This illustrated guide will give a broad overview of the remarkable insect diversity of Coal Oil Point. Links on this page lead to more detailed pages on each of the major groups, or 'orders', of insects. These pages may be used as a basic field guide to insects at the Reserve (though we'd stress that it's rarely possible to conclusively identify insect species from photographs.)

Most insects illustrated in this guide are not identified to a definite species. We have attempted to identify everything we could during a relatively limited time frame. However, most morphospecies are identified only to genus, family, or even superfamily. For some of the most challenging groups, such as some of the micro-wasp and fly families, even these are tentative. Nonetheless, this is a work in progress, and it may be expected to improve over time.

Major groups (click name or photo to go to Order page)
Collembola - Springtails	Archaeognatha - Bristletails	Odonata - Dragonflies & Damselflies
Isoptera - Termites	Plecoptera - Stoneflies	Orthoptera - Crickets & Grasshoppers
Embioptera - Webspinners	Dermaptera - Earwigs	Psocoptera - Barklice
Homoptera - Aphids & Planthoppers	Heteroptera - True Bugs	Thysanoptera - Thrips
Neuroptera - Lacewings	Coleoptera - Beetles	Lepidoptera - Moths & Butterflies
Siphonaptera - Fleas	Diptera - True Flies	Hymenoptera - Ants, Wasps & Bees
Arachnida - Spiders	Other Arthropods