Western Pearlshell

Invertebrates > Freshwater Mussels

The Western Pearlshell (Margaritifera falcata) is an ancient, venerable freshwater bivalve that ranks among the longest-lived animals on planet Earth, with individual mussels routinely living for over a century. Clustered in dense multi-generational beds along clean,...

Ten-lined June Beetle

Invertebrates > Beetles

The Ten-lined June Beetle (Polyphylla decemlineata), affectionately known across the American West as the ‘Watermelon Beetle,’ is a colossal, charismatic scarab beetle famous for its bold pinstriped livery and its surprising ability to loudly hiss like an...

Pacific Spiketail

Invertebrates > Dragonflies

The Pacific Spiketail (Cordulegaster dorsalis) is a colossal, powerful mountain dragonfly that patrols the clear, rushing mountain torrents and cascading creeks of the western cordillera. Wielding immense, glowing turquoise-green compound eyes and a long, dagger-like...

California Laurel Borer

Invertebrates > Beetles

The California Laurel Borer (Rosalia funebris), widely celebrated as the Banded Alder Borer, is universally acclaimed as one of the most spectacularly patterned beetles in North America. Flaunting high-contrast, zebra-like bands of stark velvety jet-black and clean...

Western Bumblebee

Invertebrates > Bees & Wasps

The Western Bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis) is an iconic, fuzzy native pollinator historically ubiquitous throughout the western wilderness of North America. Renowned for its distinctive, snowy-white tail and industrious buzz-pollination behavior, this cold-adapted...