Grassland
Guides
Tibicinoides vanduzeei
Van Duzee's cicada
Tibicinoides vanduzeei, commonly known as Van Duzee's cicada, is a small cicada species measuring less than 20 mm in length. Previously classified as Okanagana vanduzeei, it was transferred to the genus Tibicinoides in 2023 based on taxonomic revision. The species is named in honor of E. P. Van Duzee, who collected the holotype specimen. It occurs across a broad range in western North America from Baja California through the western United States to British Columbia.
Trigonotylus uhleri
Trigonotylus uhleri is a species of plant bug in the family Miridae, first described by Reuter in 1876. It belongs to a genus of grass-inhabiting mirids that has been taxonomically revised for North America. The species is known from the eastern and boreal regions of North America.
Tytthus alboornatus
Tytthus alboornatus is a species of plant bug in the family Miridae, described by Knight in 1931. It belongs to the genus Tytthus, which contains species associated with grasses. The species is documented from the eastern United States and Gulf Coast region.
Vespula atropilosa
Prairie Yellowjacket
Vespula atropilosa, the prairie yellowjacket, is a social wasp native to western North America. It forms annual underground colonies in prairie and grassland habitats, typically nesting in abandoned rodent burrows. Unlike scavenging yellowjackets, it is strictly predatory, hunting live insects to feed its larvae. The species exhibits male color polymorphism with xanthic (yellow) and melanic (black) abdominal variants.
Wallengrenia egeremet
northern broken dash
A small skipper butterfly (Hesperiidae) native to eastern and central North America. Adults fly in summer, with single or double broods depending on latitude. Larvae feed on Panicum grasses; adults visit flowers for nectar. Taxonomic placement remains uncertain, with some sources placing it in genus Polites or treating it as conspecific with Wallengrenia otho.
Wallengrenia otho
southern broken dash, broken dash skipper
Wallengrenia otho is a small skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae, distributed across the Americas from the southeastern United States through Central America to Argentina. The species exhibits multivoltine flight patterns in temperate regions and year-round activity in tropical areas. Larvae develop on grasses in the genera Paspalum and Stenotaphrum, while adults feed on nectar from wetland and riparian flowers.
Xanthorhoini
Xanthorhoini is a tribe of geometer moths within the subfamily Larentiinae, described by Pierce in 1914. The tribe is notably diverse in Tasmanian grasslands, where 53 species have been documented. These moths have been studied as indicators of environmental change due to their differential susceptibility to habitat disturbance.
Yersiniops
Grasshopper Mantises
Yersiniops is a genus of ground-dwelling mantids native to the Americas, distinguished by their cursorial hunting strategy of actively running down prey rather than ambushing from vegetation. The genus is characterized by pointed, 'horned' eyes and predominantly gray coloration. Two species, Y. solitarius and Y. sophronicus, occur in the United States, where they inhabit arid western regions. These small mantids represent one of two ground mantid genera in North America, alongside Litaneutria.
Yersiniops sophronicus
Yersin's ground mantis
Yersiniops sophronicus, commonly known as Yersin's ground mantis, is a small ground-dwelling mantid native to North America. Unlike typical ambush mantids that perch on vegetation, this species has adopted a cursorial hunting strategy, actively running down prey in open habitats. It belongs to a small group of ground mantids in the genera Yersiniops and Litaneutria that are specialized for life in arid and semi-arid environments. The species is distinguished from its congener Litaneutria by pointed upper eye margins that create a 'horned' facial appearance.
Yukonodelphax
Yukonodelphax is a genus of planthoppers in the family Delphacidae, described by Wilson in 1992. The genus belongs to the tribe Delphacini within the subfamily Delphacinae. Members of this genus are small, sap-feeding insects associated with grassland and wetland habitats. Very few observations of this genus exist in biodiversity databases.
Yukonodelphax kendallae
Yukonodelphax kendallae is a species of planthopper in the family Delphacidae, first described by Wilson in 1992. It is a small, winged insect belonging to a group known for their association with grasses and sedges. The species is known from northern North America, with confirmed records from Yukon and Alberta.
Zygoballus sexpunctatus
Zygoballus sexpunctatus is a small jumping spider (3–4.5 mm) found in grassy habitats of the southeastern United States. Males possess enlarged chelicerae and front femora, and exhibit elaborate courtship and agonistic displays involving leg-raising and abdominal vibration. The species name refers to the six abdominal spots typically present in males, though these may be reduced or absent. First described by Hentz in 1845, it was later transferred to the genus Zygoballus by the Peckhams in 1888.