Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Sternorrhyncha
Superfamily: Aphidoidea
Family: Aphididae
Genus: Aphis
Species: nerii
This article in BugGuide.net has pointers about photography.
|
This page has gotten so large that I am putting some of them into parts: Order Leptidoptera, Butterflies and Moths Order Coleoptera, Beetles Order Diptera, Flies Order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees and Wasps
| This page is for the rest of the orders: Family Acrididae Locusts and most grasshoppers Family Aphididae. Aphids. Family Cicadellidae Leafhoppers Family Coenagrionoidea Narrow winged damselflies Family Coreidae Leaffooted Bugs. Family Corixidae Water boatman Family Eriococcidae Scale insects. Family Forficulidae. Earwigs. Family Gomphidae Snaketail Dragonflies Family Gryllidae Crickets Family Lepismatidae. Silverfish. Family Lestidae Spreadwing damselflies. Family Lygaeidae. Seed bugs, Cinch bugs, etc Family Rhopalidae. Scentless plant bugs |
| These are Milkweed Aphids, also known as Oleander Aphids.
They eat only Oleander or Milkweed plants. The picture was taken on 9 August 2008 at
the Fountain Creek Nature Center, Fountain, Colorado.
Kingdom: Animalia |
|
| An Earwig. This one is the Common earwig,
also known as the European earwig.
According to Wikipedia, there are about 1,800 species in 10 families.
This picture was taken on 19 July 2009 in Colorado Springs, CO.
This one is a Forficula auricularia, quite common in Colorado.
Kingdom: Animalia
| 
|
| Another Earwig, maybe a different species from the one above.
This one was photographed on 1 July 2009, Colorado Springs, CO. There seems to be some
difference from the previous photo, but that could be due to the age of the insect and
the lighting.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| A Common Silverfish. Found in my garage 6 October 2008. About 9mm long.
These insects are found in this form in the fossil record for up to about 300 million years.
According to Wikipedia, they can live for up to a year without eating, in extreme cases.
The third picture is of another one, about 5mm in size, caught 18 January 2009 in our bathroom.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
  |
| Termites. The body is about 4mm in length, and the wings add at
least that much more. These were coming up from under my driveway in great numbers,
many hundreds, on 28 March 2009. The ones in this picture were coming out from the
gap between my driveway and the bottom of the frame around my garage door.
The temperature was 48 degrees F, but this side of the house was in the sun, so they
would have been warmer than 48.
The second picture (part of the original image) shows 3 specimens of a different form of the termite. Same species, but light in color, and no wings. One of the experts on bugguide.net/node/view/15740 said: These are definately reproductive king and queen termites. I can't I.D. which species, or family for that matter. As for the dark individuals without wings, they are quite delicate and fall off fairly easily. The three whitish colored individuals in the other image, at about mid-right, are workers I believe. Soldiers in some of the families have large jaws for defense of the colony. Some are able to exude noxious fluids in defense, while others have overly large heads to block openings in tunnels and nests.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| The first picture is of a Praying Mantis that I found
in the bottom of an old bucket.
I have no idea how long it has been dead.
There are about 2,300 species within the Mantodea order. The second picture was taken on 20 September 2009 in Colorado Springs, CO. It was about 2 inches long.
Kingdom: Animalia
|  
|
| This a Large Milkweed Bug.
The picture was taken at the Fountain Creek Nature Center south of Colorado Springs, CO on 30 July 2008.
These insects retain some of the toxic substances found in the Milkweed plant (Asclepias syriaca).
As a result, the insect itself becomes toxic, and most predators will leave them alone.
There are at least two other species of Milkweed Bugs within this Genera. The second picture tas taken at the same place on 9 August 2008, and shows a male and a female mating.
Kingdom: Animalia |  
|
| This a Small Milkweed Bug.
The picture was taken at the Fountain Creek Nature Center south of Colorado Springs, CO on 9 August 2008.
These insects retain some of the toxic substances found in the Milkweed plant (Asclepias syriaca).
As a result, the insect itself becomes toxic, and most predators will leave them alone.
The second picture is of male and female Small Milkweed Bugs, 31 Aug 2008. The third picture is of another Small Milkweed Bug, 26 November 2008 in Colorado Springs.
Kingdom: Animalia |  
|
| Western Conifer Seed Bug - Leptoglossus occidentalis,
part of the genus of Leaf-footed bugs. This one was found on 15 October 2008 in
Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The second picture was taken on 29 September 2009 in Colorado Springs. It was about 2cm in length.
Kingdom: Animalia |  
|
| This one is in the genus Catorhintha, one of the leaffooted Bugs.
Pictures taken on 22 May 2009, in El Paso Co., CO
Kingdom: Animalia |  
|
| Based on the body shape and size, this must be in the same family.
It appears to be a Catorhintha guttula, based on a good match to a photo in
www.BugGuide.com.
It was found in Colorado Springs, and photographed on 31 August 2009.
Length was about 1.2 cm.
Kingdom Animalia (Animals) | 
|
| This is a Cactus Coreid, Cnhelinidea vittiger, about 1.4 cm in length, found in Colorado Springs on 24 August 2009.
They eat Prickly Pear Cactus, which is plentiful in the Colorado Springs area.
Kingdom Animalia (Animals) | 
|
| A Box Elder bug, also called a Maple Bug. It is commonly found
on Maple and Ash trees. Found 31 October 2008 in Colorado Springs, near a large Maple tree.
Kingdom: Animalia |  
|
|
This is from the genus Chlorochroa.
It is probably the species Chlorochroa Sayi, Say's Stink Bug.
It was captured on 2 December 2008 in Colorado Springs, and is about 1 cm long.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| This is the nymph of a water boatman (family Corixidae).
Captured on 15 August 2008 at the Fountain Creek Nature center, in one of their ponds.
Size is about 1mm. Adults will be up to 13mm. It moves with a jerky motion.
There are about 500 known species worldwide, in 33 genera.
The picture was made with my Canon S2 IS camera in close-up mode.
the second picture is of another Water Boatman, about 4mm in length, 24 August 2008. Different markings, maybe different species?
Kingdom: Animalia |  
|
| A Field cricket. Picture taken 9 June 2008 in Colorado Springs, CO
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| This picture is not clear enough to get a positive identification,
but it is a Tree Cricket of some variety, probably a Four-spotted Tree Cricket.
The picture was taken on 15 August 2008 at the Fountain Creek Nature center, but it was raining at the time,
and the light was not good enough for a clear picture. It was on a Milkweed plant.
Kingdom: Animalia |  |
| Grasshopper.
There are about 11,000 species of grasshoppers within the Suborder Caelifera.
The first two pictures were taken on 25 August 2008 in Colorado Springs. Identification has not been made for sure, but maybe it is a Two-striped Grasshopper, a very common variety. If so, then the classification is:
Kingdom: Animalia The third picture, taken 31 August 2008 at the Fountain Creek Nature Center, is not identified yet, but it is probably also a Two-striped Grasshopper. |  
|
| This grasshopper was photographed by Alyssa Erickson in July 2009.
It seems to match the pictures of the fourth instar (next to last) nymph
of the Two-striped grasshopper above.
See http://bugguide.net/node/view/61138.
Insects such as this grasshopper start as eggs, and go through several stages separated by a molt of their outer shell. Each stage is called an instar. This grasshopper will have one more molt, to the fifth instar, then a final molt after which it is an adult Two-striped grasshopper. Notice in the picture that the wings are very small. With each instar, it will develop more characteristics of the adult grasshopper. | 
|
| This is probably also an early instar of the Two-striped grasshopper. It was found on 23 July 2009 on a Sunflower plant in our flower garden. I see no sign of any wings in the photo, but there are two dark spots where the wings will appear during later stages. | 
|
| Maybe this is a grasshopper in the genus Schistocerca. There are about
50 species. It was found in Colorado Springs, CO on 19 July 2009. It is 5 cm long,
and it makes a lot of noise when it flies.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| These are European Elm Scales, Gossyparia spuria.
These are females; the males are much smaller, like gnats, and are rarely seen.
They were found on the base of a young Elm tree on 12 July 2008 in Colorado Springs.
The identification was made by experts on
bugguide.net/node/view/15740.
That part of the Elm tree had been under a board, next to the ground, and that
is what these insects prefer. They are small, about 2 mm.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| This is a Green Lacewing, found on 28 June 2009 on the back wall of my
house, near a light which is on 24/7. There is much confusion and disagreement about
the classification of these, and many species.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| This is an Antlion. At first, I thought it must be a dragonfly, but
the antenna and the way it can lay it's wings back makes me think it is not a dragonfly.
The experts on bugguide.net/node/view/15740
identified it for me.
Found 1 August 2009 in Colorado Springs. Length 1 1/8 inches.
Kingdom: Animalia |   
|
| A Dragonfly, found on 13 August 2009 at the Fountain Creek Nature Center.
This is a Pale Snaketail, Ophiogomphus severus.
The identification was made by use of the web site for
dragonflies and damselflies at
www.odonatacentral.org/index.php/PageAction.get/name/HomePage , and by looking through the photos of the
32 distinct species that are found in El Paso County, Colorado. This
picture matched the Pale Snaketail.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| A Damselfly, picture taken at Pueblo lake in 2007 by Alyssa Erickson.
The damselfly is not the same thing as a dragonfly. There are 39 different
species within the genus Enallagma (Bluet), and this one is a Neotropical Bluet.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| This one is another Neoptropical Bluet, found at the Fountain Creek Nature Center on 22 August 2009. It appears to be identical to the one in the photo above. | 
|
| Another Damselfly, this one a female Great Spreadwing, Archilestes grandis.
She is resting on one of our Gladiola plants.
The identification was provided by the experts at
bugguide.net/node/view/1574.
Picture taken on 13 September 2008 in Colorado Springs, CO.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| This one hitched a ride with me in my car on 20 September 2009 in Colorado Springs.
It is a Common Spreadwing - Lestes australis. It is a male.
Kingdom: Animalia | 
|
| This is some version of a Leafhopper. It is small, less than 4mm. It jumped quickly
and at large distance like a flea. I kept it in the refrigerator for a while, but
it was so small it warmed up quickly, and it jumped somewhere after one quick
and blurry picture. There were several of them on my Sunflowers on 23 July 2009.
Kingdom Animalia (Animals) | 
|
| This is the larva stage of some insect, but I have no idea what.
Identification will be pending. The people who are good at identifying these
things usually put them into terrariums, and see what mature insect develops.
I caught this one on my front driveway on 31 May 2009, where it was being attacked by three pavement ants. | 
|
