Common Family Name : Subterranean termites : Reticulitermes - subterranean termites Common Name: Reticulitermes - subterranean termites Latin Name: Reticulitermes spp. Common Family Name: Subterranean termites Latin Family Name: Rhinotermitidae
Other Names:
Origin: Six species of native termites in this genus occur in North America, occurring throughout the country in all states and in Canada. These are the common and destructive soil-dwelling termites.
Biology: With very rare exception colonies are located in the ground, with foraging done from these colonies into structures or other wood sources. There is a true worker caste, with adult workers, soldiers, and alates in the colony. It is possible that a colony can have up to two hundred thousand workers or more, and several separate colonies may exist near and be foraging in a single structure. Swarming by the alates may consist of many hundreds of alates from the colony, and many colonies in an area releasing swarmers simultaneously. This usually occurs in late morning to mid-day on a sunny day following a rainfall. Most swarming is in the spring, but fall swarms are also common, and a colony will be at least 3 years old before it produces swarmers. The wings are shed shortly after the flight takes place.
Identification: Alates are a shiny dark brown to black, and have both a fontanelle as well as a single ocellus near each compound eye. The antennae have less than 18 segments. The wings are very light colored to white and are without hairs on them. There are 2 thickened veins that run parallel to each other from the base to the tip along the leading edge of the wing, and numerous short veins connect these two long veins. Soldiers have head capsules that are as long as the rest of the body, and the sides of the head are parallel. The jaws are symmetrical and without teeth along their inner margin, and they remain parallel to each other without having the tips crossing.
Characteristics Important in Control: Control is primarily by soil applications of residual insecticides, either as pretreatments or as treatment post-construction. Termite bait products may prove to be effective in eliminating underground colonies altogether. Control of excessive moisture conditions and unnecessary wood materials under or near the structure are preventive measures. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Family Name : Arid Land Termites : Desert termites - Amitermes Common Name: Desert termites - Amitermes Latin Name: Amitermes spp. Common Family Name: Arid Land Termites Latin Family Name: Termitidae
Other Names: Arid land termites
Origin: At least nine species in this genus occur in North America, from Texas to California in the drier desert regions. This is the largest family of termites in the world, but most species are tropical.
Biology: These are soil-dwelling termites that feed primarily on dry and dead vegetation. They are of very little importance to structural wood members, although some may attack wood used in fencing or utility poles, as well as some structural and garden wood materials. Swarming flights occur at dusk following a rainfall, usually in late spring or early summer but often into the fall as well in Texas. Some species may also swarm in late morning.
Identification: Alates are black in most species, but brown to pale yellowish in two or three species. Soldiers are very similar to the common subterranean termites in the genus Reticulitermes, with head capsules as long as the rest of the body and jaws that are parallel with each other. They may be distinguished, though, by the presence of a single tooth on each jaw, located on the inner margin at about the midpoint.
Common Family Name : Comb-footed spiders : Black widow Common Name: Black widow Latin Name: Latrodectus spp. Common Family Name: Comb-footed spiders Latin Family Name: Theridiidae
Other Names: Brown widow
Origin: Five species of these native spiders occur in North America, being found in all states and in southern Canada. Other species may be found worldwide.
Biology: The black widow spiders are the most dangerous spiders with respect to human health in the U.S. They are one of the few spiders capable of biting humans that inject a neurotoxin, and the effect of the bite can be serious and potentially fatal. Only females bite humans, but both males and females construct webs to capture other prey, primarily flying insects. Males also enter a female’s web for mating, and if the female is not receptive the male may be eaten. The life span of black widow females averages around 180 days as an adult, taking about 3 months to reach maturity. Males mature in about 70 days and live only about 30 days after that. The female may produce up to 9 egg sacs with about 350 eggs per sac on average. She will be most aggressive and defensive of her webbing while she is guarding these eggs, as well as being more hungry following egg production. The new spiderlings emerge from the sac and remain near it for a day or two, but then they undergo “ballooning” to disperse, creating long silk strands that are carried away by the wind. Black widows are generally reclusive spiders that create their webs in areas of inactivity. The web is made of extremely strong silk that is very sticky, and it has a very haphazard appearance without the symmetry of some other spiders.
Identification: Females are the most recognized spider in North America, with their shiny black body, long thin legs, large oval abdomen, and red “hourglass” pattern on the underside of the abdomen. This hourglass pattern may not always be there. Males also have the same pattern, but it is white, and their body color is mottled brown and white. Immature spiders begin very light colored and progress to the adult color in stages as they pass through their instars, gradually becoming more black if they are females. The female tends to hang upside down in her web due to the weight of the abdomen. Eggs sacs of black widows are about ½ inch in diameter and are smooth surfaced. The eyes of comb-footed spiders are typically a total of eight eyes arranged in two rows of four eyes, one row above the other and with the outside eyes so close together that they touch each other. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Family Name : Long-legged spiders : Cellar spider Common Name: Cellar spider Latin Name: Pholcus phalangioides (Fuesslin), Spermophora senoculata (Duges), Holocnemus pluchei (Scopili) Common Family Name: Long-legged spiders Latin Family Name: Pholcidae
Other Names: Long-bodied cellar spider, short-bodied cellar spider, daddy-long legs spider
Origin: Several dozen species of Pholcids are native to North America, with the three species listed above the most common to be found in and on structures.
Biology: The cellar spiders are often called “Daddy Long-legs” due to their very long, thin legs. However, the true Daddy Long-legs is another animal entirely, called the Harvestman. The cellar spiders are incapable of biting humans and are harmless to us and our pets. Their primary crime is the messiness of their webs, which are thin and flimsy but tend to gather dust and floating debris, as well as the remains of the insects the spiders have fed on. Webs typically appear under the eaves of roofs, around porch lights, within garages, and indoors around windows where the light may draw small insects that the spiders feed on. Their long legs make them very clumsy when attempting to walk. They hang upside down on their webs, and when disturbed they will begin to shake and bounce the web noticeably, or they may drop off the web and run to hide. These spiders have been known to feed on black widow spiders. The female creates an egg mass of about a dozen eggs, and holds it in her jaws until the eggs hatch.
Identification: Cellar spiders are easily identified by their extraordinarily long and thin legs, which are attached to their elongate and thin body. The color is a yellowish brown and the legs may be as long as 2 inches. There may be either 6 or 8 eyes, depending on the species, and the outer 3 eyes on either side of the head are arranged in a close triangle. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bees : Honeybee Common Name: Honeybee Latin Name: Apis mellifera L. Common Family Name: Bees Latin Family Name: Apidae
Other Names: Several subspecies exist, including the Italian, German, and Africanized honeybees.
Origin: A native of Europe and Asia, the honeybee was introduced to the United States for honey production and pollination of crops. The Africanized honeybee (a.k.a. “killer bee”) evolved in Africa, was introduced to South America, and found its way north into the U.S.
Biology: Honeybees are social bees, with colonies composed of a single Queen and many hundreds of workers. New colonies are begun when additional Queens are produced in a colony and all but one leave, each newly fertilized Queen taking a consort of workers with her. Males (drones) are produced only for mating with these new queens, and the males then die. Only the females can sting, but all workers are females and all of the working members of the hive can sting. Honeybees can sting humans only once, losing their stinger in the process. Larvae are fed pollen and honey, and the honey is created by continual mastication and dehydration of the nectar and other sugary fluids the workers gather. Honeybee hives remain active year-round, and often will be located within structures. Queens may live as long as 5 years while workers live less than 2 months in the active summer months.
Identification: The workers are about a half inch long and are various shades of brown and black colors, with very dark head, legs, and antennae. They are densely covered with short, pale hairs. The antennae are bent at their middle, or “elbowed”. The mouth is an elongate tongue formed by several parts, and enables the bees to reach into fairly deep flowers to take up the nectar there. The bees have 2 pairs of wings, separating them from some similar flies that mimic the bee’s appearance.
Common Family Name : Blattid cockroaches : Cockroach, American cockroach Common Name: Cockroach, American cockroach Latin Name: Periplaneta americana (L.) Common Family Name: Blattid cockroaches Latin Family Name: Blattidae
Other Names: Palmetto bug, Bombay canary
Origin: Possibly from northern Africa or Asia, but found worldwide for many centuries now. It occurs throughout the United States as a common indoor and outdoor cockroach, and in some areas may be more common than the German roach.
Biology: This species is common outdoors in landscape plantings, in sewers or storm drain systems, and in lower areas of buildings where moisture may be greater. It may inhabit storm drains in huge numbers, emerging though man-hole covers at night to invade buildings. They will feed on most carbohydrate or protein based materials, including human hair or finger and toenails. Each female produces around 10 egg capsules, carrying the capsule for a day or two and then carefully placing it in a protected location. Each egg capsule has an average of 15 eggs in it and these hatch in about 45 days. Development to the adult stage averages about 450 days, but may take well over 2 years in colder climates. Adults live an average of around 1 year, but potentially can live almost 3 years.
Identification: The American roach adult has fully developed wings and is capable of some flight, usually from an upper location to a lower surface. It is reddish brown with a yellow ring around the prothorax. Adults may be up to 1.5 inches long from head to tail, with extremely long antennae. The cerci are long and thin, a character that separates the nymphs of American roaches from those of Oriental roaches. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Name: Flea Latin Name: Ctenocephalides felis (Bouche) – the Cat Flea Common Family Name: Fleas Latin Family Name: Order Siphonaptera
Other Names:
Origin: There are dozens of different species of fleas, but the Cat Flea is by far the most common flea on pets and in structures in the United States. It originated in Africa as an ectoparasite of the large native cats.
Biology: The Cat Flea is a blood feeder as the adult, and a scavenger as the larva. The adults remain on the animals they feed on unless physically forced off, and may live up to a year. The female lays the eggs on the host animal and these eggs fall off to the floor or other surface below. The eggs hatch in a few days and the larvae begins to feed on organic debris it finds, but also must consume some dried blood in order to progress to the pupa stage. This blood is from the dried feces of the adult fleas, and it falls off the pets wherever they spend time. Under ideal conditions the time from egg to adult can be as short as 2 weeks, or it may take several months if there is no host activity to stimulate some of the pupa to hatch to the adult stage. The Cat Flea is a possible vector of bubonic plague, and it is a common flea species on raccoons and opossum, as well as the primary flea on both dogs and cats in the U.S.
Identification: All fleas are similar in appearance, as wingless insects with bodies flattened from side to side and with long hind legs for jumping. They are black to reddish black in color and have spiny legs as well as rows of spines along other body areas called “combs”. These combs are important for identification of the species. The genal comb is a row below the head, and the pronotal comb is a row behind the head, at the back of the pronotum. The Cat Flea has both combs, it has eyes present, the genal comb is horizontally placed, and the first two spines on the genal comb are the same length. These characters separate it from the similar Dog Flea. Flea larvae are rarely seen, but they are legless and whitish with a brown head, unless they have fed on fecal matter from the adults, in which case they assume a reddish color. They are covered with short hairs, and when disturbed are able to flip about violently in order to escape. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Name: Dermacentor ticks Latin Name: Dermacentor spp. Common Family Name: Hard ticks Latin Family Name: Ixodidae
Other Names: Wood ticks, American dog tick, Pacific Coast tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick
Origin: These ticks are native to North America.
Biology: Hard ticks in general have a two year life cycle, with eggs hatching to the 6-legged larva in the spring, these progressing to the second instar nymph stage which overwinters, and these progressing the following year to the adult tick. There is usually a single blood meal at each stage, with the tick remaining attached for several days to over a week. After fertilization by the male, and a blood meal, the female hard tick produces a single batch of up to several thousand eggs, and then she dies. These eggs are usually placed into a secluded crevice of some sort, and this may be within a structure. The engorged, gravid female becomes bloated to many times her original size. Ticks in the genus Dermacentor are potential vectors of most of the diseases spread by ticks, including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Colorado Tick Fever, Encephalitis, Tick Paralysis, Q Fever, and Tularemia. These ticks feed commonly on dogs, wild animals, and on humans, and are often the most common ticks found infesting and biting humans.
Identification: The Dermacentor ticks are very similar to the brown dog tick – genus Rhipicephalus. Adults are about 3 mm long, flattened top to bottom, and are much wider at the posterior end than the front. There are tiny pits scattered over the top of the body, and the color ranges from grayish brown to dark reddish brown. With high magnification several other key characters distinguish this group. By the anal opening on the underside of the abdomen there is no small “anal groove” just behind the anus which is present in Rhipicephalus ticks. In addition, the body plate directly behind the mouthparts, the “basis capituli”, does not have pointed expansions on each side, but instead the sides of this plate are parallel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Name: Thief ant Latin Name: Solenopsis molesta (Say) Common Family Name: Ants Latin Family Name: Formicidae
Other Names: Piss ant, grease ant
Origin: Not mentioned in literature, but this species is found throughout the United States as a common, indoor ant pest.
Biology: This is a double-node ant, but is far too small to sting. Its name is derived due to its ability to enter the nests of other ants and steal and feed on the larvae of these other species. The small size of the Thief Ant allows it to move undetected. They feed on carbohydrate such as honeydew or sugary foods, but are particularly fond of oils and meat, even being found feeding on dead carcasses. A colony may have only a few hundred workers but many queens, and nests both indoors and outdoors can be located in very small cavities, under debris or objects on the soil, behind wall paneling or loose floor molding, and within wall voids or cabinets.
Identification: This tiny ant is less than 1.5 mm long and is such a light orange color that it may be difficult to spot in an inspection. It has no spines on the thorax and has antennae composed of 10 segments. It is easily confused with the Pharaoh Ant in size and color, but may be distinguished by the club at the end of the antenna, which is composed of only 2 enlarged segments. On the Pharaoh Ant this club is made up of 3 enlarged segments, and at least 30X magnification may be necessary to see this character with certainty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Common Name: Flea
Common Name: Dermacentor ticks
Common Name: Thief ant