Insects
There are many more insects in Bridlemile than there are mammals or birds. They serve an important ecological purpose as most of the local birds and many of the local mammals depend on insects for food.
Here is a very small sample of the Bridlemile insects. This will, hopefully, help readers to find and observe insects in Bridlemile.
Remember to share your wildlife photos (including insects!) at: hello@bridlemilepdx.org
Bee, Bumble (Bombus vosnesenskii)
Bumble Bee. Found near curb on the north side of Bridlemile’s stretch of Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway (2024-08-09).
“Bombus vosnesenskii, the yellow-faced bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee native to the west coast of North America, where it is distributed from British Columbia to Baja California. It is the most abundant species of bee in this range, and can be found in both urban and agricultural areas. Additionally, B. vosnesenskii is utilized as an important pollinator in commercial agriculture, especially for greenhouse tomatoes. …
They have almost entirely black thoraxes with stripes of yellow at the head and at the T4 segment of their thorax.”
Source: Wikipedia.
Bee, Western Honey (Apis mellifera)
Bee, Western Honey. Found in Bridlemile front yard. (2024-08-21).
Most common honey bee species worldwise.
Believed to have originated in Africa or Asia.
“Swarm in the spring and early summer, when there is an abundance of blooming flowers from which to collect nectar and pollen. …
Western honey bees collect flower nectar and convert it to honey, which is stored in the hive.” Wikipedia.
Box Elder, Western (Boise rubrolineata):
Left: Western Box Elder found on a street in Hillsdale near George Hines Park (SW Parkhill Way) (2024/8/8).
Right: Western Box Elder (bottom-up view) found in a car trunk in Bridlemile (2024/10/7).
Usually, feeds on female box elder trees. May also feed on maple and ash trees, and fruit on apples, pears, cherries, peaches and plums.
An identifying feature is that the top is grayish black with red lines across the top, including an “X” figure.
It can become a household nuisance, especially in the fall and spring. Tends to hibernate during the winter.
Box Elder, Western - Nymphs (Boise rubrolineata):
Both of the Box Elder nymphs shown above, at different stages of development, were found on the railing of the (no name creek) bridge on the pedestrian cut-through that connects SW 48th Place and SW Lowell Court. (2024-08-25).
“In the spring, after emerging from overwintering sites, adult females deposit small, red, oval eggs on host plants. Other eggs may be laid on deposits of boxelder, ash, maple or elm seeds which accumulate near the home. Bright red nymphs hatch from eggs in 10 to 14 days. Nymphs suck plant sap until mid-summer when they mature into adults.”
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Backyard Farmer
Centipede, House (Scutigera coleoptrata)
Found in garage in a Bridlemile residence. (2024-09-10).
Yellowish-gray centipede. It kills and eats other insects. Speedy. In the spring and summer, they are found outdoors near compost piles and under rocks or piles of leaves. In the fall, cooling weather encourages them to move in doors. They are usually seen crawling on floors.
They are typically not a threat to humans.
Crane Fly (common or European) (Tipula paludosa or T. oleraceae)
Nickname: “Mosquito hawk”
Found in a garage in a Bridlemile residence. (2024-09-10)
A large fly with long- slender legs. It resembles a giant mosquito.
ID: 2 cm (¾ inch) body. 10 cm (4-inch) long legs. Single set of wings.
They frequent areas near ponds and streams with high grass. Larvae do well in lawns that are damp and poorly drained. They feed on shoots, roots, and leaves in lawns. They may leave brown patches in the grass due to their eating grass roots.
Adult flies mate for a few days and die. They typically do not eat anything.
The adults are attracted to light and may enter people’s houses at night. They are not dangerous to humans.
Damselfly (odonata zygoptera)
Found in shrubs in NE corner of Albertsons parking lot near SW Shattuck. (2024-08).
The Damselfly is a flying insect, which hunts down and eats other insects. The Damselfly, in turn, is eaten by larger insects and birds.
It is distinguishable from a Dragonfly due to its more slender body, which looks as thin as a twig. Wikipedia-Damselfly
House Fly, Common (aka flesh fly) (Sarcophagidae)
Found on Bridlemile porch railing (2024-09-06)
ID: Three black and gray longitudinal stripes on the thorax. Red eyes.
Feeds on dead organic matter, as dead insects or large animal carcasses or feces.
Frequents compost piles.
Moth, Isabella Tiger (Pyrrharctia Isabella) (adult and “wooly bear” larvae)
Left: Isabella Tiger Moth (adult) found on Bridlemile porch light. 9/1/2024. iPhone 15.
Right: Isabella Tiger Moth (larvae) found on Bridlemile residential street. 9/29/2024. iPhone 15.
The adult form of this moth is found in Oregon mostly in June, July, and August. It comes out at night and is attracted to lights.
It is common in wet, lower elevations such as Bridlemile.
The wings are light to medium orange-brown or gold-ish, with a few black dots.
The larvae has brown hair in the middle. In sunlight, this may look bright reddish brown. It has black hair in the rear and front areas. It comes out of the egg in the fall.
Spider, European Garden (Araneus diadematus)
Left: European Garden Spider found in Bridlemile residence. (2024-08-21)
Right: Female European Garden Spider found in its web near Beaverton-HIllsdale Highway (2024-09-24).
Native to Europe. Introduced to North America.
Females: 0.26 to 0.79 inches (6.5 to 20 mm). Males: 0.22 to 0.51 inches (5.5 to 13 mm).
Color ranges from light yellow to dark grey.
Larger females spin webs to capture prey. “Occasionally, the female will eat the male directly after mating. … Only bites humans if cornered or otherwise provoked.” Wikipedia-Araneus diadematus .
Stink Bug, Brown Marmorated (Halyomorpha halys):
Left: Stink bug found on top a picnic cooler in Hamilton Park. (2024-08-06).
Right: Stink bug found in Bridlemile yard (2024-09-22).
Native to Asia, but now established in North America. It emits an odor as a defense mechanism. It is a serious agricultural pest as it feeds on crops. Also, it tends to invade homes in the fall to survive the winter weather.
It is distinguishable from other stink bugs due to its smooth “shoulders” and its two lightly colored bands on its antennae.
“It first arrived from Asia to the Portland area around 2004.” https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/bmsb/brown-marmorated-stink-bug
Water Strider (Gerridae)
Water Strider found a pond at the Fanno Creek Natural Area off SW 39th Drive. (2024-08-08).
A distinguishing feature is how water striders walk on the surface of still waters. They do this by taking advantage of the natural surface tension of the water.
Water striders eat insects and larvae found on the surface of water. In turn, they are eaten by birds, fish, and other water striders.
