Open Coniferous Forest: Arthropods

Mammals

Birds

Amphibians/Reptiles

Plants

Bryophytes/Lichens

Cicada (Cicadidae)

The buzzing sound of the male cicada means summer to many people. Larvae feed on plant roots, crawling up trees to emerge as adults in July and August. Eggs are laid inside a twig which breaks off and falls to the ground, taking the developing larvae with it.

Ants (Formicidae)

Ants are very social insects, often living in very large colonies throughout the open coniferous forests. They may help in the dispersal of plants by carrying seeds back to their nest, having eaten the edible outgrowth on the seed, but discarding the seed itself.

Ant Lion (Myrmeliontidae)

Th adult ant lion looks like a soft damselfly with a knob on each antenna. Larva live in distinctive holes in sandy or dry soil waiting for insects to fall into their hole. The pits are often found around or under ponderosa pine trees. .

Want to find out about species at risk in open coniferous forests?
Go to Species at Risk

Here are some other representative species in open coniferous forests:

Beetles:
Carrion Beetle (Silphidae)
Ground Beetle, Tiger beetle (Carabidae)
Bugs:
Cicada (Cicadidae)
Plant bugs (Miridae)
Crickets & Grasshoppers:
Ground Crickets (Gryllidae)
Snowy Tree Crickets (Gryllidae)
Flies:
Bee Flies (Bombyliidae)
Robber Flies (Asilidae)
Ticks:
Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Ixodidae)
Wasps, Ants & Bees:
Solitary bee
Velvet ants (Mutillidae)

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