertebrates, beetles have the most complex form of metamorphosis, called complete metamorphosis, or holometabolous development, which includes four distinct phases: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Eggs develop in the female beetle’s ovaries, and are laid in a protected place with conditions suitable for the development of the larvae, including a ready food supply. Eggs are laid singly or in masses; hatching occurs within several days.  BEETLES INDEX LEPIDOPTERA: BUTTERFLIES are revered for their brightly colored wings and pleasing association with fair weather and flowers. Lepidoptera comprises at least 125,000 known species including 12,000 in America north of Mexico. Learn to identify many of North America’s common species through large format pictures and natural history. -BUTTERFLY INDEX-

SKIPPER BUTTERFLIES

might be one family that come as a surprise to many people. These speedy, feisty creatures will have you cheering for more! LEPIDOPTERA: MOTHS . Unlike the butterflies, moths are usually nocturnal. Many moths and their caterpillars are major agricultural pests in large parts of the world, e.g. moths in the family Tineidae are commonly regarded as pests because their larvae eat fabrics, clothes and blankets made from natural fibers such as wool or silk; moths in the genus _Farinalis_ feed on stored grain, flour, corn meal and other milled grain products.  -MOTHS INDEX- DIPTERA: FLIES are prevalent in virtually all habitats, with over 16,000 species in North America. Flies are distinguished from all other insects in that they only have one pair of normal wings.  Mouthparts are adapted for piercing, lapping and sucking fluids (often blood).  Perhaps the world’s most-famous fly, the mosquito, kills more humans than any other invertebrate disease vector. FLIES INDEX ORTHOPTERA: GRASSHOPPERS, KATYDIDS AND CRICKETS have long, powerfully muscled hind legs that they use for jumping, large, flat-sided heads with big compound eyes and large chewing mouthparts.  Grasshopper and cricket males are known for their musical sounds made when they rub together roughened portions of their wings or legs. ORTHOPTERA INDEX HEMIPTERA : TRUE BUGS species number almost 5,000 in North America, and 40,000 worldwide. Hemiptera was first recognized by Linnaeus by dint of its possession of distinctive mouthparts, in which the maxillae are modified into a pair of concentric tubes forming salivary and food canals; the mandibles serve a cutting function when introducing the proboscis into the food source, be it flora or fauna. This feeding method requires liquid food. Saliva may serve a variety of functions including histolysis, paralysis, or anticoagulant, and passes through the salivary canal to the food source. The liquid food is then drawn into the insect gut through the action of pharyngeal and cibarial pumps (the cibarium is the primary sucking organ in mosquitoes). Bugs suck, literally. It is the introduction of the proboscis and associated chemicals (and sometimes pathogens) into the host that make the bug family so destructive to agriculture and to its animal victims. (See mosaic leaf

damage and

Chaga’s disease

.) -BUGS

INDEX-

DICTYOPTERA: MANTIDS AND COCKROACHES

. Mantids have

triangular heads with huge compound eyes, long, thin bodies, four thin legs, and prominent forelegs held in the characteristic prayerful pose.  The strong mouthparts can cut through even heavily armored heads of insects.  Both genders use their exquisite camouflage and ability to remain motionless to lie in wait and ambush unwary prey. NEUROPTERA: LACEWINGS

in this

order have many veins and cross veins in their four transparent wings. There are only 338 species in North America. The order includes lacewings, antlions, mantidflies, and spongillaflies.  Green lacewings, one common species, has large, copper-colored compound eyes and long, thin antennae (above).  Their larvae are commonly called aphid lions after their voracious appetite for aphids. EPHEMEROPTERA: MAYFLY adults survive only a few hours or at most a few days. They eat nothing, nor do they crawl or walk. They only fly and mate, sometimes in swarms so large they show up on weather radar.  The chief importance lies in their value as food for fish, dragonfly nymphs and birds. Anglers imitate the adults in dry flies, referred to as “spinners” or “duns

,” and

pattern wet flies after the nymphs. ARCHAEOGNATHA: BRISTLETAILS There are about 22 species of bristletail in 12 genera in 2 families in North America, with 350 species worldwide. In spite of their other-wordly appearance, bristletails are insects with six legs. They prefer grassy or wooded environments; under tree bark, in leaf litter and rock crevices, under rocks.  Often confused with silverfish, bristletails are not found indoors. Mecoptera – Scorpionflies Family Panorpidae: Scorpionflies, hangingflies and allies. Scorpionflies do not sting or bite. They spend most of their time in low vegetation, hunting small soft-bodied insects or scavenging on fruit, dead insects and bird droppings. Mecopterans have changed little from fossils 250 million years old, and entomologists consider now-extinct members of this order to be ancestors of modern flies, butterflies, and moths. CLASSES DIPLOPODA (MILLIPEDES) AND CHILOPODA (CENTIPEDES) Millipedes do not bite, pinch or sting, but may emit foul-smelling or irritating defensive chemicals. The house centipede can complete its life cycle indoors, as many a terrified homeowner can attest. The house centipede pictured here is considered harmless to humans or their pets. Size: Body = 25mm, overall = 7cm. Centipedes are some of the oldest terrestrial animals, and some of the very first creatures to crawl from the sea onto the land were probably very similar in appearance to modern centipedes. All centipedes are nocturnal predators which live by actively hunting down insects and other small creatures. They are found mostly in tropical forests, but have also established themselves in temperate forests, deserts, and human habitations. Commonly called “hundred-leggers”, most centipedes have between 15 and 30 pairs of legs, one pair on each body segment.

Tree Encyclopedia

Explore over 3,000 large pictures in more than 450 species, with leaves, bark and form detailed. Trees are the longest-lived and largest organisms on Earth, and have been thriving for more than 370 million years. Today, they can be found almost everywhere from the Arctic Circle to the Sahara Desert. Trees are the climax species nearly everywhere; if arable land is left fallow, it eventually becomes host to trees.  -TREES INDEX- North American Insects & Spiders is dedicated to providing scientific and educational resources for our readers through use of large images and macro photographs of flora and fauna in their natural habitat.

Custom Search

Custom Search

� © Red Planet Inc. North American Insects & Spiders

�

__