Home | Field and Swamp: Animals and Their Habitats |
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Common Invertebrates with Spots
If spots are prominent or numerous (speckles), this is the page to look at. Go back to color/pattern menu:
Big Spots
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Female Multi-colored Asian Ladybug Beetle (Harmonia axyridis, subfamily Coccinellinae), Durham, 7/13/06. | Seven-spotted Ladybug Beetle (Coccinella septempunctata, subfamily Coccinellinae), Durham, 5/7/08 | Spotted Ladybug Beetle (Coleomegilla maculata, subfamily Coccinellinae), with what seem to be eggs. Durham, NC, 8/26/10 | Convergent Ladybug Beetle (Hippodamia convergens, subfamily Coccinellinae), Durham, NC, 9/13/08. Found in a power line cut. | Twice-stabbed Ladybug Beetle (Chilocorus stigma, Chilocorinae subfamily), American Tobacco Trail, Durham, NC, 5/19/08. A view of one of this tiny (2 mm) beetle's two red spots. |
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Margined Leather-wing Beetle (Chauliognathus marginatus). Wing maintenance, Durham swamp, 7/2/05. Notice the leg over the wing. Almost an inch long. | Tumbling flower beetle (Hoshihananomia octopunctata). These photos illustrate the odd head shape (flat on the bottom) and how that head moves. This beetle was about 5 mm long. | Leafhopper (Erythroneura osborni), Durham, NC, 8/10/08. Photo taken at night. |
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Female Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor), Durham, 8/4/04. Seen mostly in the NC mountains, much less commonly in the Piedmont. | Hackberry Emperor | Summer form Question Mark, Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, Orange County, NC, 6/9/07. Medium-sized. | Female Sachem, Durham, 6/28/04, on white clover blossom. Here you have a ventral view of the left wing and a dorsal view of the right one. | Cabbage White (Pieris rapae, Pierini tribe and Pierinae subfamily): Pictured is an adult and a small larva on one of their favorite foods: cabbage. These butterflies are major cabbage family pests, but are not often seen away from these crops. |
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Painted Skimmer (Libellula semifasciata), Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 6/11/05. | Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella), Durham, 8/21/05. | Mating Halloween Pennants, Occoneechee Mountain, Orange County, NC, 8/12/06. | Sparkling Jewelwing (Calopteryx dimidiata). This insect may appear to be all blue or all green. The key is the partially black wing. See other damselflies. | Adult Narrow Barklouse (Graphosocus cruciatus), about 2 mm long, caught in flight. Greenville, SC, 6/11/10. In order of lower to higher taxa, it's classified as belonging to Stenopsocidae, Caeciliusetae, Psocetae, Psocomorpha and Psocodea, according to the relevant Tree of Life Web page. According to this page, Psocodea replaces the traditional Psocoptera order. | White Flannel Moth (Norape ovina), caterpillar, Umstead State Park, Wake County, NC, 9/5/04. Like the Puss Moth caterpillar, this caterpillar is poisonous. |
Speckles or Little Spots
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Argus Tortoise Beetle (Chelymorpha cassidea, tribe Stolaini, subfamily Cassidinae ), north shore of Ocracoke Island, 5/15/05. This beetle was about half an inch long. | One-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela unipunctata), Haw River State Park, Guilford & Rockingham Counties, NC, 5/31/08. One little white spot on each side, but definitely an identifying mark! | Green Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, with 10 spots, Sandy Creek Park, Durham, NC, 3/19/10. Not all of these beetles have white spots, and they may have as many as eight. | Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon), Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Rd. access, Orange County, NC, 2/28/06. This butterfly had the richest blue of any azure I've seen. | Here is a butterfly in the same genus as the Monarch: the Queen (Danaus gilippus). But what a difference! No black veins on this side, just a sprinkling of white spots. Fort Fisher State Recreational Area Basin Trail, New Hanover County, NC, 8/27/03. | Lots of speckles here!Mangora maculata, Durham, NC, 8/1/07. This appears to be the same species as the spider on the immediate left. Genus ID thanks to Jeff Hollenbeck. Species ID thanks to John and Jane Balaban. | Female Golden Silk Spider (Nephila clavipes), Carolina Beach State Park, New Hanover County, NC, 9/16/07. | Speckled Sharpshooter (Paraulacizes irrorata), Durham, NC, 5/18/08 |
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Treehopper (Telamona decorata), with what appears to be an early instar true bug nymph. The treehopper seemed to be protecting it, or maybe just holding it captive. |
Same treehopper departing with nymph. Telamona decorata ID
confirmed by
Andy Hamilton. |
Adult Citrus Flatid Planthopper (Metcalfa pruinosa), NC Botanical Garden, Orange County, NC, 7/17/09 | Adult Citrus Flatid Planthopper (Metcalfa pruinosa), Durham, NC, 8/15/09. This one had seen a lot of action, looked like an old rug up close. | Leafhopper (Bandara genus), Durham, NC, 8/14/08 | Leafhopper (Erythroneura comes), Durham, NC, 8/10/08. Photo taken at night. |
Copyright © 2010 by Dorothy E. Pugh. All rights reserved. Please contact for rights to use photos.
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