Thomas Say was an American entomologist, conchologist, and herpetologist. His studies of insects and shells, numerous contributions to scientific journals, and scientific expeditions to Florida, Georgia, the Rocky Mountains, Mexico, and elsewhere made him an internationally known naturalist. Say has been called the father of American descriptive entomology and American conchology. He served as librarian for the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, curator at the American Philosophical Society, and professor of natural history at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ensifera is a suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies including: true crickets, camel crickets, bush crickets or katydids, grigs, weta and Cooloola monsters. This and the suborder Caelifera make up the order Orthoptera. Ensifera is believed to be a more ancient group than Caelifera, with its origins in the Carboniferous period, the split having occurred at the end of the Permian period. Unlike the Caelifera, the Ensifera contain numerous members that are partially carnivorous, feeding on other insects, as well as plants.
Alderflies are megalopteran insects of the family Sialidae. They are closely related to the dobsonflies and fishflies as well as to the prehistoric Euchauliodidae. All living alderflies – about 66 species all together – are part of the subfamily Sialinae, which contains nine extant genera.
Scolytus is a genus of bark beetles. It includes several species notorious for destroying trees in the forests. The Dutch elm disease is spread in North America by two species : the native elm bark beetle, Hylurgopinus rufipes, and the European elm bark beetle, Scolytus multistriatus. In Europe, while the aforementioned Scolytus multistriatus again acts as vector for infection, it is much less effective than the large elm bark beetle Scolytus scolytus.
Archiinocellia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Raphidiidae known from Eocene fossils found in western North America. The genus contains two species, the older Archiinocellia oligoneura and the younger Archiinocellia protomaculata. The type species is of Ypresian age and from the Horsefly Shales of British Columbia, while the younger species from the Lutetian Green River Formation in Colorado. Archiinocellia protomaculata was first described as Agulla protomaculata, and later moved to Archiinocellia.
Laphria is a genus described by Johann Wilhelm Meigen in 1803, belonging to the family Asilidae, subfamily Laphriinae. Members of this genus are known as bee-like robber flies. This genus has a Holarctic distribution, occurring in Europe, Asia, and North America. They prey on a variety of insects, including other robber flies, bees, wasps and beetles. Like other asilids, they use their proboscis to penetrate the body of their prey and inject enzymes which dissolve the tissues.
Epicauta is a genus of beetles in the blister beetle family, Meloidae. The genus was first scientifically described in 1834 by Pierre François Marie Auguste Dejean. Epicauta is distributed nearly worldwide, with species native to all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Surveys have found the genus to be particularly diverse in northern Arizona in the United States. Few species occur in the Arctic, with none farther north than the southern edge of the Northwest Territories, Canada.
Adesmus is a genus of longhorn beetles of the subfamily Lamiinae, containing the following species:
Gorytes is a genus of sand wasps in the family Bembicidae. There are at least 70 described species in Gorytes.
Aphrophora is a genus of spittlebugs in the family Aphrophoridae. There are at least 80 described species in Aphrophora.
Plecia is a genus of March flies (Bibionidae) comprising many species, both extant and fossilised.
Epinysson is a genus of kleptoparasitic wasps in the family Bembicidae. There are more than 20 described species in Epinysson.
Steniolia is a genus of sand wasps in the family Bembicidae. There are about 15 described species in Steniolia.
Bicyrtes viduatus is a species of sand wasp in the family Bembicidae. It is found in Central America.
Sennius is a genus of pea and bean weevils in the family Chrysomelidae. There are at least 20 described species in Sennius.
Bicyrtes ventralis is a species of sand wasp in the family Bembicidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Merhynchites is a genus of leaf and bud weevils in the beetle family Attelabidae. There are about 12 described species in Merhynchites.
Clitemnestra is a genus of sand wasps in the family Bembicidae. There are at least 60 described species in Clitemnestra.
Alysson is a genus of hymenopterans in the family Bembicidae. There are at least 40 described species in Alysson.
Microbembex is a genus of sand wasps in the family Bembicidae. There are more than 30 described species in Microbembex.
