Field Guide

Scoliid wasps are a family of beetle hunters. Large, rather hairy wasps, some are handsomely colored. The female digs in soil, finds a scarab beetle grub, and lays an egg on it.

The antlion known to science as Glenurus gratus ought to be called the pleasing antlion, but it has no formal common name.

Blister beetles in the genus Meloe are called oil beetles because of a yellowish oil they excrete from their joints when squeezed or distressed. This oil contains cantharidin, an irritating chemical that can cause blistering in many people.

The ebony jewelwing is a beautiful iridescent green or turquoise damselfly with large black wings. It flutters around streams in wooded areas.

The widow skimmer has distinctive dark wing markings that seem like mourning garb. Mature males have white areas in the center of their wings, beside the dark patches, while females and immature males lack the white patches.

The banded pennant is a small dragonfly (to about 1½ inch long) with distinctive black markings and reddish eyes.

The cobra clubtail is in the family of dragonflies called clubtails, named for the enlarged abdomen tip. There are about 100 species in this dragonfly family in North America north of Mexico.

The calico pennant is a colorful, beautifully marked dragonfly. Males have pink wing veins and females have yellow. Males have a row of bright reddish heart-shapes on the abdomen; females have yellow.

The Halloween pennant is one of the more common members of its genus. Distinctive wing markings include a complete brown band (not just a spot) positioned just short of the wing tip.

Blue dasher males and females look quite different. Both have a white face, a black abdomen tip, and slanted black and yellow stripes on the thorax. But males are blue and females are striped black and yellow.