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  ABC > Home > THE FAUNA PROJECT > Survey February 13, 2014


The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Fauna Project

Four volunteers participated in this week's survey. The temperature was around freezing at dawn but quickly rose to a comfortable level under sunny skies. Midges resemble mosquitoes in size and body shape, and both are members of the diptera, or true flies. Besides not biting, midges may be distinguished from mosquitoes by they way they hold their legs: midges hold FRONT legs up and forward, while many mosquitoes hold their BACK legs in the opposite direction.

Select Photos and Complete List of Sightings:


Acanthocephala declivis (coreid bug)
photo by Val Bugh


Lygus lineolaris (tarnished plant bug)
photo by Val Bugh


Amblytropidia mysteca (brown winter grasshopper)
photo by Val Bugh


Eritettix abortivus (Texas short-winged slantfaced grasshopper)
photo by Val Bugh


Paratettix mexicanus (pygmy grasshopper)
photo by Val Bugh


Apis mellifera (honey bees flying to nest)
photo by Val Bugh


Polistes dorsalis (paper wasp)
photo by Val Bugh


Diabrotica undecimpunctata (spotted cucumber beetle)
photo by Val Bugh


Unknown sp. (root maggot fly)
photo by Val Bugh


Unknown sp. (midge)
photo by Val Bugh


Ethmia semilugens (ethmia moth)
photo by Val Bugh


Iridopsis defectaria (brown-shaded gray)
photo by Val Bugh


Paleacrita vernata (spring cankerworm moth, male)
photo by Val Bugh


Euptoieta claudia (variegated fritillary larva)
photo by Val Bugh


Unknown sp. (ground spider)
photo by Val Bugh


Thryomanes bewickii (Bewick's wren)
photo by Barbara Ribble


Mimus polyglottos (northern mockingbird)
photo by Harriett Wolf

  • Birds:
    Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
    Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)
    Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus)
    Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
    Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)
    Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
    House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
    Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris)
    Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)
    Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
    Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
    Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
    Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)
    Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
    Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)
    Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
    Western Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica)

  • Insects & Spiders:
    orderfamilygenus/speciescommon name

    lepidoptera  nymphalidae  Euptoieta claudia  Variegated Fritillary (larva)
      hesperiidae  Pyrgus sp.  Checkered-skipper
      geometridae  Iridopsis defectaria  Brown-shaded Gray
        Costaconvexa centrostrigaria  Bent-line Carpet
        Paleacrita vernata  Spring Cankerworm Moth
        Pimaphera percata  Moth
      elachistidae  Ethmia semilugens  Ethmia Moth

    coleoptera  chrysomelidae  Diabrotica undecimpunctata  Spotted Cucumber Beetle

    hemiptera  coreidae  Acanthocephala declivis  Coreid Bug
      miridae  Halticotoma valida  Yucca Plant Bug
        Lygus lineolaris  Tarnished Plant Bug

    homoptera  cicadellidae  Homalodisca vitripennis  Glassy-winged Sharpshooter

    hymenoptera  apidae  Apis mellifera  Honey Bee
      vespidae  Polistes dorsalis  Paper Wasp

    diptera  anthomyiidae  Unknown sp.  Root Maggot Fly
      chironomidae  Unknown sp.  Midge

    orthoptera  acrididae  Chortophaga viridifasciata  Northern Green-striped Grasshopper (nymph)
        Lactista aztecus  Aztec Bandwing
        Eritettix abortivus  Texas Short-winged Slant-faced Grasshopper
        Amblytropidia mysteca  Brown Winter Grasshopper
      tetrigidae  Paratettix mexicanus  Pygmy Grasshopper

    mantodea  mantidae  Stagmomantis carolina  Carolina Mantis (eggs)

    araneae  lycosidae  Unknown sp.  Wolf Spider
      oxyopidae  Peucetia viridans  Green Lynx (egg sac)
      gnaphosidae  Unknown sp.  Ground Spider

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  ABC > Home > THE FAUNA PROJECT > Survey February 13, 2014