This beautiful green and black caterpillar is sometimes confused with the monarch, but they actually look quite different and feed on totally different plants. Black Swallowtail Caterpillar, Papilio polyxenes The Black Swallowtail caterpillar is sometimes confused with the monarch. If you're lucky, you may find beautiful monarch caterpillars munching away on the leaves.
What interesting facts or behaviors does it exhibit? This species is well-known for the spectacular mass migrations and hibernation that the adults undergo every winter.īy simply planting a few milkweed seeds in your yard or garden, you can offer monarchs a rest-stop along their journey. What is the scientific name? Danaus plexippus. What does it eat? The leaves of the milkweed plant. Is it a pest in your home or garden? No. SETTLERS 3 KNOWN BUGS FREE
Please consider planting milkweed in your yard or garden to help the population of this gorgeous insect! You can get free seed from many sites online. Monarch caterpillars are easily found on milkweed throughout the summer, and the big orange adult butterflies are familiar to nearly everyone in North America. This species feeds only on one kind of plant, milkweeds, and it's thought that the poisonous sap of the milkweed gives both the caterpillars and the butterflies protection from predators. The iconic monarch butterfly has an equally iconic striped caterpillar. Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar, Danaus plexippus
What interesting facts or behaviors does it exhibit? Black widows belong to a group called "tangle-web spiders." Their webs are disorganized and wild, the opposite of the neat geometrical webs of orb-weavers. What is the scientific name? Latrodectus species. 
Like all spiders, black widows help control pest insects. This spider's bite can be fatal, but only small children and older people are in serious risk of death from a black widow bite.
The bite of this spider does its damage through neurotoxins, which cause painful cramping and mental confusion. They spin tangled webs in dark places and eat smaller insects. These arachnids are large and strong-looking and most have a distinct red hourglass on the underside of the abdomen. There are several "widow" spiders in the US, and some of them are very beautiful, but the black widow is the one you are most likely to encounter. Black Widow Spider (Genus Latrodectus)Īlong with the brown recluse, the black widow spider is one of the two truly dangerous poisonous spiders common in North America. To learn more, read Brown Recluse Identification and Control.īlack widows They spin tangled webs in dark places and eat smaller insects.
What interesting facts or behaviors does it exhibit? This spider usually has a violin-shaped mark on its back for this reason it's sometimes called the "fiddleback spider." You can usually identify this bug by this unique feature, but be very careful whenever you're dealing with a large brown spider in your basement!. What is the scientific name? Loxosceles reclusa. Is it a pest in your home or garden? No, but it does kill and eat household pests like roaches. In very rare, extreme cases, the destruction involves muscles and tendons and can require reconstructive surgery. Brown recluse bites can sometimes result in run-away tissue destruction, which can occur over several weeks. They are brown/gray, medium-sized, and inconspicuous, so coming in contact with them can happen without you knowing it. There are other Loxosceles recluse spiders in the Southwest and Hawaii, and they all have similar habits, living in dark corners and prowling around at night looking for prey. The most common and widespread recluse spider in North America is the brown recluse, species Loxosceles reclusa. Recluse spiders get a lot of bad press, and some of it is well-deserved. Brown Recluse Spiders (Family Sicariidae) You can almost always identify this bug by these unique pincers. What interesting facts or behaviors does it exhibit? Earwigs are the only large group that have well-developed "pincers" on the tail instead of on the head as mouth-parts. What is the scientific name? Earwigs make their own order, Dermaptera. 
What does it eat? Plants, smaller insects, and organic matter. They are seldom a pest, though if there are enough of them, they can do some damage to leaves. Is it a pest in your home or garden? Not usually. Note that these are not like the mandibles that some insects, like the stag beetle, use for actual combat and self-protection. The pincers are used in mating, and unless it's an absolutely huge earwig and you put your little finger right in the middle of of their pincers, they won't get to you. Earwigs look fierce, thanks to those huge "pincers" on the tail.
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