Montane-forest
Guides
Anthaxia caseyi pseudotsugae
Anthaxia caseyi pseudotsugae is a subspecies of jewel beetle (family Buprestidae) described by Chamberlin in 1928. It is distinguished from the nominate subspecies A. c. caseyi by its dark coloration rather than bright green. The subspecies has been collected in montane coniferous forests of the southwestern United States, particularly in New Mexico and Arizona, where adults are found on flowers of Rosa woodsii and other blooming plants in alpine habitats.
Aphonopelma catalina
Santa Catalina Mountain Tarantula
Aphonopelma catalina is a tarantula species described in 2016 from the Santa Catalina Mountains of southeastern Arizona. It belongs to a genus of large-bodied, ground-dwelling spiders native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. Like other Aphonopelma species, it exhibits characteristics typical of primitive mygalomorph spiders, including simple genitalia that complicate species identification. The species is endemic to a single mountain range, making it vulnerable to habitat loss.
Aphonopelma chiricahua
Chiricahua Tarantula
Aphonopelma chiricahua is a tarantula species endemic to the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. It was described in 2016 during a comprehensive revision of the genus Aphonopelma, which revealed significant previously unrecognized diversity in the southwestern United States. Like other Madrean Sky Island endemics, this species occupies isolated montane habitats and represents part of the exceptional biodiversity found in this region.
Arianops unicoi
Arianops unicoi is a species of ant-loving beetle in the family Staphylinidae, described by Barr in 1974. The specific epithet 'unicoi' references the Unicoi Mountains, part of the southern Appalachian range in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. As a member of the subfamily Pselaphinae, it belongs to a diverse group of small rove beetles typically associated with forest floor habitats. The species is known from a restricted geographic range in the southeastern United States.
Centrodera spurca
yellow Douglas-fir borer
Centrodera spurca, commonly known as the yellow Douglas-fir borer, is a species of flower longhorn beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It is native to North America, with records from western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta) and the western United States. The species has been documented in coniferous forest habitats, particularly in association with Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). A notable disjunct population occurs in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico, separated from the main Pacific Coast distribution.
Ceranemota tearlei
Ceranemota tearlei is a moth in the family Drepanidae, first described by Henry Edwards in 1888. It occurs in western North America from British Columbia and Alberta south to California, Utah, and Colorado. Adults are active from late August to October, with one generation per year. The larvae feed on specific woody plants including serviceberry, mountain-ash, and willow species.
Chinattus
Chinattus is a genus of jumping spiders (Salticidae) established by Logunov in 1999, with Heliophanus undulatus as the type species. The genus name combines 'China' with the common salticid suffix '-attus'. It comprises approximately 20 recognized species distributed across the south-eastern Palaearctic and adjacent Oriental Regions, with a strong concentration in China and nearby countries. One species, C. parvulus, represents a notable disjunct occurrence in North America.
Cryptocercidae
brown-hooded cockroaches, wood roaches
Cryptocercidae is a family of wingless, subsocial cockroaches comprising the single genus Cryptocercus. These insects are obligate inhabitants of decaying wood in temperate montane forests across eastern Asia and North America. They exhibit extended parental care and share wood-digesting gut symbionts with termites, supporting the hypothesis of termite evolution from within cockroaches. The family is notable for its limited dispersal ability and sensitivity to forest succession patterns.
Dicellophilus
Dicellophilus is a genus of soil centipedes in the family Mecistocephalidae, established by O.F. Cook in 1896 with D. limatus as the type species. The genus comprises five species distributed across three highly disjunct regions: central Europe, Japan (Honshu), and the western United States. No other group of centipedes or Northern Hemisphere terrestrial animals exhibits such a peculiar geographic pattern. Species range from 5–7 cm in length with 41–45 pairs of legs, the number being invariant within each species.
Dicerca tenebrosa knulli
Dicerca tenebrosa knulli is a subspecies of jewel beetle (family Buprestidae) described by Nelson in 1975. As a member of the genus Dicerca, it belongs to a group of metallic wood-boring beetles that develop as larvae in dead or dying wood. The nominate subspecies Dicerca tenebrosa is known to associate with conifers across boreal and mountain regions of western North America. This subspecies is recognized from Alberta and British Columbia in Canada.
Eupithecia flavigutta
Eupithecia flavigutta is a small moth in the family Geometridae, first described by George Duryea Hulst in 1896. It is restricted to montane forest habitats in the southwestern United States, specifically Colorado, eastern Arizona, and southwestern New Mexico. The species has a wingspan of 16–20 mm. Members of the genus Eupithecia, commonly called 'pug' moths, are recognized by their narrow wings and distinctive resting posture.
Hadoa chiricahua
Chiricahua Sun-Singer
Hadoa chiricahua is an annual cicada species in the genus Hadoa, endemic to the southwestern United States. The species was originally described as Tibicen chiricahua by Davis in 1923 and later transferred to Hadoa. It is known from the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona and adjacent areas of New Mexico, inhabiting mid- to high-elevation forests within the Madrean Sky Island ecosystem. As an annual cicada, it completes its life cycle within a single year, unlike periodical cicadas that emerge on multi-year cycles.
Ips plastographus
California pine engraver, Forgery Bark Weevil
Ips plastographus, commonly known as the California pine engraver, is a bark beetle in the weevil family Curculionidae. It is native to western North America and primarily associated with pine hosts, particularly lodgepole pine. New adult beetles have been documented overwintering in short tunnels within the sapwood of windfelled trees. The species is provisionally accepted in taxonomic databases and has limited published natural history documentation.
Korscheltellus
conifer swift (for K. gracilis), common swift (for K. lupulina)
Korscheltellus is a genus of ghost moths (Hepialidae) containing two widespread species. Korscheltellus lupulina, the common swift, occurs across Europe. Korscheltellus gracilis, the conifer swift, ranges through Canada and the eastern United States. The genus was established by Börner in 1920 and has been subject to taxonomic revision, including the reinstatement of Korscheltellus castillanus as a distinct species.
Nepytia janetae
Janeta's looper moth
Nepytia janetae is a geometrid moth in the family Geometridae native to southwestern United States mountain ranges. Prior to 1996, it was an inconspicuous species with little ecological impact. Since 1996, four major outbreaks have caused extensive defoliation of conifer forests across Arizona and New Mexico, killing tens of thousands of acres of trees. The species exhibits an unusual winter-feeding larval stage, active when minimum temperatures approach or drop below 0°F. Outbreak termination occurs primarily through parasitism, viral infection, larval starvation, and occasionally heavy rain during egg deposition.
Novalena
Novalena is a genus of funnel weavers (family Agelenidae) comprising 53 described species distributed across North America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The genus was established by Chamberlin and Ivie in 1942. A significant taxonomic revision in 2017 by Maya-Morales and Jiménez added numerous Mexican species, and ongoing research continues to describe new species from montane forest habitats.
Omus cazieri
Mount Ashland Night-stalking Tiger Beetle, Cazier's night-stalking tiger beetle
Omus cazieri is a nocturnal tiger beetle species endemic to the western United States, specifically known from southwestern Oregon and adjacent northern California. It belongs to the genus Omus, a group of flightless, night-active tiger beetles distinguished by their cylindrical body form and reduced eyes. The species is named in honor of entomologist Mont Cazier.
Onthophagus durangoensis
Onthophagus durangoensis is a dung beetle species in the family Scarabaeidae, native to mountainous regions of Mexico and extending into the southwestern United States. It inhabits montane forests and has been documented in states across central and western Mexico, as well as in Arizona and New Mexico. Like other members of its genus, it is associated with mammal dung and plays a role in nutrient cycling in its ecosystems. The species was described by Balthasar in 1939 and is considered valid and accepted in current taxonomy.
Pyrochroinae
fire-colored beetles
Pyrochroinae is a subfamily of Pyrochroidae comprising fire-colored beetles distinguished by their often vivid red, orange, or yellow coloration. The subfamily includes genera such as Pyrochroa, Pseudopyrochroa, Hemidendroides, and Pseudodendroides. Larvae are saproxylic, developing beneath bark and in decaying woody debris of dead trees. Adults of at least some species are canthariphilous, exhibiting specialized cranial gland apparatuses associated with sexual behavior involving cantharidin compounds.
Stictoleptura
Stictoleptura is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) distributed across the Holarctic region, with species in Europe, Asia, and North America. The genus includes medium-sized beetles typically associated with broadleaved woodland habitats. The first genome sequence for the genus was published for Stictoleptura scutellata, a scarce species in Britain associated with ancient woodland and wood pasture.
Synchroa
synchroa bark beetles
Synchroa is a genus of beetles in the family Synchroidae, comprising approximately six described species. Members are characterized by an elongate, tapered, and slightly flattened body with brownish to black coloration. The genus represents the nominal and largest genus within its family, with a broad distribution spanning North America, the eastern Palearctic, and the Oriental regions. Species diversity is highest in Eastern Asia, where multiple new species have been described in recent decades.