Native
Guides
Stagmomantis californica
California mantis, California mantid
Stagmomantis californica is a native California praying mantis and one of approximately 20 native mantis species in the United States. It is one of three native mantid species in California, alongside Stagmomantis limbata and Litaneutria minor. The species is characterized by dark bands on abdominal tergites, a potentially diagnostic feature when examined with male genitalia. Basic biological information including morphology, biometry, life history, and ecology remains incomplete for this species.
Stagmomantis carolina
Carolina mantis, Carolina mantid
Stagmomantis carolina, the Carolina mantis, is a native North American mantid species ranging from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Arizona. It is smaller than introduced mantid species such as the Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) and European mantis (Mantis religiosa), typically exhibiting gray or brown coloration. The species overwinters as eggs in protective cases called oothecae, with nymphs emerging in spring and adults present from July through October. It serves as an important predator in gardens and natural landscapes, with documented parasitism by the tachinid fly Masiphya confusa.
Stagmomantis gracilipes
Arizona tan mantis
Stagmomantis gracilipes, commonly called the Arizona tan mantis, is a species of praying mantis in the family Mantidae. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America. The species was described by Rehn in 1907 and belongs to the genus Stagmomantis, which includes several other North American native mantises.
Stagmomantis limbata
bordered mantis, Arizona mantis, bosque mantis, New Mexico praying mantis
Stagmomantis limbata is one of the largest native mantids in North America, reaching approximately 3 inches in length. It exhibits pronounced sexual dimorphism: females are flightless, robust, and typically plain green or gray with a dark spot on the tegmina, while males are slender, long-winged, and capable of flight. The species is notable for female-emitted sex pheromones that attract males, with pheromone production linked to female nutritional status and receptivity. Sexual cannibalism occurs, particularly when females are food-limited.
Tetropium cinnamopterum
Eastern Larch Borer
Tetropium cinnamopterum is a native North American cerambycid beetle in the tribe Tetropiini. Adults are distinguished from the closely related T. parvulum by eye shape, scutellar structure, external genitalia, and pronotal puncture number; larvae are distinguished by urogomphi morphology. The species has been recorded from various conifer hosts, with larvae developing in conifer wood. It is transcontinental in Canada and occurs sympatrically with invasive T. fuscum in Atlantic Canada, where cross-attraction to the aggregation pheromone fuscumol may occur. Both sexes respond to (S)-fuscumol synergized by host monoterpenes and ethanol.
Tremex columba
pigeon tremex, pigeon horntail
Tremex columba is a large horntail wasp native to North America. Females possess a prominent ovipositor used to drill into dead or dying hardwood trees to deposit eggs. The species has an obligate symbiotic relationship with the wood-rotting fungus Daedalea unicolor, which females introduce during oviposition and which larvae require for development. Larval development takes one to two years, during which they tunnel through fungus-infected wood. The species is not harmful to humans and does not sting.
Zygiella nearctica
Nearctic Sector Orbweaver
Zygiella nearctica is a boreal orb-weaving spider in the family Araneidae. Like other members of its genus, it constructs a characteristic orb web with a missing sector in the upper portion. The species is native to North America and has been documented across a broad geographic range from coast to coast in Canada, extending southward into the northern United States.