Southern California’s Wild Side Insects * Arachnids Reptiles * Amphibians

1. Southern California’sWild Side Insects * ArachnidsReptiles * Amphibians

2. Insects and Arachnids Jerusalem Cricket AKA Niño de la tierra (child of the earth), earth baby, cara de niño (child’s face), wó see ts'inii (Navajo for "skull insect"), old bald headed man, and potato bug.

3. Insects and Arachnids Jerusalem Cricket Active only at night, the insects use their strong mandibles to feed primarily on dead organic material but can also eat other insects. Their highly adapted feet are used for burrowing beneath moist soil to feed on decaying root plants and tubers.

4. Insects and Arachnids Jerusalem Cricket Jerusalem crickets are a group of large (2 to 3 inches), flightless insects native to the western United States, along the Pacific Coast, and south into Mexico.

5. Insects and Arachnids Red Harvester Ant The main food source for red harvester ants usually consists of seeds, which they hoard in great numbers.

6. Insects and Arachnids Red Harvester Ant Three to eight trails typically lead away from the mound, like "arms". These trails are used by ants to collect and bring food back to the mound. "Scout" ants are the first ones out of the mound every morning. They seek food, and mark their path as they return to the mound to alert the worker ants. The worker ants follow the scenttrail and collect the food.

7. Insects and Arachnids Red Harvester Ant CAUTION: Red Harvester Worker Ants can be aggressive and have a painful sting that spreads through the lymph nodes, sometimes causing reactions, especially in animals allergic to their venom. They can also bite ferociously.

8. Insects and Arachnids Stink Beetle Stink beetles are common in California and the Southwest. They’re shiny black creatures, flightless foragers of plant matter.

9. Insects and Arachnids Stink Beetle When alarmed, they point their rear ends toward the sky, and will shoot you with a ready made chemical cocktail containing caprylic (kə-pril-ik) acid, which has a rancid smell and taste and will leave you feeling less than “just showered” fresh. The Stink Beetle is well enough defended that unrelated (and unarmed) beetles have come to mimic its distinctive posture.

10. Insects and Arachnids Western Tiger Swallowtail It is a large, brightly colored and active butterfly, rarely seen at rest; its wingspan is 7 to 10 cm, and its wings are yellow with black stripes, and in addition it has blue and orange spots near its tail. It has the "tails" on the hind wings that are often found in swallowtails.

11. Insects and Arachnids Western Tiger Swallowtail A common Swallowtail Butterfly of western North America, frequently seen in urban parks and gardens as well as in rural woodlands and riparian areas. The males often congregate, along with other species of swallowtail at pools and along streams and rivers; they drink from the water and mud, extracting minerals as well as moisture.

12. Insects and Arachnids Red Velvet Ant aka: Cow Killer, Mule Killer Velvet ants – actually wasps – get their name from the hairs that cover their body and because they resemble ants. The flightless females, which are often encountered while wandering on the ground, especially resemble ants.

13. Insects and Arachnids Red Velvet Ant aka: Cow Killer, Mule Killer Velvet ants are active during the day, and they may be some of the first insects to hit the trail in the morning and last to settle in for the night. They retreat from high ground temperatures in the middle of the day by burrowing under debris or climbing into plants. Nectar is their preferred food. Velvet ants areactive from April through November, depending upon local climate. If you see a walking velvet ant, youcan be assured that it is a female.

14. Insects and Arachnids Red Velvet Antaka: Cow Killer, Mule Killer Males have wings but no stingers, while females have stingers but lack wings. Velvet ants are also known as cow killers or mule killers because of their extremely painful sting. Like all wasps, they can sting multiple times. Because oftheir armor-like exoskeleton and painful sting, few if any animals consume this conspicuous wasp.

15. Insects and Arachnids Tarantula Hawk Up to two inches long with a blue-black body and bright rust-colored wings, tarantula hawks are among the largest of wasps. A bright rust coloring on their wings warns potential predators that they are dangerous. Their long legs end with hooked claws for grappling with their victims.

16. Insects and Arachnids Tarantula Hawk Female tarantula hawks usually hunt female tarantulas and seek them in their burrows. They capture, sting, and paralyze the spider, either choosing to drag the spider back to her own burrow or transporting their prey to a specially prepared nest where a single egg is laid on the spider’s body, and the entrance is covered. The wasp larva, upon hatching, beginsto suck the juices from the still-livingspider. After the larva grows a bit, it plunges into the spider's body andfeeds voraciously, avoiding vital organs for as long as possible to keep it fresh.

17. Insects and Arachnids Tarantula Hawk The stinger of a female tarantula hawk can be up to 1/3 inch (7 mm) long. Though usually not aggressive, these wasps can deliver a sting which is rated amongst the most painful in the insect world.

18. Insects and Arachnids Black Widow Spider A muture female is around 1.5 in long, shiny and black in color, with a red marking in the shape of an hourglass on its underside. Known as the Black Widow because of having the peculiar habit of, on occasion, eating its male counterpart after mating.

19. Insects and Arachnids Black Widow Spider Although these spiders are not especially large, their venom is extremely potent (it is also reported to be much more toxic than the venom of a cobra or coral snake).

20. Insects and Arachnids Brown Recluse SpiderAKA: Fiddleback Spider, Brown Fiddler, Violin Spider It is usually between ¼ in and ¾ in long, but may grow larger. It is brown and sometimes an almost deep yellow color and usually has markings on the top side of its head, with a black line coming from it that looks like a violin with the neck of the violin pointing to the rear of the spider.

21. Insects and Arachnids Brown Recluse SpiderAKA: Fiddleback Spider, Brown Fiddler, Violin Spider Recluse spiders build irregular webs that frequently include a shelter consisting of disorderly threads. These spiders frequentlybuild their webs in woodpiles andsheds, closets, garages, plenum, cellars and other places that are dry and generally undisturbed.

22. Insects and Arachnids Brown Recluse SpiderAKA: Fiddleback Spider, Brown Fiddler, Violin Spider While generally non aggressive, a bite from the Brown Recluse can produce severe damage to skin tissue resulting in lesions and necrosis. Severe symptoms can include organ damage, and occasionally even death. Mostfatalities are in children under 7 orthose with a weaker than normalimmune system.

23. Insects and Arachnids Desert Hairy Scorpion The Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion is the largest scorpion inhabiting the southwest. Its large size allows it to feed on other scorpions, lizards and snakes. It gets its name from the numerous hairs covering its body. These hairs help it to detect vibrations in the surrounding soil.

24. Insects and Arachnids Desert Hairy Scorpion It is a burrowing scorpion, but is commonly found under rocks containing moisture. Its diet consists of large insects, spiders and smallvertebrates.

25. Insects and Arachnids Desert Hairy Scorpion This is an aggressive and active scorpion, which, as with all scorpions, is nocturnal. Like all scorpions, the giant desert hairy scorpion gives birth to live young, which remain on the mothers back for a week ormore before leaving.

26. Insects and Arachnids Desert Hairy Scorpion All scorpions glow under ultraviolet light. Although this scorpion is big, its venom is not very potent, with asting about as painful as a honeybee. However, an allergic reaction to its venom can be fatal; symptoms can include: difficulty breathing, excessive swelling, and prolonged pain. These guys are aggressive! Watch out when moving rocks, deadlogs, and branches; especially in areas prone to moisture.

27. Insects and Arachnids California Centipede Centipedes are the only animals with legs modified into fanglike "poison jaws" that inject poison for subduing and killing prey.

28. Insects and Arachnids California Centipede Centipedes are active hunters. They roam around looking for small animals to bite and eat. They eat insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates. If the centipede is large enough it will even attack small vertebrates like lizards.

29. Insects and Arachnids California Centipede Centipedes have powerful fangs, which are actually modified forearms and can inflict a painful bite,particularlylarger species.

30. Insects and Arachnids Tarantula Tarantulas are the largest spiders in the world. In the United States, they are mostly found in the Southwest. A female tarantula can live 20 - 25 years. A male tarantula onlylives about 7 - 8 years.

31. Insects and Arachnids Tarantula Tarantulas are the largest spiders in the world. In the United States, they are mostly found in the Southwest. A female tarantula can live 20 - 25 years. A male tarantula onlylives about 7 - 8 years.

32. Insects and Arachnids Tarantula A tarantula’s diet consists mostly of insects like grasshoppers and crickets. On occasion it can also eat small mammals or baby birds.

33. Insects and Arachnids Tarantula Although tarantulas do have venom and can bite but they pose no serious dangerto humans. When threatened, a tarantula will rear up on its back legs exposing its fangs. If seriously threatened the tarantula may eject hairs from its abdomen that are coated withvenom.

34. Insects and Arachnids North American Millipede The millipede's most obvious feature is its large number of legs. Common species have between 36 and 400 legs.

35. Insects and Arachnids North American Millipede Millipedes are slow moving. Most millipedes eat decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, moisturising the food with secretions and then scraping it in withthe jaws.

36. Insects and Arachnids North American Millipede Due to their lack of speed and their inability to bite or sting, millipedes' primary defense mechanism is to curl into a tight coil — protecting their delicate legs inside an armored body exterior.

37. Insects and Arachnids North American Millipede Many species emit poisonous liquid secretions or hydrogen cyanide gas through microscopic pores along the sides of their bodies as a secondary defense when threatened.

38. Insects and Arachnids North American Millipede Some of these substances are caustic and can burn the exoskeleton of ants and other insect predators, and the skin and eyes of larger predators. As far as humans are concerned, this chemical brew is fairly harmless,usually causing only minor effects on the skin, and general eye irritation if exposed to that region.

39. Insects and Arachnids Deer Tick The deer tick or blacklegged tick, and in some parts of the USAas the bear tick, is a hard-bodied tick of theeastern and northernMidwestern United States.

40. Insects and Arachnids Deer Tick Deer tick females latch onto ahost and drink its blood for fourto five days. After it is engorged,the tick drops off and overwinters in the leaf litter ofthe forest floor.

41. Insects and Arachnids Deer Tick Deer Ticks can carry Lyme Disease. Early manifestations of infection may include fever, headache,fatigue, depression, and a characteristic skin rash in a bullseye pattern. Left untreated, latemanifestations involving the joints,heart, and nervous system canoccur.

42. Insects and Arachnids Tick Removal To remove a tick, follow these steps: • Using a pair of pointed precision tweezers, grasp the tick by the head or mouthparts right where they enter the skin. DO NOT grasp the tick by the body. • Without jerking, pull firmlyand steadily directly outward.DO NOT twist the tick out orapply petroleum jelly,a hot match, alcohol or anyother irritant to the tick inan attempt to get it toback out. • Place the tick in a vial or jarof alcohol to kill it. • Clean the bite wound withdisinfectant.

43. Insects and Arachnids • Break time!

44. Southern California’sWild Side Insects * ArachnidsReptiles * Amphibians

45. Reptiles and Amphibians Western Diamondback Rattlesnake AKA: Adobe snake, Arizona diamond rattlesnake, Coon tail, Desert diamond-back, Desert diamond rattlesnake, Fierce rattlesnake, Spitting rattlesnake, Texan rattlesnake, Texas diamond-back (rattlesnake), Western diamond rattlesnake.

46. Reptiles and Amphibians Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Found in many regions of the south western US and Mexico,Adults commonly grow to 4 ft in length

47. Reptiles and Amphibians Western Diamondback Rattlesnake In the winter, these snakes hibernate in caves or burrows sometimes with many other species of snakes. They hunt (or ambush prey; mostly small mammals) at night or in the early morning, and can go for up to two years without food in the wild. Western Diamondback females give birth to live young.

48. Reptiles and Amphibians Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Caution! This snake is extremely territorial. A bite from a Western Diamondback contains venoms that are concentrated fluids containing toxins that can cause internal bleeding, destroy muscle tissue, and blood cells through a digestion process.

49. Reptiles and Amphibians Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Caution! These snakes when coiled and in defensive position can strike out up to 2/3 of their body length. They do not aways rattle when they are about to attack. Be careful when reaching under logs, hiking in thick chapparal, or working in streams. Radio for help or call 911 if bitten.

50. Reptiles and Amphibians Mojave Rattlesnake Venomous pitviper species found in the deserts of the southwestern United States and central Mexico.