Phototactic
Guides
Athrips mouffetella
Ten-spotted Honeysuckle Moth, Dotted Grey Groundling
Athrips mouffetella is a small gelechiid moth known by two common names reflecting its appearance and host association. Adults fly from June to early September and are readily attracted to light. The species has a broad Palearctic distribution and has been introduced to North America. Its larvae feed exclusively on honeysuckle and snowberry, spinning silken webs on terminal leaves.
Doru aculeatum
spine-tailed earwig
Doru aculeatum, commonly known as the spine-tailed earwig, is a native North American species in the family Forficulidae. It is the only native earwig species in the northern United States, ranging into southern Canada. The species is notable for the male's distinctive short thornlike spine between the cerci, a feature absent in other regional earwigs. It occurs in wooded and grassy habitats and is frequently attracted to outdoor lights at night.
Enicospilus
Enicospilus is a megadiverse genus of large ichneumonid wasps comprising over 700 described species worldwide. Members exhibit 'ophionoid facies' with orange-brown bodies, extremely large ocelli arranged in a triangle, and long antennae. These wasps are unusual among Hymenoptera for their nocturnal or crepuscular activity and strong attraction to artificial lights. They are koinobiont endoparasitoids of moderately large lepidopteran larvae, including families such as Lasiocampidae, Noctuidae, and Saturniidae. Species delimitation is notoriously difficult due to limited diagnostic morphological characters, resulting in frequent taxonomic confusion including synonyms and misidentifications.
Heliocheilus julia
Barbie Moth
Heliocheilus julia is a noctuid moth species described by Grote in 1883. The species is known from limited geographic records in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Its life history remains undocumented, including unknown larval host plants and immature stages. Adults are attracted to lights and fly during late summer. The proposed common name "Barbie Moth" has not achieved formal recognition.
Koebeliini
Koebeliini is a subtribe of leafhoppers within the tribe Athysanini and subfamily Deltocephalinae. It comprises six genera and over 15 species distributed across western North America and parts of the Palearctic and Oriental regions. Members of the subtribe Grypotina within Koebeliini exhibit distinctive morphological features including crown striations, short antennae, and ocelli positioned below the crown margin. Several species are associated with pine trees (Pinus spp.) as host plants.
Netelia johnsoni
Netelia johnsoni is a species of ichneumon wasp in the subfamily Tryphoninae, described by Ashmead in 1900. It is a nocturnal parasitoid wasp with a painful defensive sting that has been documented from Edmonton, Canada, though the genus Netelia is more broadly distributed across North America north of Mexico with 73 species in six subgenera. Females use their sting primarily to temporarily paralyze caterpillar hosts for oviposition, but will sting humans if handled carelessly or trapped against skin.
Ophioninae
Short-tailed Ichneumonid Wasps
Ophioninae is a cosmopolitan subfamily of ichneumonid wasps comprising approximately 32–33 genera with exceptional diversity in tropical regions. These wasps are primarily koinobiont endoparasitoids of larval Lepidoptera, though at least one species parasitizes Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera). They are notable among parasitic wasps for possessing ovipositors capable of stinging vertebrates in self-defense. Adults are typically large, slender, and orange with compressed, curved abdomens, very large ocelli, and long antennae. They are predominantly nocturnal and strongly attracted to artificial light sources.
Orthosoma brunneum
Brown Prionid
Orthosoma brunneum is a large, brown longhorned beetle in the subfamily Prioninae, commonly known as the brown prionid. It is the sole species in its genus and is widely distributed across eastern North America. Adults are nocturnal and frequently attracted to ultraviolet lights. Larvae develop in decaying logs and have been shown to tolerate and behaviorally respond to high carbon dioxide concentrations typical of their wood-boring habitat.
Xyloryctes thestalus
Western Rhinoceros Beetle
Xyloryctes thestalus is a species of rhinoceros beetle in the family Scarabaeidae, commonly known as the Western Rhinoceros Beetle. Males possess prominent horns on the head and pronotum, a characteristic feature of the Dynastinae subfamily. The species is nocturnal and strongly attracted to lights, often appearing in large numbers at ultraviolet and mercury vapor light setups. It occurs across the southwestern United States and Mexico, with two recognized subspecies: X. t. thestalus and X. t. borealis.