Rocky Talus/Rock Outcrop: Arthropods

Mammals

Birds

Amphibians/Reptiles

Plants

Bryophytes/Lichens

Field crickets (Gryllidae)

This is a black cricket with hardened covering on the abdomen and short, stiff spines on the hind legs. The sound of crickets buzzing is a sure sign of summer in the grasslands. Their characteristic song is only made by the males, and is produced when they rub the edges of their hardened wing covers together.

Camel crickets (Rhapidiophoridae)

This brownish cricket is named for its humped-back.  It has very long hind legs, but no wings or "ears". Look for them under rocks and in other dark places.

Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Ixodidae)

Wood ticks live on grassland plants and are active from March to June. They can sense movement and "quest" with their fore legs in the air, waiting for an animal, or human, to pass in grasping range. The skin is punctured and blood is sucked from the host, aided by an anticoagulant in the tick’s saliva..

Want to find out about species at risk in rocky talus slopes and rock outcrops?
Go to Species at Risk

Here are some other representative species in rocky talus slopes and rock outcrops:

Beetles
Bugs
Crickets & Grasshoppers
Dragonflies
Flies
Moths & Butterflies
Scorpions
Ticks
Wasps, Ants & Bees

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