Every bird watcher and nature observer has his or her "lists." Here are mine for Birds, Insects, Mammals, Plants, Reptiles, and Crustaceans, complete with pull down menus.
BIRDS
Categorized by genus/species, placed chronologically by common name
American Coot
American Crow
American Flamingo*
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
American White Pelican
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Barn Swallow
Belted Kingfisher
Black-Capped Chickadee
Black Vulture*
Blue Jay
Blue-Winged Teal
Bobwhite
Broad-Winged Hawk
Brown Creeper
Brown-Headed Cowbird
Brown Thrasher
Bufflehead
Canada Goose
Canvasback
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Common Goldeneye
Common Redpoll
Cooper's Hawk
Dark-Eyed Junco
Double-Breasted Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Goldfinch - See American Goldfinch
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eurasian Coot*
European Starling
Fox Sparrow
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Gray Catbird
Graylag Goose
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Greater Flamingo*
Hairy Woodpecker
Harlequin Duck
Hermit Thrush
Herring Gull
Horned Lark
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Lesser Scaup
Lincoln's Sparrow
Mallard (Domestic)
Mallard (Wild)
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
Northern Shoveler
Orange-Crowned Warbler
Palm Warbler
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Winged Blackbird
Ring-Billed Gull
Ring-Necked Duck
Rock Pigeon
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Scarlet Tanager
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper
Swamp Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
White-Breasted Nuthatch
White-Crowned Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow
Wild Turkey
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
INSECTS, ARACHNIDS, MYRIAPODS & GASTROPODS
Categorized by family, placed chronologically by common name
Spotted Cucumber Beetle - Diabrotica undecimpunctata - also known as the Southern Corn Rootworm.
Day Lily - Hemerocallis.
Adults yellow to green with eleven black / dark spots on the elytra.
Spotted Cucumber Beetles, or Southern Corn Rootworm Beetles, are considered big-time pests of crops and other plants. I have not noticed them on any of my plants (including the vegetables in the garden) except for the day lilies. As you can see from the second photo, they do feed on them (he appears to be eating the pollen). But I have only seen a few of these guys and have not noticed any damage. Click here for information on a related species, the Northern Corn Rootworm. Both beetles are known as skeletonizing leaf beetles (along with flea beetles and a host of others), because they eat the fleshy parts of the leaf but leave the “veins” and other thicker parts of the leaf untouched, leaving the leaves looking like skeletons.
Day lilies, although well-adapted to Iowa weather, are not native to the New World. If I were planting my own garden I would probably not use them for that reason (although they are not detrimental to your yard, I prefer native species). But, they were planted before I bought the house and so I’ll keep them. Besides, they are prolific bloomers and probably provide me with 90% of the bugs I photograph (hiding out in the blooms).
Photos taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and a Sigma 70-300mm Lens on July 4, 2008, in Davenport, Iowa.
This blog is about: Iowa, Illinois, Midwest, United States, nature, wildlife, animals, birds, ornithology, insects, bugs, entomology, Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island, Moline, Quad, City, Cities
Awesome shots!
I played too :)
July 27th, 2008 at 11:53 amnice pics, love the closeup. glad this little bug is not ruining veggies at your place! thanks for your visit to my blog and comment.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:01 pmSame situation with the beetle here. We have them, but they’ve never been a serious pest.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:58 amThese are beautiful and the color yellow is gorgeous!
July 30th, 2008 at 4:13 pmI have tons in my garden and they are eating my plants…
September 27th, 2008 at 7:03 pmThey are eating my bean plants and my pumpkins!!!
THey are terrible!!