A Field Guide to the Fauna of the Johnston Wilderness Campus
Umatilla County, Oregon
Nicholas W. Griffin
Whitman College
May 2002
This guide is the result of a fauna diversity study conducted under the guidance of Professors Delbert Hutchinson and Charles Drabek of Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington.
Table of Contents
Pacific Treefrog (Hyla regilla)
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake ( Crotalus viridis oreganus )
Western Yellow Bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor mormon)
Wandering Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans vagrans)
Valley Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi)Vagrant Shrew or Wandering Shrew ( Sorex vagrans )
Silver-haired Bat ( Lasionycteris noctivagans )
Myotis Bat ( Myotis spp.)
Deer Mouse ( Peromyscus maniculatus )
Southern or Boreal Red-backed Vole ( Clethrionomys gapperi )
Longtail Vole ( Microtus longicaudus )
Northern Pocket Gopher ( Thomonmys talpoides )
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel ( Spermophilus lateralis )
Red Tree Squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus )
Northern Flying Squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus )
White-tailed Deer ( Odocoileus virginianus
North American Black Bear ( Ursus americanus )Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
American Robin ( Turdus migratorius )
Thrush (genus Catharus )
Ruffed Grouse ( Bonasa umbellus )
Blue Grouse ( Dendragapus obscurus )
Steller's Jay ( Cyanocitta stelleri
Common Nighthawk ( Chordeiles minor )
Vaux's Swifts ( Chaetura vauxi )
American Dipper or Water Ouzel ( Cinclus mexicanus )
Belted Kingfisher ( Ceryle alcyon )
Rufous Hummingbird ( Selasphorus rufus )
California Quail ( Callipepla californica )
Red-breasted Nuthatch ( Sitta Canadensis )
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Western Tanager ( Piranga ludoviciana )
Downy Woodpecker ( Picoides pubescens ) and Hairy Woodpecker ( P. villosus )
MacGillivray's Warbler ( Oporornis tolmmiei )
Miscellaneous Birds (Infrequent sightings or no identification)Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Sparrows (Family Emberizidae)
Hawk
Peregrine FalconLepidoptera --- Butterflies and Moths
Ceanothus Silkmoth ( Hyalophora euryalus )
Polyphemus Moth ( Antheraea polyphemus )
Ranchman's Tiger Moth (Platyprepia virginalis)
Western Sheep Moth ( Hemileuca eglanteria )
Great Tiger Moth or Garden Tiger Moth ( Arctia caja )
One-eyed or Willow or Cerisy's Sphinx ( Smerinthus cerisyi )
Great Ash Sphinx ( Sphinx chersis )
Yellow Woolly Bear Moth or Virginian Tiger Moth ( Diascrisia virginica )
Underwing (Red) ( Catocala spp.)
Geometer Moths (Family Geometridae)
Common Wood Nymph ( Cercyonis pegala )
Pale Swallowtail ( Papilio eurymedon )
Western Tiger Swallowtail ( Papilio rutulus )
Lorquin's Admiral ( Limenitis lorquini )
Painted Lady ( Vanessa cardui )
Orange Sulphur ( Colias eurytheme )
Greater Fritillary ( Speyeria spp.)
Mourning Cloak ( Nymphalis antiopa )
Mustard White ( Pieris napi )
Satyr Comma ( Polygonia satyrus )
California Tortoiseshell ( Nymphalis californica )
Phoebus Parnassian ( Parnassius phoebus )Order Hymenoptera – Ants, Wasps, Bees, and Kin
Black and Yellow Mud Dauber ( Sceliphron caementarium )
Honeybee ( Apis mellifera )
Bald-faced Hornet (Vespula maculata)
Blue-Black Spider Wasp (Anoplius spp.)
Sweat Bee (Family Halictidae)
Yellow Jacket (Vespula spp.)
Carpenter Ant (Camponotus spp.)
Paper Wasp (Polistes spp.)
Ichneumon Wasp (Family Ichneumonidae)
Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa spp.)
Cuckoo Wasp (Family Chrysididae)Western Firefly (Ellychnia californica)
Narrow Snail Eater or Boat-backed Ground Beetle (Scaphinotus angusticollis)
Rugose Stag Beetle (Sinodendron rugosum)
Stag Beetle (Family Lucanidae)
Convergent Ladybird Beetle (Hippodamia convegens)
Common Black Ground Beetle (Pterostichus spp.)
Soldier Beetle (Podabrus spp.)
Darkling Beetle (Family Tenebrionidae)
Carrion Beetle (Family Silphidae)
Water Scavenger Beetle (Family Hydrophilidae)
Round Fungus Beetle (Family Leiodidae)Other Insects – Flies, Aquatic Insects, Grasshoppers and Crickets, True Bugs, etc.
Giant Western Cranefly (Holorusia rubiginosa)
Large Bee Fly (Bombylius spp.)
Stonefly (Order Plecoptera)
Alderfly (Sialis spp.)
Caddisfly (Order Trichoptera: Family Limnephilidae)
Grasshopper (Order Orthoptera; Suborder Caelifera)
Camel Cricket or Cave Cricket (Ceuthophilus spp.)
European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)
Bluet Damselfly (Enallagma spp.)
Spread-Winged Damselfly (Family Lestidae)
Green Stink Bug or Green Soldier Bug (Acrosternum hilare)
The Johnston Wilderness Campus was donated to Whitman College in 1998 by Stuart and Joyce Johnston, two former students. The campus encompasses 2 acres around Mill Creek in Umatilla County, Oregon, including riparian habitat, a north facing slope, and some open pine forest habitat.
The goal of this study was to establish a working list of species known to be in the area to aid further research at the campus, to help to decide how the area could be used and maintained, and to create this field guide so that visitors to the area could have an idea of what to expect in fauna diversity at Johnston. I conducted all of my field research for the project during the summer of 2001, between June and August.
Throughout the course of the summer, I used as many methods as were at my disposal to find, sight, capture, and record as many different vertebrate and insect species as possible. I set metal box traps (live release traps), observed the area with binoculars and a notebook, took pictures, netted insects, set mist nets for bats, and collected insects by hand. A secondary product of this project was an insect collection, which contains over 60 different species (around 90 specimens in all). Hopefully, this collection, along with the guide, will be useful to future visitors to the area. My trapping efforts and observations led to the cataloging of over 45 vertebrate representatives as well, making the total over 100. I do not presume that this is an exhaustive list of the organisms in the area. In fact, there are several that I suspect are present that I did not find. I encourage future visitors and researchers to add to this list as the area becomes better known.
I had the opportunity to live and work in the area for one summer, an insignificant amount of time in the life of the area itself, but I hope that my findings may be helpful in learning some of the wonders that it has to offer and provide the college with some insight as to how to preserve this treasure.
Sincerely,
Nick Griffin
Pacific Treefrog (Hyla regilla)
Identification: This is Washington and Oregon 's only treefrog. It is a small frog with relatively rough skin which varies from green to tan or even blackish. It has a dark brown or black stripe through its eyes and often a dark triangle between them. As with other treefrogs, H. regilla has large toepads. It ranges 1.9 – 5.1 cm in length.
Feeding: They specialize in eating insects and small invertebrates.
Habit: The Pacific Treefrog is active day and night and is quite vociferous, making a high pitched two part note, especially during the evening and night in the breeding season.
Habitat and Range: It inhabits all of the Pacific states and southern British Columbia east to Idaho, western Montana, and Nevada. It lives in riparian habitats all the way up to 1000 feet in elevation and is often found among low shrubs and vegetation close to water.
Additional Notes: At Johnston , I caught two specimens of this frog at the Rachel Carson Cabin pond. One I found upside down in the doorway of the cabin, and the other I took as a froglet on the pond's weedy surface. I suspect that the paucity of treefrogs in the area may be due to the removal of weeds around the pond and the ditches on the campus. Removing this cover might make the area inhospitable to them. The Pacific Treefrog, like many related species, is preyed on by a variety of animals, including raccoons, cats, herons, kingfishers, weasels, fish, other frogs, and many other predators. Even large insect larvae like dragonflies sometimes prey on frogs and their tadpoles.
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake ( Crotalus viridis oreganus )
Identification: C. viridis is the only rattlesnake, in fact, the only venomous snake, in this region. Its length varies greatly, falling between 40-163 cm. It has brownish blotches down its back that range from oval or squarish to hexagonal or diamond-like. It has a rattle that grows in beads as the snake molts. One definite characteristic of the rattlesnake that distinguishes it is an obvious triangular head.
Feeding: These snakes hunt small mammals and lizards.
Habit: Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes sometimes winter gregariously, especially at higher elevations and are generally crepuscular during the hotter months.
Habitat and Range: C. v. oreganus inhabits a variety of habitats, but seem to prefer coniferous forests with plenty of rocky outcroppings or talus slopes where it can bask in the sun. This subspecies occurs in southern British Columbia , Washington , Oregon , and western Idaho . My one capture at Johnston occurred in the caretaker's rock garden, where I presume it was hunting Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels and mice.
Additional Notes: These snakes receive an unduly bad reputation as pugnacious, aggressive, mean, and just downright ornery. This is not really justified, as they usually do not bother people when left alone. The snake I caught gave me plenty of warning (a lengthy rattle) and only attempted to strike when he was firmly grasped in a pair of pillstrom tongs. The general rule to remember is to leave them alone. They will do the same for you.
Western Yellow-bellied Racer ( Coluber constrictor mormon )
Identification : C. constrictor is a widespread colubrid with 11 known subspecies, of which only the Western Yellow-bellied Racer occurs in this area. It is olive to brown or reddish-brown above and yellow below. It is a long snake, 86-195 cm in length, and slender, agile, and extremely fast.
Feeding: C. c. mormon hunts insects, frogs, small snakes, birds, lizards, and rodents.
Habit: The Western Yellow-bellied Racer is diurnal. It spends most of its time on the ground, though it climbs well. While hunting, it holds its head up. It annoyed it may make a noise similar to a rattlesnake by rapidly vibrating its tail in the vegetation around it. I have found this snake to be extremely fast, and quick to seek refuge under buildings, in thickets, and under stumps when threatened.
Habitat and Range: This snake can be found in a variety of terrestrial habitats, including grassy riparian areas, fields, open woodlands, prairies, and several other habitats. It occurs from British Columbia south to Baja and east all the way to western Colorado. All four sightings I made were in the main lawn of the campus, while it was covered with tall grass.
Additional Notes: After the caretaker cut the lawn, I never saw this snake again. I suspect that this is due to the loss of its cover and suitable hunting ground.
Wandering Garter Snake ( Thamnophis elegans vagrans )
Identification: This is the region's subspecies of the Western Terrestrial Garter Snake. It is extremely variable in appearance, usually light yellowish brown above with a well-defined dull yellow back stripe between two narrower side stripes. The lighter areas of the snake between the stripes usually have small spots, blackish or brownish.
Feeding: The Wandering Garter Snake is a generalist in its feeding habits, eating slugs, snails, frogs, worms, fish, tadpoles, mice and birds.
Habit: This is a diurnal snake. It basks in the morning and often flees to the water when threatened.
Range and Habitat: The Wandering Garter Snake occurs from southwestern Manitoba and South Dakota west to western Washington, Oregon, and eastern central California. It prefers moist habitats, such as meadows, stream borders, and the edges of ponds and lakes. I often found them in Mill Creek or sunning themselves on the boulders that make up the north bank.
Additional Notes: These are fairly harmless snakes. I have caught several with my hands, but they are sometimes very small and delicate and should be handled with care if caught.
Valley Garter Snake ( Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi )
Identification: This is the area's subspecies of the Common Garter Snake. It is usually dark gray or brown above, with a black head, and well-defined back and side stripes which are usually yellow in color. It ranges 45-131 cm in length.
Feeding: It hunts for small fish, frogs, earthworms, salamanders, toads, mice, and large insects.
Habit: It is a diurnal snake often seen in moist vegetation or in or along streams and ponds. It hibernates communally and can expel musk as a defense.
Habitat and Range: The Valley Garter Snake, despite its name, inhabits a variety of habitats, from swamps, and meadows, to damp forest, and irrigation ditches. It is found all the way from southeastern Alaska to northern California east of the Cascades, and east to Nevada and Utah.
Additional Notes: This is a very common snake in the stream and sometimes near the Rachel Carson Cabin pond.
Vagrant Shrew or Wandering Shrew ( Sorex vagrans )
Identification: The summer pelage of the Vagrant Shrew is grayish or brownish above, with brown or red ventral fur. During winter, the dorsal fur is grayish or blackish. The head and body length of this shrew ranges 59-71 mm and tail 38-46 mm. They are very small mammals that can be distinguished by their small ears, extremely tiny eyes, and pointed snouts with prominent whiskers.
Feeding: The Vagrant Shrew feeds on insect larvae, slugs, snails, arachnids, and other invertebrates, as well as some fungi. Captive animals have been known to eat more than 133% of their own body weight in a single day. I caught these shrews using metal box traps baited with oatmeal.
Habit: These shrews are active day and night and nests in structures of dry grass and leaves concealed in logs or stumps. The Vagrant Shrew is sometimes observed using the runways of voles to hunt. They are extremely intolerable of each other outside of the mating season and practice mutual avoidance.
Habitat and Range: The Vagrant Shrew inhabits various microhabitats in mixed forests. Some of these habitats are marshes, bogs, meadows, and forested riparian areas. Its range includes most of the western states except parts of California and Nevada. In Washington, the entire state falls within its range, and only the higher alpine peaks are known to be without populations of the Vagrant Shrew.
Additional Notes: The Vagrant Shrew does not get its name from having a large home range (which it does not), but from its activity level and the amount of time and energy it spends it hunting. Its primary predators are owls, but bobcats, domestic cats, and snakes like the Rubber Boa sometimes feed on them. Although I do not know why, all of the specimens I caught of this species died.
Silver-haired Bat ( Lasionycteris noctivagans )
Identification: This is a medium-sized bat with black or brown pelage tipped with silvery white and an interfemoral membrane covered with fur on the dorsal side. It is 92-108 mm in length. The Silver-haired Bat can be distinguished by its silvery coat.
Feeding: The Silver-haired bat feeds on nocturnal insects, especially moths, caddisflies, and flies, which it catches on the wing. It often feeds among trees. At Johnston, this bat frequents the pond in front of the main cabin, where it can drink and hunt the numerous insects present.
Habit: L noctivagans is nocturnal, emerging to feed in the evening. It migrates south during the winter and hibernates in hollow trees, buildings crevices, or any other suitable locations. These bats are also slow flyers (to the trained eye).
Habitat and Range: The Silver-haired Bat prefers forested areas, and inhabits most of Canada and the United States except the north and south extremes. It occurs sporadically and is often scarce, but locally abundant throughout its range.
Additional Notes: Not much is known about mating in these bats. Owls sometimes prey on L. noctivagans . On the two nights I trapped bats, these bats made up the majority of the catch, suggesting that they might be abundant in the area.
Identification: This genus contains 15 North American species. Their common name refers to their ears, which look much like the ears of a mouse. They are typically small, brown to black bats, and can be told apart (if one is close enough) from other bats by two small teeth between the canines cheek teeth.
Feeding: These little bats feed on insects, such as moths, mosquitoes, and other flying insects.
Habit: This genus is primarily nocturnal, with individuals becoming active just before dark and hunting into the night. Most are colonial roosters, forming groups in caves, buildings, tree hollows and other suitably protected dark places. They rear one young per season, except for the Southeastern Myotis.
Habitat and Range: This is a widespread group with representatives in a variety of habitats globally.
Additional Notes: Bats are extremely deft flyers. They are quiet and stealthy, taking their prey, or even drinking water, while on the wing. They are beneficial to humans as insect predators, and do not attack. Some predators of these bats are snakes, and owls, though they are very vulnerable if found in the roost.
Deer Mouse ( Peromyscus maniculatus )
Identification: Deer Mice made up 65.1% of the mammals I caught, making them the most abundant mammal that I encountered on the Johnston Wilderness Campus. The Deer Mouse varies greatly across the range, with a dorsal pelage anywhere from gray to reddish brown and a white underbelly. The P. maniculatus specimens that I found were predominantly grayish-brown on the sides, darker brown on the back, and white on the belly and feet. Their head and body length ranges from 2.8-4 in. Their tails are usually under 90% as long as the head and body and covered with hair.
Feeding: The Deer Mouse eats seeds, nuts, acorns, and insects. During the spring months, Deer Mice often eat the larval forms of butterflies and moths, and shift their diets to include more seeds towards the fall.
Habit: Deer Mice are predominantly nocturnal. They nest in ground burrows, hollowed logs, trees, stumps and buildings. P. maniculatus is known to cache food.
Habitat and Range: P. maniculatus occurs in a range of dry-land habitats across the continent, excluding the southeast United States. In Washington, the Deer Mouse is known to reside in various habitats across the entire state except some coastal areas and the northern reaches of the Cascade Mountains.
Additional Notes: The Deer Mouse plays a crucial role as prey for a number of predators in almost every place it inhabits. Everything from owls to weasels will prey on them regularly. Interestingly, I never once trapped a House Mouse in 10 weeks of trapping, but repeatedly captured P. maniculatus . It is possible that the extensive presence of the Deer Mouse is preventing the spread of the House Mouse into the area.
Southern or Boreal Red-backed Vole ( Clethrionomys gapperi )
Identification: The C. gapperi can usually be distinguished by its characteristic coloration. It has a reddish back and a grayish belly, with longish, soft fur. Its tail is short, slender and bi-colored. The head and body length ranges 93-118 mm and the tail 30-51 mm.
Feeding: The Red-backed Vole feeds on green herbaceous plants, berries, subterranean fungi, and often stores bulbs, nuts, stems and tubers. It is also reported to eat bark, seeds and insects.
Habit : C. gapperi uses abandoned burrows when possible. It is active both day and night, and is a decent climber. These voles often hop, but also run, and use common runways as they search for food.
Habitat and Range: The Red-backed vole prefers damp forests and occurs across Canada to the mountainous region of the northern states and throughout the Rockies. In Washington, it occurs throughout the western portion of the state, in the northeastern mountains and in the Blue Mountains of the southeastern portion of the state. All specimens caught were taken on the north-facing slope to the south of the cabins.
Additional Notes: Hawks and weasels are common predators of the Red-backed Vole.
Longtail Vole ( Microtus longicaudus )
Identification: M. longicaudus is a mouse-like rodent with a long, bi-colored tail. It is grayish brown above with a lighter belly and whitish feet. It is relatively long for a vole, with a head and body length of 114-135 mm and a tail 51-89 mm in length.
Feeding: The Long-tailed Vole feeds on grasses, bulbs and bark from small twigs. It is also known to eat fungi.
Habit: It nests aboveground during the winter months and in burrows during the summer. The Long-tailed Vole does not create definite runways like other voles.
Habitat and Range: M. longicaudus occurs in a number of habitats, including all manner of forests, forest-grassland, forest-meadow, and clear cuts, but not above krummholz. It inhabits all of Washington except in alpine areas and the driest, hottest parts of the Columbia Basin.
Additional Notes: I was only able to trap this species in the dry, grassy area behind the equipment shed.
Northern Pocket Gopher ( Thomonmys talpoides )
Identification: The Northern Pocket Gopher is rarely seen above ground, but leaves mounds of upturned soil as evidence of its presence. When seen outside of its tunnels, it often stands on its hind legs, with its forelimbs curled in front of it. It has long claws that look almost hand-like and large teeth. Its eyes are barely noticeable and it has a relatively short tail. These strange looking animals have external cheek pouches on the sides of their mouths. Head and body length is 127-165 mm and tail length is 44-76 mm. Its pelage is grayish to dark brown.
Feeding: These burrowers eat roots and tubers and some vegetation above ground. They sometimes pull plants down into their tunnels to feed.
Habit: The Northern Pocket Gopher is very aggressive against its own species outside of mating season and is strictly terrestrial. They are polygamous.
Habitat and Range: The Northern Pocket Gopher resides in a number of habitats from meadows, grasslands, and pastures, to mountain forests all the way up to elevations of 7000 feet. It is found from the Cascades east to Minnesota and from southern Canada south to northern Arizona.
Additional Notes: I never actually saw one of these creatures on the campus but the main lawn was littered with their mounds throughout the season. Their main predators are snakes, badgers, and weasels.
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel ( Spermophilus lateralis )
Identification: At first sight, the Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel looks like a large chipmunk. It has an unmistakably brilliant pelage, with a coppery head and shoulders, and a bold white stripe between two black stripes on each flank. Its back is grayish and can be distinguished from chipmunks by its larger size and the absence of stripes on its face. The head and body length is 152-203 mm and the tail is 64-120 mm long and not bushy.
Feeding: These ground squirrels are omnivorous. They will feed on green vegetation, roots, berries, seeds, acorns, nuts, insects, eggs, and even meat if possible. They often learn to eat human junk food such as chips and peanuts at campsites. At the Johnston Wilderness Campus, the caretaker has reported them regularly stealing dry dog food from his Labrador Retriever's food dish. They stuff internal cheek pouches when they feed, collecting food in larger amounts than they could eat in one sitting and caching it for later.
Habit: The Golden-mantled Squirrel maintains shallow burrows up to 30 m long with openings near protected areas. At Johnston, these squirrels can sometimes be seen scurrying along the rocks on the north side of the stream along the caretaker's yard, or raiding his flowerpots. I also observed them entering and leaving a burrow system under the lawn. These ground squirrels hibernate during the winter and emerge during the spring.
Habitat and Range: S. lateralis prefers mountainous forest areas with mixed or coniferous forest. They occur throughout the mountains from the Rockies west. In Washington, the Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel is known to inhabit Ponderosa Pine forests wherever rock outcrops allow for cover and sun. There are populations of this species in the Blue Mountains and the mountains of the northeast. All of my encounters with this animal occurred on the south facing slopes in the area and along the stream and the caretaker's yard, all areas which receive a lot of sun and have ample rocks for cover.
Additional Notes: The Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel represents a wild species that is often considered a pest species where they interact with humans, burrowing under lawns, eating gardens, and, in this case, stealing dog food. Some animals that prey on it are owls, hawks, weasels, marten, black bear, and bobcats.
Red Tree Squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus )
Identification: T. hudsonicus is a much smaller squirrel than the Fox Squirrels here at Whitman College. The head and body length is 178-203 mm and the tail is 102-152 mm. The Red Tree Squirrel's pelage is reddish (almost rusty) to reddish-gray above and grayish to white below. The tail is as the back but with a black band outlining it. In winter, this squirrel has obvious ear tufts.
Feeding: Red Squirrels are opportunistic feeders, focusing on the cones of firs, pines, and spruces, but also feeding on Douglas Fir shoots, thin bark, pollen cones, green vegetation, fruits, berries, and tree sap. During the spring, they sniff out truffles and other fungi as a major part of their diet.
Habit: The Red Tree Squirrel is noisy, making a variety of calls, including a low “chirr,” and a sharp “bauf, bauf, bauf.” Red squirrels are often heard before they are seen; I made a large percentage of my sightings of them by being scolded in sharp shrieking cries. These squirrels cache food, including making huge piles of pine cones and storing mushrooms in trees, and make nests in tree branches and cavities with leaves, shredded bark and twigs.
Habitat and Range: T. hudsonicus inhabits coniferous forests and the mixed to deciduous forests connected to them from the timberline down through open Ponderosa Pine habitats. They range from eastern Washington and most of the Rockies in the west, most of Canada and the forests in the northern United States from North Dakota eastward.
Additional Notes: Accounts from residents and other observers have suggested that Red Tree Squirrel sightings around Johnston and the residential areas along Mill Creek have become more rare over the last few decades, possibly due to the introduction of domestic dogs and cats. I only made a handful of sightings in ten weeks of observation on the campus. Red Tree Squirrels are preyed upon by owls, hawks, marten, weasels, and coyote, as well as domestic cats and dogs.
Northern Flying Squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus )
Identification: The Northern Flying Squirrel is a small squirrel with very soft fur. It is brown above with white-tipped gray hairs below. It has a layer of loose skin stretching from the forelegs all the way back to the hind legs. Head and body length is 140-162 mm and the tail is 110-140 mm. Its tail is distinctively flattened with long hairs growing out from the sides.
Feeding: Flying squirrels feed primarily on truffles which they root out from the forest floor, but they also consume nuts, seeds, acorns, insects, fruit, and sometimes meat.
Habit: These squirrels are nocturnal, descending each night to the floor to feed. They build nests in tree holes (sometimes abandoned woodpecker holes) with shredded bark as a bedding. They do not fly, but glide by launching themselves from elevated points and extending their legs to stretch out their gliding membranes. They steer by adjusting their forelegs and use their flattened tails to stabilize their course. The instant that it lands, it races to the other side of the tree to elude predators.
Habitat and Range: The Northern Flying Squirrel is a strict forest dweller, ranging across Canada and the northern United States. When it occurs sympatrically with the Southern Flying Squirrel, it often prefers coniferous forests, while the southern resides in hardwoods. Known populations exist in the Blue Mountains of Washington and Oregon, and some of the areas cities, including Walla Walla.
Additional Notes: I never saw or caught these animals, but found the tail of one that had been preyed upon by some other creature. The flying squirrels main predators are owls (such as the Spotted Owl), but they also fall prey to cougar, marten, bobcat, coyote, and undoubtedly domestic cats as well.
White-tailed Deer ( Odocoileus virginianus )
Identification: The White-tailed Deer has a summer pelage that is tan to reddish-brown above whit a white belly, throat, nose band, and eye ring. The winter pelage is grayish-brown above. The tail is brown above and white below. On males, the antlers curve forward with prongs stemming from a single main beam. It is 91-107 cm in height and the males can reach 180 kg in weight, while the smaller females can grow to 112 kg.
Feeding: The White-tailed Deer feeds on green plants, nuts, acorns, and woody vegetation such as twigs and buds of trees.
Habit: These deer are predominantly nocturnal, but can be active at any time. They usually begin to feed as the sun goes down and bed down to hide at dawn.
Habitat and Range: White-tails inhabit forests, swamps, open brushy areas, and can often be seen on agricultural land. They occur across the United States, except areas of the southwest, and throughout southern Canada. In the Northwest, the White-tailed Deer is less numerous than the Mule Deer (its larger cousin) and found primarily east of the Cascades.
Additional Notes: When White-tails flee, they engage in an activity known as “flagging.” They stick their long tails straight up and wag it side to side as they run. The predominant predators of White-tail Deer in the region are cougar and humans, but circumstances sometimes allow a bobcat or coyote to take a deer.
North American Black Bear ( Ursus americanus )
Identification: The Black Bear is the most common bear on the continent and the only one found in the Blue Mountains and the Johnston Wilderness Campus. Here in the western continental states, the Black Bear ranges from black to cinnamon in color with a tan or grizzled snout. It lacks the dish shaped face and prominent hump over its shoulders of Grizzly Bears and Brown Bears.
Feeding: Although the Black Bear is our largest terrestrial carnivore, its diet consists primarily of vegetation, fruits, berries, and fungi. They also eat insects, carrion, and small to medium sized mammals and birds, including ground squirrels and other rodents. It is also known to take grubs and steal honey from bee hives, and is a competent fisher. There are a lot of berries on the campus which can potentially attract feeding black bears.
Habit: The North American Black Bear has a clumsy walk, but is capable of sprinting up to 50 mph and swims and climbs trees quite well. It hibernates in dens during the winter, living on fat reserves it builds up during the late summer and fall. Black bears do not have a call, but make growls, bellows, and bawl as communication.
Habitat and Range: Black Bears inhabit nearly all mountainous regions throughout the United States and Canada, occupying various habitats in the northern portions of its range. In the eastern United States, they live in forests and swamps.
Additional Notes: I never actually saw a bear on the campus, but found evidence of them and took one report of a cub running down the access road. Bears were responsible for bending a steel pole to get at two of my birdfeeders. They bit holes in the feeders and looted their contents. They also left several prints on my car and destroyed a few of the box traps, biting straight through the sheet metal sides. Plate 15 shows a bear in its brown coat.
Cedar Waxwing ( Bombycilla cedrorum )
Identification: Waxwings are sleek, crested birds slightly smaller than a robin. They can be identified by a distinct yellow band across their tails and waxy red tips on their secondary wing feathers. Cedar waxwings are grayish-brown with yellow underbellies, as opposed to Bohemian Waxwings, which have a darker, often grayish underbelly. Both species occur in this area, but only the Cedar Waxwing was observed on the Johnston Wilderness Campus.
Feeding: Eating insects, berries, and other fruits. They can be observed during the summer periodically eating mayflies and mosquitoes out of the air over the pond by the Rachel Carson Cabin or gorging themselves on the many blackberry bushes in the area.
Nesting: Waxwings are reported to build nests of grasses, twigs, and mosses, lined with rootlets, feathers, hair, and other materials. They build them in the forks of branches from 4-50 ft. in trees. During the summer, I found and often visited a nest of waxwings in a tree across the road just east of the entrance gate to Johnston.
Habitat and Range: Across North America from SE Alaska to Mexico. Waxwings inhabit open woodlands, orchards, towns. These birds winter from southern Canada to Panama.
Call: High-pitched whistle with a trill.
American Robin ( Turdus migratorius )
Identification: These birds are omnipresent and very familiar in this part of the world. They are about 9-11” in length and have a sort of plump appearance. Some physical features of the robin are a dark grayish-brown back with a red or orange breast and underbelly and a white lower belly. The robin has a white throat with dark stripes and a white eye ring.
Feeding: Robins regularly eat earthworms, insects, fruits and berries. They can often be seen foraging on the main lawn.
Nesting: Robins build nests of grasses with a middle layer of mud on horizontal limbs and building ledges. I found numerous robin nests on the campus in the trees around the main lawn and was lucky enough to see a clutch of three chicks fledged.
Habitat and Range: The robin is found all over North America. It lives in a variety of habitats, including cities, farmland, woods, and lawns.
Call: A “tut, tut, tut” or a thin “ssip” when flying.
Identification: Thrushes share their shape with the robin, a close relative. They are slightly smaller and predominantly brown with white or grayish underbellies and spotting on their throats. They all have white eye rings. The Johnston campus resides within the reported ranges of three different species of Catharus thrushes, the veery ( C. fuscescens ), the hermit thrush (C. guttatus ), and the Swainson's thrush ( C. ustulatus ). I found one nesting individual and was never able to determine to which species it belonged.
Feeding: Feeds on small invertebrates such as insects, worms, spiders, and snails, and berries and wild fruits.
Nesting: Make nests of twigs, leaves, mosses, grass, and mud on or very near the ground. All species have light blue eggs. One thrush nest, with one individual that I found on it, was found about half way up the north-facing slope behind the campus. I was unable to examine the nest or bird well enough to distinguish between species.
Habitat and Range: The veery prefers moist deciduous riparian habitat, while the hermit thrush and Swainson's thrush reside in mixed woods and thickets.
Call: The thrushes can be divided into species by their different calls: the veery's song is a sinking, breezy, “vee-ur, vee-ur, veer, veer” or a low single noted “phew.” The hermit thrush sings 3-4 phrases at varied pitches, each with an introductory note. It also makes a low “chuck,” a harsh “pay,” and scolds “tuk, tuk, tuk.” Swainson's thrushes sing rising, breezy phrases and make single notes of “whit” or “foot.” Plate 34 shows a Hermit Thrush.
Ruffed Grouse ( Bonasa umbellus )
Identification: Grouse appear like wild chickens. They are larger than quail but can be distinguished from pheasants by their short tails. Ruffed grouse are brown with lighter underbellies with dark bands on their breasts. They have a thick black band near the ends of their tails. Grouse are fast runners and make an explosive noise when they take flight.
Feeding: Grouse eat insects, seeds, buds, and berries.
Nesting: Grouse nest on the ground in scraped out depressions lined with leaves, feathers, twigs, and other material. Nests are usually hidden under shrubs and brush.
Habitat and Range: Ruffed Grouse occupy primarily deciduous forests across northern North America. I did not actually see them on the campus, but on the road a few miles from Johnston.
Call: Ruffed Grouse make alarm calls that sound as sharp “quit-quit” notes. Males call to attract mates by rapidly beating their wings against logs. These calls sound a bit like airplane engines.
Blue Grouse ( Dendragapus obscurus )
Identification: Blue Grouse look a lot like ruffed grouse in shape, but are predominantly gray in color, with black tails with gray tips. Females are brownish and plainer. Males have two large yellow-orange eye combs and two yellow or red air sacs on the sides of their necks used for courting.
Feeding: Blue Grouse eat fir and hemlock needles, seeds and buds, and small invertebrates such as insects.
Nesting: Nests are very effectively hidden at the bases of rocks and trees and are made of grasses and needles.
Habitat and Range: Blue Grouse inhabit western mountain slopes, woodlands, and brush lowlands throughout the Rockies, Cascades, and other smaller ranges.
Call: Males make hooting and booming calls by inflating their colorful air sacs during courtship.
Steller's Jay ( Cyanocitta stelleri )
Identification: Steller's Jays are large perching birds (several inches longer than robins) that are distinctly brilliant blue with black heads and crests, and black bars on their wings and tails. They also have white markings above and below their beaks. Steller's Jay is a truly unmistakable bird and one of the most beautiful found on the campus. I often saw them traveling in pairs and sticking to the tops of the larger firs and pines. They can also be spotted by watching for smaller birds chasing off larger ones. I often found the escapee to be a marauding jay.
Feeding: Jays eat anything edible. Common items in their diet are acorns (which they often cache), insects, small birds, frogs, lizards, berries, fruits, and leftover camp scraps where humans leave them.
Nesting: Jays build bulky twig nests with mud, leaves, and a lining of grass, and rootlets in trees, abandoned hollows and buildings.
Habitat and Range: Steller's Jays across western North America south to Nicaragua. They prefer mountain and coniferous forests.
Call: Jays have a very harsh “shaack shaack shaack”. This is an unmistakably loud and harsh call by which I was able to quickly differentiate jays from woodpeckers at a distance on the campus.
Common Nighthawk ( Chordeiles minor )
Identification: Nighthawks are usually seen in flight, high above the ground, making quick, erratic directional changes. Some distinguishing characteristics of the nighthawk are longer slender wings, a notched tail, and a white throat, and distinctive white bars on the undersides of their wings. If lucky enough to see one on the ground, one would notice their hooked beaks, which seem small in relation to their heads, but actually open up to reveal huge mouths, and their extremely diminutive legs and feet.
Feeding: Nighthawks belong to the goatsucker family, all of which eat insects, which they catch high in the air. They are primarily crepuscular and nocturnal.
Nesting: The Common Nighthawk nests on the ground in soil and gravel or on rooftops. The nests are very well camouflaged.
Habitat and Range: These birds inhabit forests, plains, cities, and streams across North America.
Call: The Common Nighthawk's call is a nasal “peent.”
Vaux's Swifts ( Chaetura vauxi )
Identification: Swifts can be seen in large groups flying high, especially over bodies of water where insects occur. They have square tails and long pointed wings. Swifts are dark gray-brown above and paler on their throats and chests. They are much smaller than nighthawks and lack the distinctive white wingbars.
Feeding: Vaux's swifts feed on insects, which they catch out of the air, especially over bodies of water. I often observed them feeding over Mill Creek in the clearing by the groundskeeper's house.
Nesting: Swifts build their nests by gluing twigs and needles to the wall of a hollow tree or similar manmade structure, like a chimney. They do this with a sticky substance like saliva.
Habitat and Range: These swifts prefer woodlands near water, and their range is west of the Rockies from southwestern Canada to California.
Call: A loud, rapid ticking or chippering notes.
American Dipper or Water Ouzel ( Cinclus mexicanus )
Identification: Dippers are gray birds with dark bills and short tails and wings. They can be identified by their habits as well. They often wade through the stream making deep knee bends (from which they get their names) between dives.
Feeding: Dippers feed on aquatic insects, especially nymphs and larvae, small fish and other aquatic invertebrates.
Nesting: Dippers build nests of grasses and mosses on cliffs, on rocks in streams, behind waterfalls, or in other damp locations.
Habitat and Range: The American Dipper inhabits mountain streams and high lakes west of the Rockies from Alaska to Canada.
Call: The song is a loud series of whistles. Their call is single note “bzeet.”
Belted Kingfisher ( Ceryle alcyon )
Identification: The Kingfisher is an easily recognized bird, several inches larger than robin. It has a thick bill and a large head with a pronounced crest. The Belted Kingfisher is blue-grey above and whitish below with a prominent gray breast band. The females of the species have a reddish-orange breast band as well. They can often be seen hovering over water with their heads down, or perched over streams and lakes on tree, telephone wires, or anything else available. Their feet are small and syndactyl (with two partially joined toes).
Feeding: Kingfishers hunt fish, amphibians, reptiles and insects, by hovering overhead and diving into the water or by diving from perches.
Nesting: The nest is a tunnel 3-15 ft. in length excavated in a cliff or vertical bank with an entrance hole 3-4 in. wide.
Habitat and Range: These birds reside near any water with a food source across North America.
Call: Belted Kingfishers are very vociferous, making a loud rattle, often in flight. At Johnston, this call is fairly common. I often heard it from across the campus as a male swooped through the stream channel.
Rufous Hummingbird ( Selasphorus rufus )
Identification: The male of this species can be identified by its rufous back, and orange-red throat. The female has a green back and dull rufous sides including the base of its tail. Hummingbirds as a whole are easy to discern from their small size and rapid wing beats that allow them to hover. These beats can actually be heard as a dull buzzing if one is close enough.
Feeding: Hummingbirds feed on nectar (especially from red flowers), small insects, and spiders. There are many flowers around the campus that are potential Hummingbird attractors, including wild Columbine. I was also able to attract them with a nectar feeder filled with red sugar water.
Nesting: Hummingbird nests are small (like the birds themselves), made of soft materials like cottonwood seeds, lichens, bark, mosses, and rootlets, and held together with spider silk which they steal. I was lucky enough to observe a Rufous Hummingbird nest for several weeks. It was placed in the fork of a limb over the stream crossing t the groundskeeper's house and appeared like a small mossy teacup.
Habitat and Range: Rufous Hummingbirds inhabit woods edges, thickets, parks, mountain meadows and garden throughout northwestern North America.
Call: Rufous Hummingbird has two calls, a “zeee-chuppity-chup” and a “chip.”
California Quail ( Callipepla californica )
Identification: Appears chicken-like but much smaller with a short black plume curving forward over the face. Males have a black face with a white forehead and throat pattern, while females are much duller brown and gray. Like Grouse, California Quail often burst into flight with an explosive noise when flushed. They often travel in large groups, sometimes walking in single file. I found a pair on campus leading a group of about a dozen chicks through the brush and often saw them on the road.
Feeding: Quail feed on grasses, grain, seeds, insects, and weeds and sometimes visit feeders.
Nesting: California Quail nest in scraped out depressions which they line with grasses and leaves and conceal on or very near the ground.
Habitat and Range: The California Quail prefers open woodlands and shrublands, or even parks and suburbs from southern Canada to Baja west of the Rockies.
Call: Their call is a “qua-quer'go” or “Chi-ca'go” or soft clucking sounds. The males announce their territory with a loud “kurr.”
Red-breasted Nuthatch ( Sitta Canadensis )
Identification: The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a small bird with a blue-gray back and rusty underparts, and a black over the head with a white line just over the eyes. They have longish, woodpecker-like bills. They can sometimes be seen in a distinctive posture, perched on vertical limbs and trunks facing downwards with their heads up.
Feeding: Nuthatches feed on bark insects, conifer seeds, and will visit feeders for sunflower seeds or suet.
Nesting: The Red-breasted Nuthatch nests in holes, birdhouses, or abandoned woodpecker holes, which it lines with rootlets, mosses, or grass. It rubs pitch around the entrance to the nest to protect against predators.
Habitat and Range: It lives in coniferous woods across North America north of Mexico.
Call: Their call is often described as an “enk” or “ank” which sound like a tiny tin horn.
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Identification: The mourning dove is the most common dove found in the wild. It has a distinctive plump shape, but is slightly smaller and thinner than our town pigeons. It has a relatively long tail with several pointed feathers with white tips. They have a faint blue eye ring and black dots on their wings.
Feeding: Mourning Doves feed on weed, grass, and grain seed, and insects. They often visit feeders for seed.
Nesting: The Mourning Dove builds its nest in a vertical fork or horizontal branch of a tree. The nest is a loosely constructed concoction of twigs, grass, needles, and weeds.
Habitat and Range: It is commonly found in many habitats, from open forests, to plains all across North America.
Call: The Mourning Dove makes a hollow “coah, cooo, cooo, cooo.”
Western Tanager ( Piranga ludoviciana )
Identification: The male Western Tanager is a brilliantly colored bird, bright yellow with black wings and back and reddish-orange head during the summer. The female lacks the head coloration and has olive-gray wings and back. Both sexes have vivid white wingbars.
Feeding: Tanagers feed on insects (such as wasps) and forage in the foliage. They sometimes visit feeders.
Nesting: Tanagers nest on the outer limbs of trees in nests of twigs, rootlets, and various finer materials used for the lining.
Habitat and Range: The Western Tanager inhabits coniferous and mixed forests from the Rockies west to the coast. I saw one male on a wire along the access road behind the main cabin.
Call: Its song is like the Robin's but much shorter in hoarse phrases. Its call is a “pi-tuk.”
Downy Woodpecker ( Picoides pubescens ) and Hairy Woodpecker ( P. villosus )
Identification: Both species have white underbellies and backs and black wings with white spots and dark bills. The males have red patches on the backs of their heads and both sexes have white facial markings. The Hairy Woodpecker is larger (by about 3 inches) and has a longer beak.
Feeding: Both species feed on insects which they excavate from trees and bark.
Nesting: Both woodpeckers excavate holes in trees with their bills for nests, but the Downy prefers dead wood, while the Hairy uses live wood.
Habitat and Range: Both species occur across the continent, south to Mexico, in forests. The Downy is sometimes found in parks, orchards, and suburbs as well. I saw one individual in the trees by the Rachel Carson Cabin pond, which I believe to be a Downy Woodpecker, but both species occur in the area and I have included both.
Call: The Downy makes a rapid descending whinny and a flat “pick.” The Hairy's call is more like the rattle of the Kingfisher, and its single note is a “peek!,” much sharper than the call of the Downy.
MacGillivray's Warbler ( Oporornis tolmmiei )
Identification: MacGillivray's Warbler is a small bird with a yellow underbelly, an olive back, and a dark grayish hood with a broken white eye ring. Females are duller, with less contrast between the yellow belly and olive back. This warbler pumps its tail in flight and hops rather than walking.
Feeding: They eat primarily insects in the understory.
Nesting: MacGillivray's Warbler makes a cup-shaped nest of weeds and grasses fairly close to the ground.
Habitat and Range: This warbler is fairly common in dense undergrowth of mountain forests west of the Continental Divide.
Call: The song is a buzzy warble slurring downward and the call is a sharp “tsik.”
Some birds I was not able to identify, either because they only showed up once, or I was never able to get a good enough view of them to distinguish them from other species. I believe that the following species were present, but I was not able to make a positive identification
I think that the nest under the eave of the Environmental Studies Shed belonged to this species, but it is a doubtful identification. I never saw a male, and never saw the female off the nest, where I could get a good look at her shape.
I was never able to get a lasting look at one, but I often saw sparrows (which were not House Sparrows) in the understory vegetation.
I made one sighting of a hawk at a great distance. I could not make out coloration, however, and can only narrow the individual down to the Buteos, of which there are several very distinct species in the area. It could have been a Northern Goshawk, a Cooper's Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Ferruginous Hawk, or a Sharp-shinned Hawk; they are all approximately the size of a bird I saw and occur in the area. Without a closer look I could not tell them apart.
I saw one individual that was definitely a falcon, and it immediately struck me as a Peregrine Falcon, but it flew away before I was able to get a good look at the features that would allow me to make a positive identification. It could also have been a Prairie Falcon or Gyrfalcon out of its range.
Lepidoptera --- Butterflies and Moths
Ceanothus Silkmoth ( Hyalophora euryalus )
Identification: This is one of the largest moths found in the area. It can be distinguished by an elongated white eyespot on each wing and a multicolored marginal eyespot on the forewings. It is reddish brown in color with a submarginal white line on all wings and light margins. They have large, feathery antennae and an extremely hairy body with white lines across the abdomen.
Habitat and Range: This saturnid is found west of the Rockies from British Columbia south to Mexico. It inhabits numerous habitats including coastal areas, coniferous forests, and chaparral.
Food: Larvae feed on buckbrush (from which they take their name Ceanothus ), willow, madrone, alder, and a number of other trees and bushes. Adults do not feed.
Notes: This is one of two saturnid moths I found on the campus, and can be distinguished from the Polyphemus Moth by its color and pattern. It tends to rest with its wings held above it.
Polyphemus Moth ( Antheraea polyphemus )
Identification: This is another very large moth, belonging to the same family as the Ceanothus moth. It can be distinguished by its lighter cinnamon-like coloration and pattern. It has a large round eyespot in the middle of each wing. The large eyespots on the hindwings are gray with yellow lemon shapes in them. If one looks closely, the eyespots contain cells that are transparent.
Habitat and Range: This moth is found in deciduous forests, wetlands, orchards, and suburban areas throughout Canada, the United States except Arizona and Nevada, and parts of Mexico.
Food: Young feed on many different species of trees and shrubs, including oak, willow, maple and birch trees. They are also known to feed on apple.
Notes: This is another large, beautiful moth found on the campus during the summer. Look for them sporadically near the large lights outside the cabins. It tends to rest with its wings held above it.
Ranchman's Tiger Moth (Platyprepia virginalis)
Identification: A medium sized moth, this tiger has black front wings with yellow spots and hind wings that range from orange with black markings to black with submarginal yellow spots. It has stripes, either orange or yellow across the abdomen.
Habitat and Range: It is found throughout the western United States.
Food: All sources I have located do not list a known food plant.
Notes: I found only one of these and caught it during the day. Frustratingly, I have not been able to find much information on this species.
Western Sheep Moth ( Hemileuca eglanteria )
Identification: This saturnid is smaller than its silkmoth cousins, and strikingly colored. It varies from brown to orange to rosy pink on the wings, with a large black eyespot on each forewing and black lines and marginal markings on all wings. The specimen I caught had rosy orange forewings with black markings and distinctly orange hindwings. It also had black stripes across the abdomen.
Habitat and Range: It occurs throughout western North America. This species is known to reside in a variety of habitats including chaparral, varied woodlands and forests, and riparian habitats, from sea level to over 8,000 feet.
Food: Larvae feed on a number of wild trees, flowers and bushes.
Notes: I found one individual during the day on the campus. Adults are quick diurnal flyers that spend a great deal of time close to the ground.
Great Tiger Moth or Garden Tiger Moth ( Arctia caja )
Identification: Forewings are brown and white or brown and yellow in a pattern reminiscent of a giraffe. Hindwings are orange with black spots. It has an orange abdomen with black stripes and a hairy brown thorax. The caterpillars are extremely woolly, with white dorsal hairs and reddish orange lateral hairs.
Habitat and Range: Occurs in Canada and the northern United States. Sources indicate that it inhabits woodlands, but this might not be exclusive.
Food: It feeds on low shrubs and grasses.
Notes: These are unmistakable moths with distinctive wing patterns.
One-eyed or Willow or Cerisy's Sphinx ( Smerinthus cerisyi )
Identification: This is a medium sized moth with forewings that may appear slightly scalloped and mottled brown and tan. The hindwings are pinkish with a black spot inside a blue eyespot in the middle of the wing. They have very hefty bodies that are graduated almost to a point or bullet shape at the tip of the abdomen. The caterpillar is bluish green with yellow streaks and a green and yellow horn at the rear.
Habitat and Range: The Willow Sphinx is found throughout southern Canada and the northern United States, south in the western mountain ranges to Arizona. It prefers valleys, river margins, low ground, and areas with populations of willows.
Food: Adults do not eat, but larvae use willows and poplars as host plants.
Notes: This moth was fairly common in the summer on the campus near lights at night. It is a very strong flier, sometimes becoming confused in flight and actually making audible thumps when it collided with trees on the ground. It rests with its wings down and to the sides.
Great Ash Sphinx ( Sphinx chersis ) Plate 61
Identification: This medium to large moth has gray forewings with fine, distinct, black slashes running lengthwise through the middle of the wing. Its hindwings are marked with black and blurry gray to white bars. Its abdomen is hefty like the rest of the sphinxes and marked with black and white ribbing and a fine black line down the middle of the back.
Habitat and Range: It occurs in a variety of woodland and scrubland habitats throughout Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Food: Larvae feed on several different plates including lilac, aspen, ash, and others. Adults feed on the nectar of deep throated flowers.
Notes: I found these moths at night near the lights at the campus. In flight and at rest they resemble the One-eyed Sphinx.
Yellow Woolly Bear Moth or Virginian Tiger Moth ( Diascrisia virginica )
Identification: This is a smallish white moth with tiny black or gray dots on the wings, usually one on the forewing and 3-4 on the hindwing. The abdomen is hairy and yellowish with black spots on the back and sides. The two femora, first front leg sections, are covered with yellowish hairs.
Habitat and Range: They occur throughout the continent in a variety of habitats including roadsides, meadows, gardens, and crop areas.
Food: The larvae are often crop pests and feed on herbaceous plants.
Notes: The collection from Johnston includes one of these and another moth that I suspect is either the same species or a very closely related one. It is similar in color and pattern except that the abdomen is white with random black spots and the femora are brilliant pink.
Underwing (Red) ( Catocala spp.)
Identification: There are more than a hundred Catocala underwing species in North America. On average, their wingspan is 75-84 mm. The forewings are light gray or brownish and the hindwings are red, orange, or yellow with black bands. The forewings are highly variable in their pattern, but many have a distinctive mark in the middle. They also have fairly robust bodies.
Habitat and Range: These moths inhabit woodlands, with representative species across the continent.
Food: The larvae eat the foliage of various trees, including oak, poplar, and willow.
Notes: These moths can be damaging to trees. I believe another moth in the collection to be C. relicta , the White Underwing. Its underwing is white and lacks black bars, but it is otherwise very similar.
Geometer Moths (Family Geometridae)
Identification: The Geometer Moths are the second largest family of moths, with over 15,000 species worldwide and many representatives in North America. Most of the have large, rounded wings and slender bodies. They usually have transverse lines on the wings and excellent camouflage. They spread their wings out flat at rest, so that each wing is visible. This gives them a distinct shape and sets them apart from other moths. Their larvae are called loopers, or inch worms, spanworms, or measuring worms, and move in a characteristic looping crawl.
Habitat and Range: There are several species across the continent in all sorts of habitats. Many species within the family are limited to particular regions or habitats with their specific host plants.
Food: Geometers feed on a variety of foods, usually specific to certain species. Many can become so numerous that they are destructive as larvae to crops or forest trees.
Notes: At Johnston, there was not a single night that passed without these moths. They can be found on trees, at the lights, or on the windows of the cabin. Look for their spread appearance; few other moths rest in this manner.
Common Wood Nymph ( Cercyonis pegala )
Identification: A medium sized butterfly with brown wings. The forewing has two eyespots and a prominent postmedian band on the undersides. Can be distinguished from other species by the lower eyespot, which approximately as large as the upper one. The hind wing has a single, smaller eyespot.
Habitat and Range: Inhabits moist grassy areas across the western United States north of northern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. At Johnston, I often found them on the main lawn area.
Food: Grasses
Notes: These butterflies rest with their wings held up over their backs.
Pale Swallowtail ( Papilio eurymedon )
Identification: Large yellow and black butterflies much like the Western Tiger Swallowtail, but paler yellow to almost white.
Habitat and Range: P. eurymedon ranges from British Columbia to California east to Colorado. It prefers deciduous woodlands with permanent water sources.
Food: Mountain laurel, buckthorn, hawthorn, currant, alder, and others.
Notes: I often found them flying with the Western Tiger Swallowtail.
Western Tiger Swallowtail ( Papilio rutulus )
Identification: Large deep yellow butterfly with black stripes and a distinct tail on each hindwing. Has blue and red markings on the hindwing near the tails.
Habitat and Range: P. rutulus inhabits woodlands and suburban areas with permanent water sources. It ranges from British Columbia to California and Arizona east to Colorado.
Food: Feeds on willow, aspen, cottonwood, tulip-trees, and other trees.
Notes: These butterflies would often fly high to escape. They are big enough to see from quite a distance and sometimes slowly lift and lower their wings when they perch. I was able to catch only one specimen which was badly battered so I released it.
Lorquin's Admiral ( Limenitis lorquini )
Identification: A medium sized black butterfly, it has a slender orange patch along the margin of the forewing at the apex and a broad yellow stripe from the bottom of the hindwing to the middle of the forewing's forward margin. Similar to the Western Sister, but can be distinguished by range and the orange patches, which are larger and sperated from the margin by a black band in the Western Sister. Its underside is extravagantly tinted with rows of orange, yellow, and blue cells.
Habitat and Range: It prefers forest openings and riparian area. This admiral ranges from the coasts of the Pacific states east to Colorado.
Food: Eats willow, poplar, and cottonwood, among other trees.
Notes: These butterflies are in various areas at Johnston, and can be seen soaring with their wings still and open just overhead.
Painted Lady ( Vanessa cardui )
Identification: The Painted Lady is about the same size as Lorquin's Admiral, but orange above with black markings and white along the hindwing's trailing margin and near the apex of the forewing. Below, it has four eyespots on the hindwing and pink markings on the forewing.
Habitat and Range: V. cardui is the most widespread butterfly in the world, found almost everywhere except the arctic, parts of Asia, South America, and Australia, and New Zealand. It inhabits every type of open habitat in its range.
Food: It feeds on thistles and many other plants.
Notes: I usually found these by the main gate in the blackberries and grasses on the north side of the stream.
Orange Sulphur ( Colias eurytheme )
Identification: This is a yellowish butterfly with an orange patch above that can be small or encompass the entire wings. It usually has a dark orange spot in the middle of the hindwing and a blackish spot on the forewing. It usually has dark blackish bands along the margins.
Habitat and Range: Ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico and inhabits all of the United States. It lives in various open habitats.
Food: Eats clover, alfalfa, and other legumes.
Notes: These butterflies are often on the main lawn among the clover, with their wings up when resting and feeding.
Greater Fritillary ( Speyeria spp.)
Identification: There are many species of Greater Fritillary. They are typically orange above with bold black patterns and similar below, with the exception of having several silver spots (they shine like metal!) beneath. They are very difficult to tell apart, and they often fly together, with many species in the same area.
Habitat and Range: Most of these butterflies live in moist woodlands and mountain meadows across the continent.
Food: Primarily violets, the host plant of the larval stage.
Notes: I believe that the two specimens in the collection are Great Spangled Fritillaries ( S. cybele ), but there are many other species they could be. Look for these on the main lawn and by the main gate, where there are many violets and blackberry bushes (they do not feed on these, but seem to congregate near them with Lorquin's Admirals).
Mourning Cloak ( Nymphalis antiopa )
Identification: This conspicuous butterfly is unmistakable. It is dark, almost black with a prominent yellow band across the trailing margins of all four wings and a submarginal row of blue spots, and mottled gray and brown below. Its wingspan is up to 85mm.
Habitat and Range: The Mourning Cloak is most often found in hardwood forests, but they can be found in any habitat across the continent.
Food: The larva host plants are willows, elms, and poplars.
Notes: The collection does not actually contain this insect, because I never successfully caught one. I saw several, but almost always over Mill Creek, out of my reach.
Identification: This white butterfly differs from the Cabbage White (the ubiquitous white butterfly in every lawn across the country) by having veins surrounded by gray scales, making them appear prominent on the underside. It has a grayish body and white wings and may or may not have a black spot on the forewing (which the Cabbage White does have).
Habitat and Range: Occurs in forest openings in western mountain ranges and surrounding areas.
Food: The larval hosts are crucifers such as rock cresses.
Notes: These could easily be mistaken for another white to the untrained eye, but are relatively obvious as a group. Look for them on any of the lawns or along the roads at the campus.
Satyr Comma ( Polygonia satyrus )
Identification: This butterfly (actually a brushfoot) has jagged wing margins. It is brownish-orange above with black spots. Below, it has a brown-toned, mottled appearance (lighter than other commas) and a distinct white spot in the shape of a comma on each hindwing. It can be distinguished from other commas by the spot pattern on the upper sides of its wings. It has two spots on the forewing inner margin and a black spot in the middle of the forewing (others lack these).
Habitat and Range: It inhabits woodland habitats from Colorado west to the coast, from Arizona and New Mexico north into Canada.
Food: the larva feed on nettles.
Notes: A related species, the Question Mark ( P. interrogationis ), has a dot below the comma spot, which is where it gets its common name. This insect rests with its wings together over its back.
California Tortoiseshell ( Nymphalis californica )
Identification: This brushfoot looks a lot like the comma from above, but it differs in spot pattern and its bold black borders. It also has a white spot at the apex of the forewing. Below, it is a lot like the comma, but lacks the comma-shaped spot.
Habitat and Range: Inhabits forest areas across the western United States and Canada.
Food: The larval host are plants of the Ceanothus genus, which includes the buckbrush.
Notes: These butterflies are almost indistinguishable from the commas (without a lot of experience) until one can inspect them in their hands.
Phoebus Parnassian ( Parnassius phoebus )
Identification: This is a large butterfly (wingspan 75 mm) with black and white antennae and large yellowish wings with black bars and red eyespots (most surrounded by black). The hindwings in this species are almost as big and rounded as the forewings. The body is robust and dark gray.
Habitat and Range: Lives in open mountain habitats, from about 4500 ft to alpine altitudes in the Rockies, the northern Cascades, The Sierra Nevadas, and north into Canada.
Food: Caterpillars eat stonecrops.
Notes: These are conspicuous butterflies, with one other relative, the Clodius Parnassian, in the area.
There are two Lepidopteran which I was not able to usefully identify, one because its scale (and hence, features) were lost during pinning—I believe it to be part of the family of blues. The other simply has me baffled.
Order Hymenoptera – Ants, Wasps, Bees, and Kin
Black and Yellow Mud Dauber ( Sceliphron caementarium )
Identification: These wasps have a slender waist (pedicel) between the abdomen and the thorax, which are primarily yellow with black markings. The legs are yellow with some black markings and the wings are brown to black. The body is nonmetallic and 25-30 mm in length.
Habitat and Range: Mud Daubers occur throughout the continent in meadows, cliffs, and near humans.
Food: The adults drink flower nectar and capture spiders, which they feed to their larvae.
Notes: This species builds mud nests with their saliva and mandibles, often under eaves and roofs. The nests have tubes (cells) in them, which the female provisions with paralyzed spiders, laying an egg on top of the spider and then sealing the tube. They are not aggressive, but do have a painful sting.
Identification: There are 3 different classes of Honey Bee, the queen (16-20 mm), the female worker (~12 mm), and the male drone (15-16 mm). All are reddish brown and black with dark yellow rings on the abdomen, with short yellowish hairs covering most of the body.
Habitat and Range: Honey Bees are cosmopolitan. They were introduced by 17 th century settlers who brought them to pollinate crops and produce honey. They are found in beekeepers' hives, but often go feral and create hives in the wild.
Food: Adults eat honey and drink nectar. Larvae eat honey, bee bread (a mixture of honey and pollen) and royal jelly (a paste secreted by worker bees).
Notes: Honey bees are often attracted t the clover on the main lawn of the campus. They are not aggressive, and can only sting once, after which they lose their venom sacs and die.
Bald-faced Hornet (Vespula maculata)
Identification: These hornets are large, bulky wasps, 16-20 mm in length. They are mostly black, with yellowish-white one the face, thorax and end of the abdomen.
Habitat and Range: The Bald-Faced Hornet can be found throughout North America's meadows, forests, and lawns.
Food: The adults drink nectar and fruit juices and may prey on other insects. The larvae are fed insects, which the adults pre-chew.
Notes: These wasps build paper nests with cell levels surrounded by an outer sheath (often in or on buildings). They are very aggressive at the nest if it is disturbed, and can sting several times.
Blue-Black Spider Wasp (Anoplius spp.)
Identification: These wasps are black or metallic-blue (including the wings, which have an iridescent shine), with a relatively short waist and long hind legs. Many species have an orange spot on the abdomen. They measure 12-20 mm in length.
Habitat and Range: Blue-Black Spider Wasps range throughout the western United States. They can be found on flowers or on the ground hunting.
Food: The adults drink nectar and paralyze spiders to provision their nests. They appear to preferentially hunt wolf spiders and funnel web spiders.
Notes: I often found these wasps on the soil by first gate at Johnston. They can be observed closely without any real danger, as they are usually intent on hunting. Of the two specimens in the collection, one may actually be a Steel- Blue Cricket Hunter (Chlorion aerarium), which looks very similar, but specializes in hunting grasshoppers and crickets for its nests.
Identification: This is a very large family of bees (about 460 species in North America). They are 9-11 mm in length and metallic blue-green with transparent wings.
Habitat and Range: They are found across the continent in a variety of habitats.
Food: The adults drink nectar, and the larvae eat nectar and pollen. Some species have been known to lap up the sweat of animals.
Notes: Their stings are not very painful.
Identification: Yellow Jackets range 12-16 mm in length with stout bodies and short waists (pedicels). They are mostly black, with yellow markings on the head and thorax, and yellow bands along the length of the abdomen. They have short, stout antennae.
Habitat and Range: Yellow jackets are found across the continent in meadows, forest edges, and a number of other habitats.
Food: They eat nectar but prey on other insects, which they pre-chew for their larvae. They will also take other foods, including meat back to their nests.
Notes: These wasps build their nests (which are similar to hornet nests) either in the ground or low to the ground in stumps, bushes, or logs. They can be pests at picnic and are very aggressive, delivering multiple painful stings.
Carpenter Ant (Camponotus spp.)
Identification: These ants are 6-12 mm in length, primarily black, and have elbowed antennae.
Habitat and Range: Carpenter ants are found in wooded areas, logs, tree trunks, buildings, and other places. The literature I have found suggests they are an eastern insect, but this may be incorrect.
Food: Carpenter ants eat other insects, fruit juices, honeydew, and other sweet foods.
Notes: These ants lack a sting, but can bite and often become pests by tunneling into buildings. At the campus, most (if not all) of the buildings are infested with Carpenter Ants.
Identification: Paper wasps look very much like Yellow jackets, but the upper part of the head is never notched like it is in Yellow jackets. They are reddish-brown to black, with yellow markings on the thorax and yellow bands on the abdomen.
Habitat and Range: The United States are home to 15 species of Paper Wasp, which occur in a variety of habitats throughout the continent.
Food: The adults drink nectar or fruit juice, and the larvae eat pre-chewed insects.
Notes: Paper wasps make nests of one tier attached by a single stalk from which it hangs. The nests lack the outer sheath of hornet nests and are often found attached to manmade structures.
Ichneumon Wasp (Family Ichneumonidae)
Identification: Ichneumons are the largest family of insects, with over 3,000 North American species. They are highly variable in color and size, but are typically slender and wasp-like with prominent antennae (sometimes with whitish segments). The females are often easy to recognize by their long, threadlike ovipositors, which look like whips or needles.
Habitat and Range: These wasps are found in a variety of habitats across the continent, especially wooded areas.
Food: The adults may drink nectar or not eat at all. The larvae are parasites on insect larvae, which they eat from the inside out, while the host is still alive.
Notes: Ichneumons are parasitic wasps that lay their eggs on caterpillars, and other larvae. The long ovipositor (sometimes mistaken for a stinger) is actually used to bore through wood to lay eggs. They do not sting, although some species can pierce the skin with their ovipositors. Plate 41 shows a Giant Ichneumon, which can pierce through over two inches of wood to lay its eggs.
Identification: These large bees closely resemble Bumble Bees in size and are often misidentified. They are primarily black, with some yellow or whitish markings. They can be distinguished by their shiny abdomen, which is lacking in Bumble Bees.
Habitat and Range: Carpenter Bees occur in meadows and forests across the continent.
Food: The adults drink nectar, while the larvae feed on pollen and nectar.
Notes: These bees nest in cavities in wood, though rarely enough to harm human structures. The are not aggressive and rarely sting.
Cuckoo Wasp (Family Chrysididae)
Identification: Body length is 6-12 mm. The body is metallic blue-green and concave on the underside of the abdomen. The stinger is apparent at the end of the abdomen, unlike the Sweat Bee.
Habitat and Range: The literature states that Cuckoo Wasps occur east of the Rockies. There are over 125 species on the continent in a variety of habitats.
Food: Adults drink nectar and capture other bees and wasps for the larvae to parasitize.
Notes: These little wasps do not sting, but sometimes roll into a ball if disturbed.
Western Firefly (Ellychnia californica)
Identification: Length is 10-14 mm. These beetles are primarily black with a thorax with two red stripes between the black margins and disk. The head is concealed from above by the pronotum over the thorax. The abdomen is slightly elongated.
Habitat and Range: This firefly is found throughout the continent in woodland areas.
Food: The larvae feed on smaller insects and larvae, snails and slugs. The adult diet is not known.
Notes: This is not the famed lightning bug of the Midwest woods, but it is the same family. This particular species is diurnal and lacks light organs. I caught two speciments by seeing them in flight during the day.
Narrow Snail Eater or Boat-backed Ground Beetle (Scaphinotus angusticollis)
Identification: Body length is 16-24 mm. This beetle is black with spoon-shaped apical and maxillary palpi (SS 84). The head and pronotum are narrow in comparison to the abdomen. The antennae are long and slender and the pronotum is ridged on both sides.
Habitat and Range: These predatory beetles reside in moist woods, with close relatives across the continent.
Food: As the name implies, the primary prey of this beetle is snails and slugs. They also eat insects, such as caterpillars, and berries.
Notes: The narrow head and pronotum of this beetle allows it to get inside the opening of a snail's shell to eat it even when it is protected from other predators.
Rugose Stag Beetle (Sinodendron rugosum)
Identification: Body length is 11-18 mm (3/8-3/4”). The head is much narrower than the thorax and the entire body is jet black. The head has a short backward curving horn, which is much more pronounced in males than in females.
Habitat and Range: It resides in moist woodlands from British Columbia south to California.
Food: Adults may feed on plant juices or even aphid's honeydew. The young eat wood, including alder, willow, oak, and other species.
Notes: The larvae of this beetle hatch on bark and tunnel inward to feed until they create pupal chambers. They are considered beneficial to the forest system because they help to recycle dead trees. I collected specimens by stripping dead bark off of trees and finding the adults. They are truly bizarre looking beetles.
Stag Beetle (Family Lucanidae)
Identification: These beetles are characterized by large mandibles. The body has a narrow space between the elytra and pronotum and is primarily black or reddish and shiny. The male's jaws branch and are much larger than the female's jaws. One definitive characteristic feature of these beetles is sharply elbowed antennae with a comb-like club at the end.
Habitat and Range: There are stag beetles across the continent in a variety of habitats with ample wood decaying or dead wood.
Food: The adults are thought to sip plant juices or not at all. All species have larvae that eat wood, usually decaying or dead wood.
Notes: The stag beetles in the collection are rather small representatives of the group. The Giant Stag Beetle of the eastern United States can reach 60 mm in length and has enormous mandibles that can deliver a nasty pinch. I think that the representatives in the collection may be the genus Ceruchus.
Convergent Ladybird Beetle (Hippodamia convegens)
Identification: This little beetle is 6-8 mm long with a black head and pronotum with white margins and two converging white marks in the middle. It has red elytra with six spots on each and one spot on the scutellum, making 13 spots in all. The forward three spots are smaller than the posterior spots.
Habitat and Range: It is ubiquitous across the continent's woods, meadows, gardens, lawns and other various habitats.
Food: They feed on aphids and other insects as larvae and as adults.
Notes: These are one of the most abundant and beneficial insects on the continent, as they feed on a number of pest species. In the past, there have been efforts to raise them in large numbers for pest management purposes, but the program was too costly.
Common Black Ground Beetle (Pterostichus spp.)
Identification: Body length is 13-16 mm. These common beetles are elongate and shiny black. They elytra are conspicuously grooved and rounded on the forward corners. The head is exposed and narrows before dipping beneath the pronotum behind the eyes.
Habitat and Range: This group of beetles contains over 150 species across the continent in a variety of habitats. They can often be found beneath stones, logs, or litter in the woods.
Food: These beetles prey on caterpillars and other insects.
Notes: These, like many other beetles are a beneficial species. They prey on insect larvae that can be pests.
Soldier Beetle (Podabrus spp.)
Identification: The body is elongate and up to about 15 mm in length. The body is flattened with nearly parallel sides (from above the elytra look rectangular over the abdomen). The head, legs and thorax are often reddish or orange and the head visibly protrudes from the thorax.
Habitat and Range: There are 455 species of soldier beetle on the continent, widely distributed through meadows, fields, and gardens.
Food: These beetles prey on small insects such as aphids.
Notes: Soldier beetles can be distinguished from fireflies by their protruding heads.
Darkling Beetle (Family Tenebrionidae)
Identification: Darkling Beetles make up a large family which is highly variable in their body shape and appearance. Most can be recognized by their notched eyes and their clubbed, beadlike, or threadlike antennae. The insertion point of the antennae is usually concealed from above by the frontal ridge which notches the eye. These beetles range from small to medium sized insects and are usually dull brown or black.
Habitat and Range: There are over 1,400 species on this continent and most of them are found in the western states. They are especially numerous in desert areas.
Food: Just as they vary, so does their diet. Many eat rotting wood, while others eat fungi or even stored foods such as grain, clothing, skins, or dried plants.
Notes: Darkling beetles are usually slow and easy to catch. They are harmless when handled. This family also includes the mealworms, which are significant as pet foods for reptiles, fish and amphibians.
Carrion Beetle (Family Silphidae)
Identification: Carrion beetles are also variable, but they share some distinctive characteristics. They are usually fairly large, black beetles with flattened bodies and clubbed antennae. The elytra are sometimes short, leaving a segment of the abdomen exposed. The elytra are often bumpy, with raised ridges and the pronotum is sometimes marked with yellow or red.
Habitat and Range: Carrion beetles make up 46 species in North America and are widely distributed wherever there is carrion available.
Food: Most species feed on carrion, either burying small carcasses or living on or in large carcasses which they and their larvae both feed on.
Notes: These beetles often fly and find carrion by smell. In my experience, they can be pretty quick to take flight and leave.
Water Scavenger Beetle (Family Hydrophilidae)
Identification: These beetles are primarily oblong and range from 1-40 mm in length. They are usually dark, either black or green. They have short, concealed antennae with a slight club at the end and long maxillary palpi that stick out from the head (longer than the antennae). The hind legs are flattened and sometimes hairy, making a good swimming oar.
Habitat and Range: There are 225 species across the continent in stagnant ponds, lake edges, and other water sources.
Food: As adults, most of these beetles eat decaying plants, but the larvae are voracious predators of aquatic insects, including their own species.
Notes: These insects are easily confused with other diving beetle groups.
Round Fungus Beetle (Family Leiodidae)
Identification: These beetles are oval (they look a lot like a Ladybird Beetle at first glance). The dorsal surface is shiny black or brown and each antennae ends in a club. Many almost look iridescent.
Habitat and Range: There are 126 species across the continent in a variety of habitats.
Food: These small beetles feed on fungi and slime molds.
Notes: Some of these beetles can roll into a tight ball for protection when disturbed.
There are four beetles in the collection which I have been unable to identify; they look like a number of things to me and I cannot narrow them down to a useful grouping.
Other Insects – Flies, Aquatic Insects, Grasshoppers and Crickets, True Bugs, etc.
Giant Western Cranefly (Holorusia rubiginosa)
Identification: This is the largest fly west of the Rockies at 25-35 mm in length with a wingspan up to 70 mm. It is reddish-brown or olive-green with white side markings on the thorax. The legs are very long.
Habitat and Range: This species occurs from southern California to British Columbia and Idaho in humid areas, forest edges, streams and ponds.
Food: Adults do not feed, but larvae eat primarily decaying plant matter.
Notes: These flies are often mistaken for mosquitoes, but they do not bite or suck blood and are much larger than any mosquito. The adults often lose their legs and do not have the ability to regenerate them. The legs of the specimen I have preserved were held in place by crossed pins until the specimen had dried.
Large Bee Fly (Bombylius spp.)
Identification: Large Bee Flies are 7-12 mm in length and covered in yellow, black, brown, and gray hairs making them look like bees. They also have a long, narrow proboscis.
Habitat and Range: They range across North America in fields, meadows, and gardens.
Food: The adults drink nectar and the larvae are parasites of bee larvae.
Notes: Bee Flies are strong fliers, and can hover in place or even fly backwards.
Identification: Stoneflies have 4 membranous wings. The forewings are long, while the hindwings are shorter and fanlike. Adults often have long cerci (tails) at the ends of their abdomens which protude from under their wings, which are folded over their bodies at rest, giving them a flat-backed appearance. Adults usually have vestigal mouthparts and long antennae. The nymphs are aquatic.
Habitat and Range: There are over 400 species of stonefly in North America and 1,600 worldwide. They are found near rivers and streams, as the naiads require running water to survive.
Food: As adults, most stoneflies do not feed. In the nymphal stage, their diet varies among different species. Some are shred and scrape plant matter, while others are predators of other aquatic insects.
Notes: Stoneflies are poor fliers. Their two sets of wings and heavy bodies (which often hang down in flight) set them apart from other insects. They are important as an indicator species. Their high sensitivity to pollution, temperature changes, and available oxygen in streams makes their presence or absence an indication of the streams health. They are also an important part of the diet of trout and other fish.
Identification: Alderflies are 9-10 mm in length and are dark brown or black. They have long threadlike antennae and dark wings which are held over the body, forming a peak over the body at rest. The larval form has a single terminal filament on its abdomen (a telltale sign of this genus).
Habitat and Range: The larvae are aquatic, so alderflies are usually found near lakes, ponds, and streams. They range throughout northern North America and southward in mountainous regions.
Food: The larval form is predaceous on other insects, especially blackflies and other small aquatic larvae, making them a beneficial species to humans.
Notes: Alderflies are also poor fliers, as well as a source of food for fish in streams.
Caddisfly (Order Trichoptera: Family Limnephilidae)
Identification: Caddisflies resemble moths in the shape and color of their wings, but they lack a proboscis and have no scales on their wings. They have four membranous wings, which they keep in a tent shape above their bodies at rest. The larvae are caterpillar-like and either swim freely or make cases for themselves of small rocks, sand, and plant matter which they glue together with a sticky secretion.
Habitat and Range: Caddisflies represent 1,000 North American species and 4,500 species globally. They are found in or near aquatic environments such as streams, lakes, ponds, and rivers.
Food: The adult form rarely or never eats, while the larvae either prey on other aquatic insects or eat plant matter, depending on the species.
Notes: This group of insects is another indicator of stream health and an important food source for trout. The Mill Creek pool east of the cabins (known as the Phi-Delt swimming hole), was teeming with these larvae from early to mid-summer.
Grasshopper (Order Orthoptera; Suborder Caelifera)
Identification: Grasshoppers are easily recognizable by their powerful, long jumping legs and horse-faced heads with large eyes. The forewings are long and narrow and cover the fan-shaped, folded hindwings at rest.
Habitat and Range: There are 23,000 species of grasshopper, of which 1,000 are found in North America. They occur in a variety of habitats where there is enough forage for them.
Food: Most grasshoppers eat foliage, algae, decaying plant matter, and dead insects.
Notes: Grasshoppers can be major agricultural pests. Some migrate in large swarms which destroy large areas of crops as they travel.
Camel Cricket or Cave Cricket (Ceuthophilus spp.)
Identification: Like other crickets, the Cave Cricket has large powerful hind legs. They are tan or gray, with long, threadlike antennae (longer than their bodies) and a humped back, which is bare due to the absence of wings.
Habitat and Range: Cave Crickets prefer dark, moist places, such as basements, under logs, litter, in caves, cellars, or under stones. There are many species across the continent.
Food: Cave Crickets eat roots, fungi, foliage, fruits, or even dead insects (including their own species).
Notes: I found these crickets in the Environmental Studies Shed at the campus. To catch them, I entered the shed, turned on the lights and tried to catch them as they scattered. Unlike other crickets, they do not chirp or sing, because both sexes lack hearing organs.
European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)
Identification: The European Earwig's body is 9-15 mm long and reddish-brown to almost black. It is flattened and elongate wit short leathery forewings and long, threadlike antennae. The cerci are large and well developed, forming a fearsome-looking pincer on the end of its abdomen. This is used for defense and to fold the flight wings under the forewings.
Habitat and Range: Of the 1,100 species of earwig, only 20 occur in North America, occupying a variety of habitats, preferring places where they can remain in dark, damp places (such as under litter, in basements, etc.).
Food: These insects feed on vegetables, fruits, flowers, garbage, and small invertebrates.
Notes: The earwig's pincer can deliver a pinch in defense, but does not cause injury to humans. Some species can emit a foul-smelling chemical when disturbed.
Bluet Damselfly (Enallagma spp.)
Identification: The body of these damselflies is long, slender, and typically bright blue (except the Red Bluet) with black markings and patterns varying between species. The nymphal form is aquatic.
Habitat and Range: These damselflies are common around lakes and streams throughout the continent.
Food: Adults feed on small insects and naiads eat aquatic insects.
Notes: There are often damselflies on the main lawn, by the Rachel Carson cabin pond, and along Mill Creek.
Spread-Winged Damselfly (Family Lestidae)
Identification: These damselflies differ from the Bluet Damselflies in their wing shape, which narrows to a stalk near the base. The coloration of the body may vary between species, but the wings are almost always clear and they hold them spread when resting, which is different from other damselflies.
Habitat and Range: There are members of this family across the Continent at ponds, and swamps.
Food: Adults prey on smaller insects, while the nymphal form feeds on aquatic invertebrates.
Notes: These damselflies also occur at the campus throughout the summer.
Green Stink Bug or Green Soldier Bug (Acrosternum hilare)
Identification: This is a bright green, shield-shaped bug with orange, yellow, or reddish edges.
Habitat and Range: This true bug occurs throughout the continent in crops, orchards, gardens, and a variety of wild habitats.
Food: They feed on fruit and foliage juice, but some members of the family are predaceous on other insects.
Notes: Stink bugs emit a foul odor when disturbed. They are often crop pests on orchard fruits, peas, soy, and other domestic plants. Stink Bugs are completely harmless when handled (other than an odor).
Arnett, R. H. and R. L. Jacques. 1981. Simon and Schuster's guide to insects. Simon & Schuster Inc., New York, 511 pp. (Plates 35, 39, 40, 44, 63, 64, 69, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, 86, 88, and 92 are from the source)
Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. National Audubon Society field guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 742 pp. (Plates 1-5 are from this source)
Borror, D. J., and R. E. White (R. T. Peterson, ed.). 1970. The Peterson field guide series: A field guide to the insects of America North of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 404 pp.
Burt, W. H., and R. P. Grossenheider (R. T. Peterson, ed.) 1952. The Peterson field guide series: A field guide to the mammals: North America north of Mexico, 3 rd edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 289 pp.
Carter, D. (A. Edmonds, and H. Dewhurst, eds.). 2000. Dorling Kindersley Handbooks: Butterflies and moths. Dorling Kindersley, London, England, 304 pp. (Plates 65, 66, and 67 are from this source).
Ferguson, Douglas C., Chuck E. Harp, Paul A. Opler, Richard S. Peigler, Michael Pogue, Jerry A. Powell, and Michael J. Smith. 1999. Moths of North America. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/moths/mothsusa.htm (Version 07JAN2002). (Plates 58-62 are from this source).
Glassberg, J. 2001. Butterflies through binoculars: The west: A field guide to the butterflies of western North America. Oxford University Press, New York, 374 pp. (Plates 46-48, 50, and 56 are from this source).
Ingles, L. G. 1965. Mammals of the pacific states: California, Oregon, and Washington. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 506 pp.
Johnson, R. E., and K. M. Cassidy. 1997. Terrestrial mammals of Washington State: Location data and predicted distributions. Volume 3 in Washington State Gap Analysis – Final Report (K. M. Cassidy, C. E. Grue, M. R. Smith, and K. M. Dvornich, eds.). Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, 304pp.
Maser, C. 1998. Mammals of the Pacific Northwest: From the coast to the high Cascades. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, Oregon, 406 pp.
Milne, L., M. Milne, and S. Rayfield. 1980. National Audobon Society field guide to North American insects and spiders. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 989 pp. (Plates 36-38, 41-43, 45, 68, 70-73, 75, 79, 81, 83, 84, 85, and 87 are from this source.)
National Geographic. 1999. Field guide to the birds of North America, 3 rd Edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C., 480 pp.
Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan, and Ray E. Stanford (coordinators). 1995. Butterflies of North America. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm (Version 05DEC2001). (Plates 49, 51-55, and 57 are from this source).
Peterson, R. T. 1990. The Peterson field guide series: A field guide to western birds, 3 rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 432 pp.
Stokes, D. W., and L. Q. Stokes. 1996. Stokes field guide to birds: Western region. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 519 pp. (Plates 21, 22, 25, and 28 are from this source).
Whittaker, J. O. 1996. National Audubon Society field guide to North American Mammals. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 937 pp. (Plates 5-16 are from this source).
White, R. E. (R. T. Peterson, editor). 1983. The Peterson field guide series: A field guide to the beetles of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 368 pp.
Udvardy, D. F., and J. Farrand. 1994. National Audubon Society field guide to North American birds: Western region, 2 nd Edition. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 822 pp. (Plates 17-20, 23, 24, 26, 27, and 29-34 are from this source).
I would like to thank the many people who assisted me throughout this project: President Thomas Cronin, for his support of the project and enthusiasm in making it happen (this would not have been possible without him); Professor Charles Drabek, for his seemingly endless knowledge of species and field methods and his teaching and time in the field (not to mention equipment); Marianne and Rich Piver, for being excellent neighbors during the research phase of the project; Martha Holt, for assisting me with equipment and her support; Professor Delbert Hutchinson, for advising me through this project and overseeing at every stage from conception to fruition; and finally, Jennifer Grant, who committed to endless hours of crawling around the mountains with a butterfly net and a box of traps.