Insects
Coleoptera (Beetles)
Lucanus mazama (Cottonwood Stag Beetle)
Photographed in Madera Canyon, Arizona in the monsoon season.
Lucanus capreolus (Reddish-brown Stag Beetle)
Photographed at Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma.
Pacificanthia consors (Brown Leatherwing)
Photographed in the Cuyamaca Mountains, California.
Chauliognathus profundus
Photographed near Cochise Stronghold, Cochise County, Arizona in the monsoon season.
Chauliognathus lecontei
Photographed near Cochise Stronghold, Cochise County, Arizona in the monsoon season.
Bolbocerastes regalis (a Geotrupid Beetle; this is a male)
Photographed in the Yuha Desert, Imperial County, California
Dynastes grantii (a female)
Photographed at Madera Canyon, Arizona during the monsoon season.
Megasoma sleeperi
A male on the left and a female on the right. Photographed at the Algodones Dunes, California.
Polyphylla decemlineata (Ten-lined June Beetle)
Photographed in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.
Chrysina gloriosa (Glorious Beetle)
Photographed Cochise County, Arizona in the monsoon season.
Paracotalpa deserta
Yuha Desert, California. These were photographed in February of 2021. All the images except Image 1 are of a specimen that was seen being impaled by a Loggerhead Shrike on a sharp branch.
Acmaeodera gibbula
Photographed near Cochise Stronghold, Cochise County, Arizona in the monsoon season.
Prionus californica
A relatively common prionid, in certain areas of the west. Photographed in the Cuyamaca Mountains, California
Prionus lecontei
Very similar to P. californica, but with a redder hue, and thirteen antennal segments as opposed to twelve. Photographed in the Cuyamaca Mountains, California
Judolia instabilis (a Lepturine Longhorn Beetle)
Photographed in Powell Meadow, southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.
Tetraopes sp.
Photographed at the Santa Ysabel Preserve, San Diego County, California.
Undetermined Weevil, Ophryastes sp.
Palm Canyon Trailhead, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California. This image was taken in winter (Jan. 2, 2024).
Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Battus philenor philenor caterpillar (Pipevine Swallowtail)
Photographed near Cochise Stronghold, Cochise County, Arizona in the monsoon season.
Battus philenor hirsuta caterpillar (California Pipevine Swallowtail)
Photographed along the Independence Trail, Nevada County, California in June.
Euscirrhopterus gloveri
Photographed along Box Canyon Road, Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona.
Hyles lineata caterpillars (White-lined Sphinx moth)
Photographed in the fading flower bloom of March 2024, along Henderson Canyon Road, Borrego Springs, California.
Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, Ants, and related)
Pepsis mildei (a Tarantula Hawk Wasp)
With tarantula prey. Photographed at dusk in summer in the Cuyamaca Mountains, California.
Likely Veromessor sp. (a smooth harvester ant)
With a seed of Geraea canescens, the Desert Sunflower, following a bloom in the spring of 2024 in the Anza Borrego Desert, California.
Diptera (Flies)
Proctacanthus coquilletii (a robber fly)
From the Algodones Dunes, Imperial County, California. This one has a smaller dipteran prey item.
Madera Canyon, Arizona
Arachnids
Spiders
Argiope trifasciata (Banded Orb Weaver)
Photographed in the fall in San Diego, California.
Argiope argentata (Silver Orb Weaver)
Photographed in the fall in San Diego, California. The second image shows stabilimenta, stabilizing elements in the web.
Mecaphesa sp. (Crab Spider)
Photographed in the Cuyamaca Mountains, California.
Olios giganteus
A male, photographed in the Cuyamaca Mountains, California
Phidippus johnsoni
A female, photographed in the Cuyamaca Mountains, California
Kukulcania sp. Crevice Weaver spider
Photographed in the Cuyamaca Mountains, California.
Antrodiaetus sp. (Folding Door Spider)
Photographed at Domingo Spring Campground, Lassen National Forest, California.
Scorpions
Smeringurus mesaensis (Giant Sand Scorpion)
Photographed at the Algodones Dunes, south of Glamis in Imperial County, California. These scorpions visited a location with a black light, and took some insects as prey. The beetle species is Lygyrus ruginasus.
Solifuges
Chanbria regalis
This is a very large solifuge species. This individual was around 30 mm in body length. Photographed at the Algodones Dunes, south of Glamis in Imperial County, California.
Terrestrial Mollusks
Slugs
Ariolimax columbianus (Pacific Banana Slug)
Photographed at Cape Perpetua, along the central coast of Oregon.
Marine Invertebrates
Echinoderms
Pisaster ochraceus (Ochre Sea Star)
Photographed at Seal Rock State Recreation Site, along the central coast of Oregon. All seas stars seen at the time this photo was taken (July 2024) appeared healthy and did not show signs of sea star wasting disease.
