Website of the month

Click on the photo to learn about one of the most common mosquitoes in North America: Culex pipiens
(order Diptera, family Culicidae).

website by: Kellen Pautzke, WSU
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Culex pipiens species complex from the WSU entomological collection
Explore our favorite species! ​Many of the student websites feature insects that are widely distributed and have close relatives worldwide. Some species highlighted here are not native to the area and have been introduced from elsewhere, so even if you don't live in the Pacific Northwest, you may see some familiar insects. Click on a photo below to hop to a new page!
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Ischnura cervula
Odonata
dragonflies & damselflies
Mantodea
praying mantids
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Mantis religiosa
Hemiptera
aphids, whiteflies, cicadas, hoppers, true bugs, etc.
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Calladonus geminatus
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Circulifer tenellus
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Acyrthosiphon pisum
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Sitobion avenae
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Daktulosphaira vitifoliae
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Apis mellifera
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Agapostemon femoratus
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Anthophora urbana
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Calopompilus pyrrhomelas
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Bombus appositus
Hymenoptera
​sawflies, bees, ants, & wasps
Diptera
true flies, mosquitoes, gnats, & midges
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Culex pipiens
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Chrysops discalis
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Hermetia illucens
Coleoptera
beetles
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Mogulones crucifer
Lepidoptera
butterflies, skippers, & moths
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Agapeta zoegana
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Pieris rapae
Neuroptera
lacewings, antlions, mantidflies, etc.
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Polystoechotes punctatus
Other Arthropods
spiders, spider mites, scorpions, etc.

Not insects, but some entomologists study these groups, too!
 Picturemites: Tetranychus urticae
The photos above were taken by the students in the Taxonomic Entomology course.

As part of the class, the students searched for their insect species of interest in the MT James Entomological Collection, which is our insect museum at WSU. This is a scientific research collection with over 1.5 million specimens. ​Some students used the microscope + photo system in the museum to take the photos shown above.

species page authors & photo credits for links above (left to right, by row):
Odonata: Jeremy Roberts. Mantodea: Daniel Gallegos.
Hemiptera: Cesar Reyes Corral, Jillian Foutz, Pooja Malhotra, Megan Blance, Lucas Ripa.
Hymenoptera: Kiersten Ritchie, Stephen Onayemi, Jenny Gan, Kendra Chambless, Mario Luppino.
Diptera: Kellen Pautzke, Danny Marshall, Connor Auth. Coleoptera: Anjila Thapa.
Lepidoptera: Samikshya Aryal, Lara Amiri-Kazaz. Neuroptera: Anna Webb.
A mite in the order Trombidiformes: Anwar Bushnaq.
top photo: View of the native Palouse Prairie in May. This is the Kramer Prairie Ecological Reserve managed by WSU.
The flowers are abuzz with native bees, from sweat bees to bumble bees, many of which have never been studied!
This website was developed for the course "Taxonomic Entomology" (Entom 539) taught in the fall of 2020.
​This is a graduate-level course in the Department of Entomology at Washington State University, taught by insect systematist Dr. Elizabeth Murray. Students from both WSU and the nearby University of Idaho enroll in this class.