Curly Shirt Prairie Wildlife Habitat
Wheaton, IL, US
In the last few years my tiny yard has become a real wildlife habitat. Of course the "Prairie" part of the name is just aspirational for now. The sad fact about prairie land here in the U.S. is that most of it is gone...at least 96% of it. The prairie ecosystem is vital for many reasons, including the biodiversity we all need to survive. But once gone it takes about 150 years to rebuild, as what makes a prairie is not the plants growing on the land, but the soil underneath. So what better time to start rebuilding then right now?
If you replace your lawn grass with native plantings, you won't get prairie soil right away, but you will start to see prairie wildlife return, like some of the ones shown in the pictures below! Out of the over 400 native species of bees in Illinois, most are ground dwellers, and need the right soil to survive. After planting new native areas in your yard, you may see up to a dozen new varieties of bees, but most others will not be able to establish there without a physically connected corridor. So what better time to get your neighbors involved in connecting native areas than today?
Why are bees and other pollinators important? Read more about it here and here.
Some people think they don't have enough information to do this, but you don't have to know much to get started. I knew very little, started with a plant here and there, and now I have a nice variety of living things showing up in the yard. I've made mistakes along the way but they are pretty easy to fix. You can start with a single new plant, and learn from there. Google and YouTube are your friends.
Traditional lawn grass may complete the beautiful suburban yard of your dreams, but it's actually one of the worst things you can do to all the living wildlife around you and the soil below you. So rip some out, and put in some new native plants today, and the bees and butterflies will thank you!
This site is a work in progress documenting the plants (coming soon) and wildlife in the CSP habitat, so please enjoy.
Insects
Bald Faced Hornet
Dolichovespula maculata
Eastern Yellowjacket
Vespula maculifrons
European Paper Wasp
Polistes dominula
Northern Paper Wasp
Polistes fuscatus
Four-Toothed Mason Wasp
Monobia quadridens
Four-Banded Stink Bug Hunter Wasp
Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus
Great Golden Digger Wasp
Sphex ichneumoneus
Great Black Wasp
Sphex pensylvanicus
Thread Waisted Wasp
Eremnophila aureonotata
Potter Wasp
Eumenes fraternus
Enicospilus Wasp
Enicospilus sp.
Cicada Killer Wasp
Sphecius speciosus
Common Eastern Bumble Bee
Bombus impatiens
Two-Spotted Bumble Bee
Bombus bimaculatus
Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
Oblong Wool-Carder Bee
Anthidium oblongatum
Spurred Carpenter Bee
Ceratina calcarata
Yellow-Faced Bee
Hylaeus sp.
Sweat Bee
Agapostemon virescens
Sweat Bee
Halictus sp.
Orange-Legged Furrow Bee
Halictus rubicundus
Monarch Butterfly
Danaus plexippus
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio glaucus
Black Swallowtail
Papilio polyxenes
Red Admiral
Vanessa atalanta
Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui
Pearl Crescent
Phyciodes tharos
Great Spangled Fritillary
Speyeria cybele
Silver-spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus
Peck's Skipper
Polites peckius
Least Skipper
Ancyloxypha numitor
Orange Wing Moth
Mellilla xanthometata
Spring Azure
Celastrina ladon
Cabbage White
Pieris rapae
Orange Sulphur
Colias eurytheme
Question Mark Butterfly
Polygonia interrogationis
Ailanthus Webworm Moth
Atteva aurea
White-Marked Tussock Moth
Orgyia leucostigma
Nessus Sphinx Moth
Amphion floridensis
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth
Hemaris thysbe
Ironweed Clearwing Moth
Carmenta bassiformis
Maple Leafcutter Moth
Paraclemensia acerifoliella
Polyphemus Moth
Antheraea polyphemus
American Hoverfly
Eupeodes americanus
Hook-Barred Spearhorn Hoverfly
Chrysotoxum festivum
Margined Calligrapher Hoverfly
Toxomerus marginatus
Tiger Bee Fly
Xenox tigrinus
Picture-Winged Fly
Delphinia picta
Dog-Day Cicada
Neotibicen canicularis
Illinois Brood XIII Cicada
Magicicada sp.
Blue-Fronted Dancer Damselfly
Argia apicalis
Familiar Bluet Damselfly
Enallagma civile
Eastern Forktail Damselfly
Ischnura verticalis
Autumn Meadowhawk
Sympetrum vicinum
Widow Skimmer
Libellula luctuosa
Dogbane Leaf Beetle
Chrysochus auratus
Japanese Beetle
Popillia japonica
Stag Beetle
Lucanus capreolus
Ground Beetle
Pasimachus sp.
Western Banded Glow Worm
Zarhipis integripennis
Goldenrod Soldier Bug
Chauliognathus pensylvanicus
Goldenrod Leaf Miner
Microrhopala vittata
Striped Cucumber Beetle
Acalymma vittatum
Four-lined Plant Bug
Poecilocapsus lineatus
Leaf-Footed Bug
Leptoglossus occidentalis
Milkweed Bug
Oncopeltus fasciatus
Large Milkweed Beetle
Tetraopes tetrophthalmus
Twice-Stabbed Stink Bug
Cosmopepla lintneriana
American Ambush Bug
Phymata americana
Ladybug Beetle
Harmonia axyridis
Woolly Alder Aphid
Paraprociphilus tessellatus
Rainbow Leafhopper
Graphocephala coccinea
Two-Striped Grasshopper
Melanoplus bivittatus
Differential Grasshopper
Melanoplus differentialis
Crowned Orbweaver
Araneus diadematus
Bold Jumping Spider
Phidippus audax
Harvest Spider (Daddy Longlegs)
Phalangium opilio
Birds
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
American Goldfinch
Spinus tristis
Black-Capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
Downy Woodpecker
Dryobates pubescens
Red Headed Woodpecker
Melanerpes erythrocephalus
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Northern Flicker
Colaptes auratus
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher
Polioptila caerulea
Northern Cardinal
Cardinali cardinalis
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Sitta carolinensis
Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
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Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Animals
Eastern Grey Squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
Eastern Chipmunk
Tamias striatus
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
Sylvilagus floridanus
Questions?
Email me