Fireweed (Need to reshoot)
Erechtites hieracifolia
Erechtites hieracifolia
Fireweed is an herbaceous plant, as well as a member of the daisy family, that can grow to 8 feet high, but often matures before reaching such a height. The leaves alternate, and can be as wide as three inches, with spiny teeth, and a slightly hairy and grooved stem. The plant produces yellow-whitish flowers that bloom in the fall, with no petals and flower parts that are invisible to the naked eye. Fireweed can be found around the world due to human activity, but is native to the Americas, and can often be found in burned or disturbed sites.
Unidentified (Need to reshoot)
Spotted Spurge (Need to reshoot)
Euphorbia maculata
Spotted Spurge is the most common type of Spurge, and is a warm-season annual weed. This spurge has small ad oblong, light green leaves, with a bit of red or purple at the center. Milky sap comes from the stems, which are a reddish color. This plant grows prostrate, with roots going up to 45 cm underground, but the plant only appears up to 30 cm above the ground. Spotted Spurge is native to North America, and commonly found as a weed.
Japanese Beetle
Popillia japonica
Only 15 mm long and 10 wide, the Japanese Beetle presents a threat to American crops. In it's native land of Japan, climate and predators help to manage the species. However, in America, this beetle is considered a pest to over 200 plants. This species was introduced to the United States through shipments of bulbs, as well as in traveler's cars. The Japanese Beetle is a reckless flyer, often bumping into walls. It can be identified by it's copper Elytra, and green thorax.
Odorous House Ant
Tapinoma sessile
The Odorous House Ant is a species of ant that can be brown or black, and anywhere from 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch in length, with antennae that have twelve segments. This type of any is commonly found indoors, especially after rain, but tends to colonize outdoors under rocks and in exposed soil, and can survive in a large variety of environments. Colonies can be up to 100,000 strong, with non-aggressive ants that can live several months, with a queen that can live up to eight months and lay 20-30 eggs in a single day.
Africanized Honey Bee
A. m. scutellata x A. m. ligustica/ A. m. iberiensis
The Africanized Honey Bee is probably the most common insect in the garden. It is a hybridized species of the African Bee and various European species. Much more aggressive than it's European counterpart, the Africanized species is known to take over hives of less aggressive species, kill the queen bee, and reestablish the hive with their own queen.
Carpenter Bee
Xylocopa micans
Carpenter bees, discovered by French entomologist Pierre André Latreille in 1802, are large and hairy bees, with 500 species that can be found around the world. These bees got their name due to the fact that most of the 500 species construct their nests in burrows within dead wood, bamboo, or timber. Carpenter bees are usually solitary creatures, but can sometimes be found in female social groups, where the females live alongside daughters and sisters.
Marine Blue
Leptotes marina
This butterfly is a member of the Lycaenidae family, has a wingspan of 22–29 mm, and is found from South America up to the South West United States.
Fiery Skipper
Hylephila phyleus
The Fiery Skipper is an approximately one inch long butterfly that is native to North America. Males are yellow or orange with black spots, while females are brown with yellow or orange spots. The caterpillar stage of this insect are green-pink with a black head, and are considered pests due to their feeding habits on various grasses.
Ladybird Beetle
Coccinella septempunctata
Ladybird Beetles (also known as Ladybugs in North America, even though they are not true bugs) are insects measuring 1 - 10 mm, and are commonly red with black spots on their wing covers. The larger genus, Coccinella, are found worldwide and contains over 5,000 species, with around 450 of them being in North America. These insects are sometimes considered pests, but are usually seen as helpful, and, as such, were introduced to North America from Asia in 1916 to help control aphids. Recently, in 2004, Ladybugs reached as far as the UK.
Pill Bug
Armadillidium vulgare
Commonly known as wood lice, pill bugs, unlike other members of the woodlouse family, can roll into balls, similarly to pill millipedes - this process is known as conglobation. These insects are up to 18 mm, and are native to Europe, although it has been introduced to Noth America, where it can reach population densities of up to 10,000 individuals per square meter. It is now the most common species of invertebrate California grassland habitats. Because of their unusual yet gentle appearance, this insect can be found as a pet, typically of children, in the U.S. Pill bugs can live up to three years, and require moist soil with lots of decaying plant matter.
Garden Snail
Helix aspersa
The common garden snail is a terrestrial mollusc. Originating in the Mediterranean, this species is widely regarded as a pest, despite it's edibility. Their shells are typical brown, chestnut and yellow, 25- 40 mm high and 25-30 mm wide. These molluscs can survive in temperatures as low as -5 C.
Black Widow
Latrodectus hesperus
Black widows are the most common spiders in the Latrodectus genus of spider, and can be found on all continents except for Antarctica. The female's bite is dangerous to humans, due to large venom glands, but, with medical treatment, their bites are rarely fatal to humans. While the red hourglass on the underside of the abdomen is a well-known marking of the black widow, some females only have red spots, or no markings at all. The female's body is 14-16 mm in length, while the male is about half this length, with a tan body in comparison to the female's black.
Unidentified
