Field Guide

Longjawed orbweavers are called stretch spiders because they rest with their legs stretched straight out in front of and behind their slender bodies. They build their circular webs horizontally, within a few feet above the surface of a stream or lake.

Tree crickets, or pale bush crickets, are a subfamily of crickets that are little seen but often heard. True to their name, instead of living on the ground, they live in trees, bushes, and tall herbaceous plants.

Tephretid fruit flies, in the family Tephritidae, are often called peacock flies for the intricately patterned, often brightly colored wings of many species.

The straight-lanced meadow katydid is common in pastures, roadsides, and crop lands. The female's swordlike ovipositor is longer than the rest of her body. The male's song is a relatively soft buzz that sometimes breaks into a series of rapid, skipping tics.

The oblong-winged katydid is one of many species in the katydid family. Although it is usually green in most places, some populations made up of pink-form individuals.

Most people recognize mantids, or mantises, when they see them, but it takes more practice to distinguish among the different species of these efficient insect predators.

The olive-green swamp grasshopper lives on pond edges and wetlands where the vegetation is thick and lush. It has rather long antennae, for a short-horned grasshopper.