Primary-consumer
Guides
Acalyptris
Acalyptris is a genus of minute moths in the family Nepticulidae, established by Meyrick in 1921. It represents the second largest genus of Nepticulidae in the Americas and contains approximately 100 described species distributed across six continents. The genus is characterized by leaf-mining larvae that create distinctive mines in host plant foliage. Species are organized into multiple species groups based on morphology and host associations, with nine revised species groups recognized in the American fauna.
Acmaeops discoideus
Acmaeops discoideus is a flower longhorn beetle (subfamily Lepturinae) distributed across the United States and Canada. The species feeds on Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) as a larva, boring in the wood of this conifer host. Adults are active during autumn and have been observed into December in some regions. The species was formerly spelled A. discoidea, but A. discoideus is now the accepted name.
Acossus populi
aspen carpenterworm
Acossus populi is a moth in the family Cossidae, commonly known as the aspen carpenterworm. The species has a wingspan of 50–68 mm. It is distributed across western North America, including the western United States and parts of Canada. The larvae are specialized feeders on Populus species, particularly trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides). The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1856.
Baetis bicaudatus
small minnow mayfly
Baetis bicaudatus is a small minnow mayfly in the family Baetidae, described by Dodds in 1923. It inhabits streams across western North America from Alaska to the southwestern United States and northern Canada. The species is bivoltine, producing two generations annually, with distinct summer and winter generations that differ in size and susceptibility to parasitism. Adults exhibit characteristic mayfly behavior including swarming mating aggregations, while nymphs are important grazers on periphyton in stream ecosystems.
Caelifera
Grasshoppers, Locusts, and Allies, Short-horned Grasshoppers
Caelifera is a suborder of Orthoptera comprising approximately 12,000 described species across 2,400 genera, including grasshoppers, ground-hoppers (Tetrigoidea), and pygmy mole crickets (Tridactyloidea). The group is distinguished from the other orthopteran suborder Ensifera by short antennae, enlarged hind legs adapted for jumping, and a stout, chisel-like ovipositor (the source of its Latin name meaning 'chisel-bearing'). Caelifera represents one of the oldest lineages of chewing herbivorous insects, with fossil records extending to the latest Permian. The suborder is divided into two infraorders: Tridactylidea (pygmy mole crickets and extinct relatives) and Acrididea (grasshoppers and ground-hoppers).