Grassland-specialist
Guides
Aethodelphax
Aethodelphax is a genus of planthoppers in the family Delphacidae, established in 2011 to accommodate eight North American species previously classified in Delphacodes. The genus includes one newly described species and seven transferred species, all associated with native grassland habitats in the midwestern and southeastern United States. Species in this genus are small, delicate delphacids distinguished by specific genitalic and wing venation characters.
Efferia okanagana
Okanagan Hammertail
Efferia okanagana is a species of robber fly (family Asilidae) described in 2012 from the grasslands of southern British Columbia, Canada. It belongs to the E. arida species group and is most closely related to E. arida and E. pinali. The species has a restricted distribution centered on the Okanagan Valley and is considered potentially at risk by COSEWIC.
Hesperia comma
silver-spotted skipper, common branded skipper, Holarctic grass skipper
Hesperia comma is a skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae with a Holarctic distribution spanning Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North America. The species exhibits strong habitat specificity for warm, open calcareous grasslands with sparse short vegetation. Males are highly territorial, and the species shows sexual dimorphism with males bearing a wide black sex brand on the forewing. In the United Kingdom, it was historically rare and restricted to chalk downlands of southern England but has experienced significant population recovery through targeted conservation efforts.
Tetraopes texanus
Texas Milkweed Beetle
Tetraopes texanus is a longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae) endemic to North American grasslands, described by George Henry Horn in 1878. The species exhibits a disjunct distribution with two primary population clusters: one in Texas and Oklahoma, and another in the Black Belt Prairie of Mississippi and Alabama. Genetic studies indicate these populations diverged in the mid-Pleistocene and remain incompletely isolated. The species is a milkweed specialist, utilizing Asclepias species as host plants throughout its life cycle. Listed as Near Threatened by IUCN due to habitat loss, limited range, and increasing genetic isolation among fragmented populations.