Order Orthoptera: Grasshoppers & Kin Insects and Plants Short-winged Green Grasshopper Often, insects can be found on or around certain plants because of their life cycles. Here Dichromorpha viridis are a few plants at Horse Hill that support a Can be green, brown, or a high diversity of insect species. mix. Found in fields. Milkweed Fork-tailed Bush Katydid Clusters of pink flowers, large Insects Scudderia furcata seed pods. Insects that eat this are often red/orange and black Found on deciduous trees to show they are poisonous. and shrubs. Their call can be heard day and night. Goldenrod

Various types found in fields Order Diptera: Flies and forests. Attracts many types of pollinators and predators. Hover Fly Blackberry Toxomerus geminatus Thorny brambles. Insects use the The larva of this harmless leaves, stems, and fruit for food bee-mimic is a predator of and also for shelter. aphids, helping gardeners. Jewelweed Deer Fly Also called touch-me-not for its Chrysops sp. exploding seed pods. Usually grows near poison ivy and is a of Horse Hill Nature Only females bite, males natural remedy for such. drink nectar. The larvae are aquatic. Most common in July. Why be interested in insects? Preserve Class Arachnida: Spiders & Kin Insects dominate planet Earth in both diversity Other arthropods are also diverse, and and multitude. They come in every shape, color,

captivating in their life cycles and habits. and form, some undergoing transformations that defy imagination. The vast majority of Goldenrod Crab Spider By Molly Jacobson insects are beneficial or harmless, and all are Misumena vatia fascinating. They coevolved with plants so

Shown here with a neither can exist without the other. They honeybee as prey, these provide food for other creatures up and across spiders can change color the web of life, and are excellent indicators of to sit and wait on different flowers for insects to come environmental health. With insects, the intrigue along. never ceases!

Horse Hill Nature Preserve has an astounding Order Odonata: Dragonflies & Damselflies Order Hymenoptera: Bees, Wasps, Ants diversity of wildlife, insects among the most Slaty Skimmer Common Eastern Bumblebee abundant. Here are some common and Libellula incesta Bombus impatiens spectacular species that you’re likely to see during your visit. Guide continued on back. Large and common, the Unlike honeybees, these are blue males engage in aerial native. They fly from spring to Order Coleoptera: Beetles duels above the water. fall and nest underground.

Common Whitetail Metallic Green Bee Red-necked Cane Borer

Plathemis lydia Agapostemon sp. Agrilus ruficollis Males have bright white These small bees are These tiny but noticeable tails, and often perch on solitary and can be seen on beetles feed on blackberry, rocks and logs. a variety of flowers. the larvae causing galls

(growths) on the stem. Eastern Pondhawk European Paper Wasp Whirligig Erythemis simplicicollis Polistes dominula

Dineutus sp. Females are brilliant green, An introduced species, it is A gregarious insect known males powdery blue. very common and is often for its circular patterns of Perches on vegetation. mistaken for a yellowjacket. swimming on the water’s surface. Bluet Order Hemiptera: True Bugs & Kin Six-spotted Tiger Beetle Enallagma sp. Water Skimmer Cicindela sexguttata A genus of blue damselflies Gerris sp. found close to the water.

Among the fastest insect runners, they hunt along Using surface tension to sunlit paths in the woods. their advantage, they hunt Order Lepidoptera: Butterflies & Moths by skating atop the water. Black Firefly Tiger Swallowtail

Stilt Bug Lucidota atra Papilio glaucus or canadensis Jalysus sp.

This species does not Two similar, large species glow, and is active during that fly at woodland edges. Common in weedy fields, the daytime in forests. Caterpillars eat magnolia and they drink plant juices. Can cherry. be seen on nightshade. Mottled Tortoise Beetle Monarch Northern Flatid Planthopper Deloyala guttata Danaus plexippus Anormenis chloris Their wing case covers Caterpillars eat milkweed, Covered in a cottony wax, their body like a shell. They making them poisonous. In eat morning-glory. fall they migrate to forests they drink sap from woody in Mexico to hibernate. shrubs like jewelweed.