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insects

Here you can see photographs of the many insects seen at Cowboy Cat Ranch. All photograph were taken by Evelien Bunnik or Sebastiaan Bol, unless stated otherwise. Animals have been divided into the following groups: bees, wasps, flies, damselflies & dragonflies, crickets & walking sticks, grasshoppers, mantis, and finally beetles & bugs.

At Cowboy Cat Ranch we strive to live in harmony with nature and our wildlife, big and small. We respect all living beings and try to let them be as much as possible. Several of these species have not been identified. If you think you know the species, or believe we have misidentified a species, please send an email to meow@cowboycatranch.org.

bees

Honey bee
Apis mellifera

Sabine long-horned bee (female)
Svastra sabinensis

California digger bee (male)
Anthophora californica

California digger bee (female)
Anthophora californica

Eastern carpenter bee
Xylocopa virginica

Sonoran bumblebee
Bombus sonorus

Texas striped sweat bee
Agapostemon texanus

Striped sweat bee
unidentified species

Leafcutter bee
Megachile sp.

wasps

Red paper wasp
Polistes sp.

Spider wasp (no common name)
Notocyphus dorsalis

Thread-wasted wasp
Ammophila sp.

Thread-wasted wasp
Sphex lucae

Texas paper wasp
Polistes apachus

Tarantula hawk (a spider wasp)
Pepsis formosa

Its string is considered to be one of the most painful stings in the world.

Tarantula hawk & tarantula

Read about the relationship between this wasp and the tarantula here (not for the faint-hearted).

Smith's potter wasps
Eumenes smithii

Hidalgo mason wasp
Euodynerus hidalgo

Stinging wasp (no common name)
Euodynerus crypticus

Mexican honey wasp
Brachygastra mellifica

Southern yellowjacket
Vespula squamosa

Tachytes guatemalensis
Tachytes guatemalensis

flies

Mexican cactus fly
Copestylum mexicanum

Yellow-spotted bromeliad fly
Copestylum avidum

Owlfly
Ascaloptynx appendiculata

Giant robber fly
Promachus hinei

Northeastern hammertail
Efferia aestuans

Banded bee fly
Villini sp.

Bee fly
Exoprosopa pueblensis

Bee fly
Villa sp.

Bee fly
Poecilanthrax lucifer

Hemipenthes scylla
Hemipenthes scylla

Tachinid fly
Tachinidae family

Eastern band-winged hover fly
Hypocritanus fascipennis

Condylostylus longicornis
Condylostylus longicornis

Four-speckled hover fly
Dioprosopa clavata

Muscoid fly
unknown species

Soldier fly
Psellidotus hieroglyphicus

damselflies & dragonflies

Red saddlebags dragonfly (female)
Tramea onusta

Red saddlebags dragonfly (male)
Tramea onusta

Common green darner (laying eggs)
Anax junius

Twelve-spotted skimmer dragonfly (male)
Libellula pulchella

Variegated meadowhawk (juvenile male)
Sympetrum corruptum

Variegated meadowhawk (adult male)
Sympetrum corruptum

Band-winged dragonlet
Erythrodiplax umbrata

Wandering glider
Pantala flavescens

Familiar bluet
Enallagma civile

Citrine forktail
Ischnura hastata

crickets & walking sticks

Chestnut short-winged katydid (male)
Obolopteryx castanea

Hill country thread-legged katydid
Arethaea ambulator

Broad-winged bush katydid
Scudderia pistillata

Central Texas leaf katydid
Paracyrtophyllus robustus

Giant walking stick or stick insect (male)
Megaphasma denticrus

Giant walking stick or stick insect (female)
Megaphasma denticrus

The female giant walking stick is larger than the male, and can grow to almost 7 inches (18 cm) - the longest insect in the US!

Straight-lanced meadow katydid
Conocephalus strictus

grasshoppers

Spur-throated grasshopper
Paraidemona sp.

American bird grasshopper
Schistocerca americana

Grasshopper
unidentified species

Pallid-winged grasshopper
Trimerotropis pallidipennis

Cattail toothpick grasshopper
Leptysma marginicollis

Grasshopper (no common name)
Phaulotettix compressus

Plains lubber grasshopper
Brachystola magna

Obscure bird grasshopper
Schistocerca obscura

Admirable grasshopper
Syrbula admirabilis

mantis

Bordered mantis (pregnant)
Stagmomantis limbata

Stagmomantis
Stagmomantis sp.

Brunner mantis or stick mantis
Brunneria borealis

There are no males of this species, because it reproduces asexually.

beetles & bugs

Cottonwood borer
Plectrodera scalator

Red-headed beauty beetle
Stenaspis verticalis insignis

Kern's flower scarab
Euphoria kernii

Prickly pear bug (nymph)
Chelinidea tabulata

Shiny flea beetle
Asphaera lustrans

Eight-spotted flea beetle
Omophoita cyanipennis

Large milkweed bug (juvenile)
Oncopeltus fasciatus

Large milkweed bug (adult)
Oncopeltus fasciatus

Spotted cucumber beetle
Diabrotica undecimpunctata

Seven-spotted ladybug
Coccinella septumpunctata

Net-winged beetle
Calopteron terminale

Burrower bug
Tritomegas sp.

Giant agave bug
Acanthocephala thomasi

Southern green stink bug
Nezara viridula

Leaf-footed bug
Mozena lunata

Green stink bug (nymph)
Chinavia marginata

Euphorbia bug
Chariesterus antennator

Ornate yellow-marked bupestrid
Acmaeodera ornata

Treehopper (no common name)
Stictocephala brevitylus

Narrow stink bug
Mecidea major

Smooth death feigning beetle
Asbolus papilosus

Twice-stabbed stink bug
Cosmopepla lintneriana

Plains bee assassin
Apiomerus spissipes

Spotless lady beetle
Cycloneda sanguinea

Leaf-footed bug
Narnia femorata

California bordered plant bug (nymph)
Largus californicus

Broad-nosed weevil
Entiminae sp.

Plain oaks pachybrachis
Pachybrachis turbidus

California warrior beetle
Pasimachus californicus

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