Field Guide

The marbled orbweaver is sometimes called the “pumpkin spider” because its rounded abdomen is sometimes bright orange. The color and markings can vary greatly.

The spiny assassin bug is one of nearly 200 species of assassin bugs in North America. It walks, hops, and flies to capture its insect prey.

Red-headed ash borers resemble wasps, but they are harmless to people. The colors and markings are distinctive. Their larvae feed on a variety of dead or dying hardwoods, helping the decomposition process and enriching the soil.

Plant bugs, or mirids, are a huge family of true bugs. They are often overlooked — except by gardeners and farmers. Most mirids eat plants, and some are agricultural pests. As a group, they’re an important food source for birds and other insectivores.

Rove beetles usually have very short wing covers, so several of their hind abdominal segments are exposed. Typically fast movers, they often flip up their abdomen tips when frightened. This is a huge family of beetles.

Fungus weevils are a family of beetles that differ from other weevils by their broad, flat bills and clubbed, but not elbowed, antennae. It's a diverse group, but many do feed on bracket mushrooms and other fungi.

Members of the pygmy grasshopper family are small and have a distinctively elongated pronotum — this plate, which only covers the shoulders of most other grasshoppers, extends back to cover the abdomen in this family. Most live along streams and in other wet habitats.

Darkling beetles are a very large family of beetles. Most are dull black or brown, crawl on the ground, and are scavengers. Many of them resemble what you might call a “base-model” beetle.

Cockroaches well-known: they are flattened, small, brown or black, often shiny insects that can hide in tight crevices and lack specialized appendages. Recently, termites have been included in their order.