Common Insects (Orders Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Phasmatodea, Blattaria, Mantodea, Isoptera, and Neuroptera) in the Wichita Mountains and Surrounding Areas
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Common Insects (Orders Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Phasmatodea, Blattaria, Mantodea, Isoptera, and Neuroptera) in the Wichita Mountains and Surrounding Areas Angel Chiri, Entomologist caught using a long labium armed with opposing Order Ephemeroptera (mayflies) sharp teeth. The labium is kept folded under the head and can be extended and retracted rapidly. Mayflies are pale, delicate-looking insects, with The adults have a long, thin, cylindrical, large protruding eyes, a long forked tail, and abdomen; two pairs of long, membranous wings transparent membranous wings with multiple with numerous veins and cross-veins; large veins (Fig. 1). At the rest, the wings are kept compound eyes, and sharp biting mouthparts. folded together on a vertical position. Mayflies These insects feed on small flying insects that undergo an incomplete metamorphosis. The they capture on the wing and are often seen larvae (naiads) are aquatic and live one or two flying or perching on vegetation from spring years in pools, lakes, and other fresh water through early fall. Body color and wing habitats, feeding mostly on algae and detritus. pigmentation patterns are helpful for identifying The naiads are a major food source for fish and some species, although these may be different in predaceous aquatic insects. The adults live one males and females of the same species. or two days, do not feed, and are preyed upon by Dragonflies are larger than damselflies, their birds, spiders, and insects. There are about 600 large compound eyes meet at the center of the species described in the U.S. and Canada. head, and at rest keep their wings spread out. Damselflies are much smaller and delicate- looking, their compound eyes are widely separated, and at rest they keep their wings together and folded over the abdomen. A few representative species are shown below. All photos in this guide were taken by the author using a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS camera. Dragonflies Widow skimmers, Libellula luctuosa, are among the most common dragonflies in the area. In males and females a dark brown patch covers Figure 1. An unidentified mayfly the basal half of front and hind wings. In mature males the abdomen and part of the outer portion Order Odonata (dragonflies, damselflies) of the wings are covered with light blue waxy scales (Fig. 2). Immature males and females The Wichita Mountains lakes and pools are lack the pale blue scales on the abdomen, but the home to a wide diversity of dragonflies sides of the abdomen and top of the thorax are (suborder Anisoptera) and damselflies (suborder dark yellow. A longitudinal stripe runs along Zygoptera). These insects have an incomplete the dorsal surface of the abdomen. (Fig. 3) metamorphosis. The nymphs or naiads are aquatic and predaceous, feeding on other aquatic insect larvae, tadpoles, and small fish. Prey is 1 Females have two narrow dark bands on each wing, and their abdomen lacks the bluish scales found in mature males (Fig 5). Fig. 2 Widow skimmer, Libellula luctuosa, male Fig. 5 Whitetail skimmer female, Plathemis lydia The eastern pondhawk, Erythemis simplicicollis, is one of the most colorful dragonflies in this area and is often be seen perching on vegetation around lakes. In females and young males the thorax and base of the abdomen are bright green, while the rest of the abdomen has black bands (Fig. 6). The thorax and abdomen of mature males are pale powdery blue. The wings in both sexes lack markings. Fig. 3 Widow skimmer female or immature male The whitetail skimmer, Plathemis lydia, is often seen resting on vegetation or on the ground. Males have a dark central band on the wings and bluish waxy scales cover the abdomen of mature males (Fig. 4), but are absent in immature males. Fig. 6 Eastern pondhawk female or immature male The eastern amberwing, Perithemis tenera is a small and rather robust dragonfly. The abdomen is brownish, relatively short, widest at its mid- point, and with a thin white band where the segments meet (Fig. 7). Fig. 4 Adult whitetail skimmer male, Plathemis lydia 2 Fig. 7 Eastern amberwing, Perithemis tenera Fig. 9 Familiar bluet Damselflies Order Phasmatodea (walking sticks) Family Heteronemiidae Two common damselflies are the blue-fronted dancer, Argia apicalis (Fig. 8) and the familiar Walking sticks are thin, elongate, wingless, and bluet, Enallagma civile (Fig. 9). Although there resemble twigs. Most are pale green or tan, is some color variation, in blue-fronted dancer walk slowly, and blend perfectly with the plants males the head, thorax, and last abdominal where they live. Their cryptic form and color segment are usually blue. Females are mostly explains why they are seldom seen even though brown or greyish-brown. Familiar bluet males they are relatively common. Walking sticks are light blue, with three black stripes along the have chewing mouthparts, feed on leaves, and thorax and six black bands or patches on the undergo a gradual metamorphosis. The young abdomen. In females the color is variable, and nymphs look like miniature adults. can be blue, tan, or olive. Diapheromera sp. (Fig. 10) is one species found in our area. The adults are 2½ - 3 inches long. Of 29 species recorded in the U.S. most are restricted to the southern states. Fig. 8 Blue fronted dancer Fig. 10 Walkingstick, Diapheromera sp. 3 Order Blattaria (=Blattodea) abdomen is long and thin in males, but broader Family Blatellidae and heavier in females. A mantid can rotate its Wood cockroach, Parcoblatta pennsylvanica. flexible head nearly 180º left or right and scan its immediate surroundings without moving its This native cockroach is found in accumulated body. Mantids can run using the middle and decaying plants, under pieces of bark, in hind legs. The adults have wings, and most compost mounds, and similar habitats that can species can fly. Mantids prey on insects and provide food, shelter, and a high degree of spiders within reach, seizing them with a swift moisture, all necessary for its survival. Wood thrust of their raptorial legs. Mantids undergo a cockroaches contribute to the breakdown of simple, gradual metamorphosis. Although dead plant material and the return of nutrients to mantids are predominantly tropical insects, some the soil. 20 species are found in the U.S., including several introduced species. Carolina Mantis, Stagmomantis carolina Fig. 11 Wood cockroach females, one with an ootheca Adult males are about 1 inch long and are good fliers. In urban areas males may fly into houses Figure 12 Carolina mantis, female and may be confused with the smaller German cockroach, Blattella germanica, which they The Carolina mantis is a widely distributed superficially resemble. Females are ½ - ¾ inch native species and fairly common in our area. It long, lack well-developed wings, but have a pair is green or grayish-brown and 2 - 2 ½ inches in of short wing pads (Fig. 11). Cockroaches length. Females have short wings that partially undergo a gradual metamorphosis, and nymphs cover the broad and bulky abdomen, leaving look like small wingless adults. Females are three or four segments exposed (Figs. 12 - 13). often seen with an ootheca protruding from the Males are slender, with wings that entirely cover tip of the abdomen (Fig. 11). The ootheca is a their long, thin abdomen (Fig. 14). These sclerotized capsule that contains up to 32 eggs, mantids have a single generation per year in this each. Once it is fully formed it is dropped by area. In fall the female deposits an egg mass the female in the appropriate moist habitat that mixed with a foamy material on stems, twigs, or will provide food and shelter for the nymphs. any available vertical surface. The foam hardens shortly after, encasing and protecting Order Mantodea (praying mantises) the eggs. This type of egg capsule is also known Family Mantidae (mantids, mantis) as ootheca, and a female may deposit several of them per year. Mantids overwinter as eggs Praying mantises have a small triangular head, inside the protective ootheca, and the nymphs large compound eyes, a long and thin thorax, emerge the following spring. and strong raptorial front legs armed with a row of sharp spines designed for grasping. The 4 and chewed wood that protects them from predators and dehydration. This species is responsible for most house infestations, but also plays a major role in the degradation and recycling of wood in the ecosystem. Termites undergo a gradual metamorphosis. Their colonies consist of a queen and queen, workers, soldiers with enlarged heads and long mandibles, and winged reproductive individuals that swarm once a year, in early spring, to mate and start new colonies. Figure 13. Carolina mantis, female Figure 15. Eastern subterranean termite workers /// Figure 14. Carolina mantis, male Order Neuroptera Order Isoptera (termites) This order includes insects such as alderflies, Family Rhinotermitidae dobsonflies, snakeflies, lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and owlflies, some of which are rather Termites are small, pale, soft-bodied social uncommon. These insects have four wings of insects that feed on wood cellulose that is equal size, usually longer than the abdomen, and broken down to simple sugars in the gut by crisscrossed by a network of veins and symbiotic protozoa and bacteria. The eastern crossveins. Most of them are weak fliers. The subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes compound eyes are large and the mouthparts are (Fig. 15) is commonly found under logs, designed for chewing. Neuropterans undergo a branches, and other dead wood resting on moist full metamorphosis. The larvae are rather soil. It is present in the Wichita Mountains and flattened, quite different in shape from the just about anywhere in the state. It is also the adults, and some of them are aquatic. Most most common and widespread subterranean larvae and some adults are predaceous.