Arthropoda

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Gnophaela vermiculata “Police-car Moth” Arctiidae (now Erebidae)

Great Burn, Lolo National Forest, MT
July 10, 2015
Robert Niese

The Police-car Moth had a really big year this summer. During our weekend backpacking trip, we must have seen 30 or 40 individuals! These day-flying moths are found in the Northwest, south to Nevada and New Mexico. They tend to be found at mid- to high-elevations in the middle of summer when meadow plants are in full bloom. The adults feed on nectar and copulate for their month-long lives before laying their eggs on any number of Boraginaceae plants (bluebells, houndstongue, Lithospermum, etc.). The larvae will then hatch and eat like crazy until they hibernate as caterpillars, waiting for snows to melt. This individual is a female and will probably be accosted by a hot-and-ready male at any moment.

Happy National Moth Week!

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Paonias excaecata “Blinded Sphinx” Sphingidae

Lewis and Clark Trail State Park, WA
June 9, 2015
Robert Niese

These relatively large sphinx moths are quite common throughout the PNW. Their unusual, scalloped forewings are definitely beautiful, but their most striking feature is certainly their hindwings which possess startlingly prominent eyespots. Sorry I couldn’t get a photo of them for you though. Check out this unhappy individual here instead. Look for them around light sources near riparian, mixed-hardwood forests this summer!

Be sure to participate in National Moth Week July 18-26! To find events near you, check out their webpage! This year, we’re focusing on the Sphingids like this guy here!

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Pollicipes polymerus “Gooseneck Barnacle” Cirripedia (Crustacea)

Seal Rock State Park, OR
June 11, 2015
Robert Niese

This species of Gooseneck Barnacle is the most common species of intertidal goosenecks in the PNW. In Portugal and Spain, their cousin P. pollicipes, is a common delicacy, but due to over-harvesting and coastline habitat destruction, the PNW now regularly exports this species to Europe. Check out Gordon Ramsey preparing a traditional, tapas-style barnacle recipe here. Also, this species is in direct competition for space and resources with California Mussels (Mytilus californianus) and will out-compete them in the absence of their primary predators, the Ochre Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceous) and the Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens).

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Eleodes “Desert Stink Beetle” Tenebrionidae

Palouse Falls State Park, WA
June 8, 2015
Robert Niese

Stink beetles are very common throughout the sagebrush deserts of eastern Washington. The Tenebrionid family’s taxonomy is extremely complex and often requires an examination of female genitalia to identify an organism with any further specificity, but most of the large black species fall into this supergenus. This beetle is posed and ready to release nasty-smelling chemicals in response to my terrifying camera lens. 

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Vanessa atalanta “Red Admiral” Nymphalidae

Palouse Falls State Park, WA
June 8, 2015
Robert Niese

This lovely Red Admiral sought refuge on this tree as the wind picked up at Palouse. This is an uncommon view of this species whose common name reflects its bright red markings on its upper surfaces. The Red Admiral also has red markings on its underwings, but keeps them hidden while attempting to camouflage itself as it is doing here.

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Halictus sp. “Sweat Bee” Halictidae on
Geranium viscosissimum “Sticky Geranium” Geraniaceae

Drinking Horse Mountain, Bozeman, MT
June 3, 2015
Robert Niese

Sticky Geranium, as its name would suggest, is covered in tiny glandular hairs that are quite sticky to the touch. Some have suggested that these sticky glands are capable of capturing and digesting small orgnanisms, making the plant slightly carnivorous. It grows in meadows, Ponderosa Pinelands, and at the edge of sagebrush-steppe habitats throughout the PNW. 

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Dichelonyx valida “May Beetle” Scarabaeidae

Lolo National Forest, Bitterroot Mountains, MT
April 19, 2015
Robert Niese

These charismatic, iridescent Scarab beetles are relatively common throughout the Pacific Northwest in the spring. The adults forage on the leaves of many species of conifers and deciduous trees. While the taxonomy for these species is still quite a mess, our region has two distinct species groups. Members of the D. valida group have a large ridge down the center of their pronotum while members of the D. backi group lack a ridge.

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Paruroctonus boreus “Northern Scorpion” Vaejovidae (Scorpiones)

Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park, WA
April 7, 2013
Robert Niese

Scorpions are a remarkably poorly studied clade of organisms. The Pacific Northwest is home to at least two described species (although there are likely others that remain undescribed): the Pacific Forest Scorpion (Uroctonus mordax) and the Northern Scorpion (Paruroctonus boreus). The Pacific Forest Scorpion, as its name would suggest, is most often found in dense coastal forests wherever it can find constant moisture (also found inland as well, west of the Cascades). The Northern Scorpion tends to prefer more open habitats than the Forest Scorpion and is typically the only species one will encounter east of the Cascades here in the PNW. They are quite abundant at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park where they spend their days hiding from the sun under large rocks.

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Misumena vatia “Goldenrod Crab Spider” Thomisidae on
Cymopterus glaucus “Waxy Spring Parsley” Apiaceae

Lolo National Forest, Bitterroot Mountains, MT
May 10, 2015
Robert Niese

Goldenrod Crab Spiders are inordinately abundant in spring blooms all around the PNW. They can be differentiated from their cousins in the genus Misumenoides by the lack of a faint white ridge on their face between their lower eyes and their jaws. But far more interesting than this lurking ambush predator is the fact that this image of Cymopterus glaucus is the first to grace the internet. And all because I thought I was taking a picture of a cool spider. You can see more photos of this plant below. C. glaucus is endemic to Idaho and western Montana where it is locally common on sandy or gravely slopes in dry Ponderosa Pinelands. I’m so confounded by the lack of images of this plant online that I’ll be checking out the UM herbarium later to verify that this is indeed C. glaucus. Any suggestions to the contrary would be much appreciated.

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Cicindela oregona “Western Tiger Beetle” Carabidae

Olympic National Park, WA
June 6, 2013
Robert Niese

Look for these awesome predators on sandy river banks west of the Cascades. They are lightning fast and voracious hunters, but that doesn’t detract from the beauty of their iridescent exoskeleton!