Insects and Spiders
Bugs, and Foxtail Farm has them. What would you expect, insects are everywhere. Below are some of the more interesting ones we have observed. For butterflies click here.
Angular-winged Katydid
Microcentrum rhombifolium is a species in the family Tettigoniidae (katydids), in the order Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids). Other common names are the greater angle-wing katydid and broad-winged katydid. Microcentrum rhombifolium is found in North America. We saw a specimen at night around our front door light in August 2018.
Bald-faced Hornet
Dolichovespula maculata are omnivorous, and are considered to be beneficial due to their predation of flies, caterpillars, and spiders. However, their aggressively defensive nature makes them a threat to humans who wander too close to a nest. They vigorously defend the nest, with workers stinging repeatedly, as is common among social bees and wasps. However, the baldfaced hornet has a unique defense in that it can squirt venom from the stinger into the eyes of vertebrate nest intruders. The venom causes immediate watering of the eyes and temporary blindness. We saw this insect feeding at the hummingbird feeders July 2018.
Bordered Plant Bug
Largus cinctus is a species of bordered plant bug in the family Largidae. They are commonly known as bordered plant bugs because many have contrasting coloured edges to their hemelytra.We spotted a specimen in June 2020.
Black-Bordered Lemon
Marimatha nigrofimbria, the black-bordered lemon moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains and in Arizona and California. We found a specimen near the house in late August 2023.
Bumble Bee
Bombus bifarius is found across mountainous regions of western North America.
California Bumble Bee
Bombus californicus, the California bumble bee, is a species of bumble bee in the family Apidae.
California Carpenter Bee
Xylocopa californica, is native to western North America. In our vegetable and flower gardens, carpenter bees are generalists and may be found foraging on a number of different species. Carpenter bees land on flower blossoms they become living tuning forks. Using their powerful thoracic muscles carpenter bees sonicate the dry pollen grains out of the flower’s anthers. Carpenter bees are excellent pollinators of eggplant, tomato and other vegetables and flowers. We spotted a specimen in our lavender beds in early June 2020.
California Ebony Tarantula
Aphonopelma eutylenum. The Sierra Nevada foothills harbor thousands of California ebony tarantulas. The tarantulas feed on baby rattlesnakes, insects, lizards and scorpions and thrive in the mountainous foothills. Even though these spiders are large they are not dangerous. In mid-October the town of Coarsegold celebrates tarantulas with a festival. Image by Peter Berg
California Horntail
Urocerus californicus is a fleece-winged insect from the wood wasp family (Siricidae). We saw a specimen in our orchard July 2018.
California Lady-Beetle
Coccinella californica is a ladybird beetle found in California commonly known as the California Lady Beetle.
California Mantis
Stagmomantis californica. Mantises tend to hang around the hummingbird feeders. Interesting they are a threat to hummingbirds and the birds sense it and avoid them. We see the mantis near the hummingbird feeders starting late June or early July.
California Prionus
Prionus californicus, commonly known as the California root borer, is a species of insect in the longhorn beetle family (Cerambycidae). It is native to the American west where it is often a pest of orchard and vine crops.
Carpenterworm Moth
Prionoxystus robiniae, the carpenterworm moth or locust borer, is a moth of the family Cossidae. It is found in southern Canada and most of the United States. We viewed a specimen in late June 2019.
Convergent Lady-Beetle
Hippodamia convergens, commonly known as the convergent lady beetle, is one of the most common lady beetles in North America and is found throughout the continent. Aphids form their main diet and they are used for the biological control of these pests.
Darkling Beetle
Coeloncnemis californicus or Darkling beetle is the common name of the large family of beetles Tenebrionidae. Tenebrionid beetles occupy ecological niches in mainly deserts and forests as plant scavengers. Most species are generalistic omnivores, and feed on decaying leaves, rotting wood, fresh plant matter, dead insects, and fungi as larvae and adults. We spotted a specimen in May 2020.
Darwin's Green Moth
Nemoria darwiniata, the Columbian emerald, is a species of emerald moth in the family Geometridae.
Flame Skimmer
Libellula saturata or flame skimmer and also known as the firecracker skimmer is a common dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to western North America. We viewed a specimen in late June 2019 and in September 2023 on the back deck.
Giant Western Crane Fly
Holorusia hespera are often mistaken for giant mosquitoes, which don’t exist, this is one of the world’s largest crane fly species. Adults are typically found in the vegetation along streams and ponds. Adult males are smaller than adult females. Adults do not eat, restricting their activities to mating and reproduction. The wormlike larvae are aquatic, feeding on decomposing plant matter. We spotted a specimen near the house in May 2019. Image by Things Biological
Green Lynx Spider
Peucetia viridans is bright-green and usually found on green plants. It is the largest North American species in the family Oxyopidae. The green lynx spider very seldom bites humans, and when it does, its venomous bite, though painful, is not deadly but may cause surrounding (edema) swelling up to 7"-10" in diameter. The species is primarily of interest for its usefulness in agricultural pest management. The spiders have been observed to hunt several moth species and their larvae, including some of the most important crop pests. However, they also prey on beneficial insects, such as honey bees. We spotted a female specimen near the seasonal pond in August 2018.
Honey Bee
Apis mellifera, the Western honey bee or European honey bee is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bee worldwide. At Foxtail Farm we have three hives and harvest the honey annually.
Jerusalem Cricket
Stenopelmatus fucus, Jerusalem crickets or potato bugs is a large flightless insect native to the western United States.
Large Wolf Spider
Alopecosa kochii are members of the family Lycosidae. They are robust and agile hunters with excellent eyesight. They live mostly in solitude and hunt alone, and do not spin webs. Some are opportunistic hunters pouncing upon prey as they find it or even chasing it over short distances. Some wait for passing prey in or near the mouth of a burrow. We spotted a specimen near our garage in June 2020.
Pacific Green Sphinx
Proserpinus lucidus, the Pacific green sphinx or bear sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The body is short and stout. The forewing upperside is green to olive green with pink and brown markings and the hindwing upperside is pale rose pink with a darker submarginal band. Their habitat is oak woodlands, and grasslands and it can be found in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and California. We saw a specimen perched on the side of the house in March 2019. Image by Peter Berg
Red-shouldered Plant Bug
Thyanta pallidovirens, also known as the red-shouldered stink bug, is a species of stink bug in the family Pentatomidae. It is found in Central America and North America. We viewed a specimen near the house in late June 2019.
Sierran Blue-winged Grasshopper
Circotettix undulatus,known generally as the undulant-winged grasshopper or great basin crackler, is a species of band-winged grasshopper; Image by Alice Abela
Small Bee Fly
Bombylius lancifer is a species of bee flies in the family Bombyliidae. They are known as the bee-flies, due to their striking resemblance to bees and bumblebees, and are distributed worldwide. We spotted a specimen in one of our lavender beds in early June 2020.
Ten-lined June Beetle
Polyphylla decemlineata, also known as the watermelon beetle, is a scarab beetle, living in the western United States and Canada. The adults are attracted to light and feed on foliage and make a hissing sound when touched or otherwise disturbed, which can resemble the hissing of a bat. Image by Joyce Gross
Twelve-Spotted Skimmer
Libellula pulchella is a common North American skimmer dragonfly. It is a large species, at 2.0 in long. Each wing has three brown spots. In adult males, additional white spots form between the brown ones and at the bases of the hindwings; it is sometimes called the ten-spot skimmer for the number of these white spots. We spotted a specimen around our raised bed garden in June 2018.
Velvet Ant
Dasymutilla aureola, the genus Dasymutilla belongs to the Mutillidae family of wasps. The females of the genus are well known for their painful sting, which is where many gain their common name, Cow Killer. The female is wingless and often resemble large ants while the males still retain their wings.
Vestal Tiger Moth
Spilosoma vestalis, s a moth in the family Erebidae found along the coast of western North America, from California north to the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington and western Idaho. The habitat consists of wet forests, moist forests, coastal rainforests, low elevation mixed hardwood forests and high elevation mixed conifer forests. We noted a specimen in May 2019 attached to the window on our back deck.
Western Sand Wasp
Bembix americana is a species of sand wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is found in the Caribbean, Central America, North America, and South America. We found several specimens making burrows in among our strawberry plants in late July 2019.
Western Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Diabrotica undecimpunctata is a species of cucumber beetle that is native to North America. The species can be a major agricultural pest insect in North America. Spotted cucumber beetles cause damage to crops in the larval and adult stages of their life cycle. Larvae feed on the roots of the emerging plants, which causes the most damage since the young plants are more vulnerable. We spotted a specimen on our sunflowers in June 2020.
White-lined Sphinx
Hyles lineata, also known as the white-lined sphinx or hummingbird moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. They are sometimes referred to as the hummingbird moth because of their bird-like size (2-3 inch wingspan) and flight patterns. These hummingbird-like moths fly during the day. We saw a specimen collecting nectar from the lavender plants around the house in August 2018.
Yellow & Black Mud Dauber Wasp
Sceliphron caementarium are solitary insects that build nests out of mud. After building a cell of the nest, the female wasp captures several spiders. The captured prey are stung and paralyzed before being placed in the nest (usually 6-15 per cell), and then a single egg is deposited on the prey within each cell. The wasp then seals the cell with a thick mud plug.[3][7] After finishing a series of cells, she leaves and does not return. The larva spins a cocoon and pupates. Eventually, the hatching larva will eat the prey and emerge from the nest. We saw a specimen alight on our Asian Pear in July 2018.
Yellow Garden Spider
Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the yellow garden spider. It has distinctive yellow and black markings on the abdomen and a mostly white cephalothorax. Yellow garden spiders often build webs in areas adjacent to open sunny fields where they stay concealed and protected from the wind. The spider can also be found along the eaves of houses and outbuildings or in any tall vegetation where they can securely stretch a web. These spiders may bite if disturbed or harassed, but the venom is harmless to non-allergic humans, roughly equivalent to a bumblebee sting in intensity. We saw a specimen among our rosemary plants in November 2019.
Zigzag Darner
Aeshna sitchensis, is a species of darner in the family of dragonflies known as Aeshnidae. It is found in North America. We saw a specimen near our pond in May 2019.
Dangerous Insects and Spiders
Western Black-legged Tick
Ixodes pacificus is a principal carrier of Lyme Disease. If you are hiking on our property or anywhere in Sierra Nevada mountains including Yosemite and plan to walk through long grass (head off trail) it is best to take precautions and check yourself for this tick afterwards. Click here for more information.
Western Black Widow
Latrodectus hesperus is a venomous spider species found in western regions of North America. While it is highly unlikely that you would encounter these spiders it is best to be cautious. At Foxtail Farm we have a monthly service to spray the perimeter of the house to prevent insects and spiders from getting inside. Click here for more information.