Asclepias tuberosa, commonly known as butterfly weed, is a species of milkweed native to eastern and southwestern North America. It is commonly known as butterfly weed because of the butterflies that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of nectar.
The red-winged blackbird is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North America and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the Southern United States. Claims have been made that it is the most abundant living land bird in North America, as bird-counting censuses of wintering red-winged blackbirds sometimes show that loose flocks can number in excess of a million birds per flock and the full number of breeding pairs across North and Central America may exceed 250 million in peak years. It also ranks among the best-studied wild bird species in the world. The red-winged blackbird is sexually dimorphic; the male is all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the red-winged blackbird's diet.
Senecio vulgaris, often known by the common names groundsel and old-man-in-the-spring, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is an annual herb, native to the Palaearctic and widely naturalised as a ruderal species in suitable disturbed habitats worldwide.
Passiflora incarnata, commonly known as maypop, purple passionflower, true passionflower, wild apricot, and wild passion vine, is a fast-growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. A member of the passionflower genus Passiflora, the maypop has large, intricate flowers with prominent styles and stamens. One of the hardiest species of passionflower, it is both found as a wildflower in the southern United States and in cultivation for its fruit and striking bluish purple blooms.
Ambrosia artemisiifolia, with the common names common ragweed, annual ragweed, and low ragweed, is a species of the genus Ambrosia native to regions of the Americas.
Thlaspi arvense, known by the common name field pennycress, is a flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. It is native to Eurasia, and is a common weed throughout much of North America and its home.
Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source, in many cases leaving the seeds damaged and not viable. Granivores are found across many families of vertebrates as well as invertebrates ; thus, seed predation occurs in virtually all terrestrial ecosystems.
Amaranthus tuberculatus, commonly known as roughfruit amaranth, rough-fruited water-hemp, tall waterhemp, or common waterhemp, is a species of flowering plant. It is a summer annual broadleaf with a germination period that lasts several months. Tall waterhemp has been reported as a weed in 40 of 50 U.S. states.
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals. Plants with characteristics that make them hazardous, aesthetically unappealing, difficult to control in managed environments, or otherwise unwanted in farm land, orchards, gardens, lawns, parks, recreational spaces, residential and industrial areas, may all be considered weeds. The concept of weeds is particularly significant in agriculture, where the presence of weeds in fields used to grow crops may cause major losses in yields. Invasive species, plants introduced to an environment where their presence negatively impacts the overall functioning and biodiversity of the ecosystem, may also sometimes be considered weeds.
Gryllus pennsylvanicus is known as the fall field cricket. G. pennsylvanicus is common in southern Ontario, is widespread across much of North America and can be found even into parts of northern Mexico. It tends to be absent in most of the southwestern United States including southern California. Within its geographic range this field cricket will burrow into soil in fields and forest edges. Individuals inhabit grassy disturbed areas and are often found around areas of human habitation.
Bombus pensylvanicus, the American bumblebee, is a threatened species of bumblebee native to North America. It occurs in eastern Canada, throughout much of the Eastern United States, and much of Mexico.
Harpalus affinis is a species of ground beetle native to the Palearctic, and introduced in the Nearctic and the Australasian region. In Europe, it is only absent in the following countries or islands: the Azores, the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, Crete, Cyclades, Dodecanese, the Faroe Islands, Franz Josef Land, Gibraltar, Iceland, Madeira, Malta, Monaco, the North Aegean islands, Novaya Zemlya, San Marino, the Savage Islands, Sicily, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, and Vatican City. Its presence on the Balearic Islands and Sardinia is doubtful.
Echinocystis is a monotypic genus in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. The sole species is E. lobata, commonly called wild cucumber and prickly cucumber. It is an annual, sprawling plant that is native to North America. Sicyos angulatus, common name "bur cucumber", is an annual plant with a similar clinging vine growth but different-appearing flowers and seed pods.
The goldenrod soldier beetle or Pennsylvania leatherwing is a species of soldier beetle (Cantharidae).
Coleomegilla maculata, commonly known as the spotted lady beetle, pink spotted lady beetle or twelve-spotted lady beetle, is a large coccinellid beetle native to North America. The adults and larvae feed primarily on aphids and the species has been used as a biological control agent. Based on name connotation and to avoid confusion with other species also called "spotted ladybeetle", spotted pink ladybeetle is probably the most appropriate common name for this species.
Harpalus rufipes, commonly known as the strawberry seed beetle, is a species of ground beetle in the subfamily Harpalinae. It was described by Degeer in 1774. Harpalus rufipes is native to Europe. As a predator, Harpalus rufipes is used as a biological agent to control seed-eating pests including aphids and slugs such as Deroceras reticulatum, though they are known to feed on the seeds of strawberries. It has been used as a model organism to investigate the immune system of beetles, and a study has shown it is sensitive to engine oil and diesel oil.
Proboscidea louisianica is a species of flowering plant in the family Martyniaceae. Its true native range is unclear, but probably includes parts of the southwestern United States and Mexico in North America. It occurs in other areas, including other regions in North America, Europe, Australia, and South Africa, as an introduced species. It is the most widely distributed species in its family. Common names it shares with other Proboscidea species include devil's claw and unicorn-plant. Names more specific to the species include common devil's claw, ram's horn, aphid trap, Louisiana unicorn-plant, purple-flowered devil's-claw, goat's head, elephant tusks, and martinoe.
Agriotes sputator is a species of click beetle, commonly known as the common click beetle. The adult beetle is brown and inconspicuous, and the larvae live in the soil and are known as wireworms. They are agricultural pests that devour the roots and underground parts of many crops and other plants.
Anisodactylus binotatus is a species of ground beetle native to Europe. It was discovered as being introduced to Canterbury, New Zealand in 1938. Anisodactylus binotatus is a species of Carabidae, also known as the ground beetle family. Although this species of beetle has no official recorded common names, literature from England refers to it as the common shortspur beetle.
The Conotrachelus posticatus is a species of true weevil within the beetle family Curculionidae. C. posticatus is found in North America. It is on average 3.7–5 mm (0.15–0.20 in) long, and it is present in North America all the way to Panama. This species of Conotrachelus breeds in acorns; as a result, its larvae are found within acorns and their larval diet includes acorns. Their growing presence within oak trees has been studied and their effect on oak trees shows that they attack these trees by destroying the seeds within the tree. At times, the seeds can be found to be partially damaged, and requires further studying to understand the activity of the species in relation to oak trees.
