Top 20 Most Common Insects in Anacortes
Insects, with their diverse characteristics, are integral parts of Anacortes's ecosystem. Both pests and pollinators, they serve pivotal roles from nourishing wildlife to maintaining plant life. In this feature, we spotlight the top 20 most common insects found in Anacortes, showcasing how our local environment both influences and is influenced by these fascinating creatures.
Most Common Insects
1. Red rock crabs
2. Purple shore crab
3. Western honey bee
Western honey bee（Apis mellifera） is the most common species of honeybee in the world. Among the first domesticated insects, its cultural and economic impact on humanity has been vast and far-reaching, providing honey, wax and its services as a pollinator. Western honey bee faces challenges worldwide, such as colony collapse disorder, and populations are thought to be decreasing.
4. Lorquin's admiral
The lorquin's admiral has brown-black wings, each with a row of white spots across it. Its forewings have orange tips. The wingspan is 4.5 - 7 cm; females are generally larger than males. Larvae are usually yellow with a patch of white on the back. 
5. Western tent caterpillar
The mature western tent caterpillar pre-pupa is 4 - 5 cm long. The caterpillars are black, grey, or white with an orange stripe running longitudinally across the body. There are blue-white lines on each segment with dispersed setae extruding from the body. Pupae are 2 - 2.5 cm and reddish-brown to black in colour. Pupae spin a white silken cocoon, powdered in white and yellow. Adults have wingspan between 3.5 - 5 cm. Moths are brown, yellow, tan or grey, with two lighter or darker lines crossing the body.
6. Crowned orbweaver
A common species of orb-weaver, crowned orbweaver (Araneus diadematus) builds large and noticeable webs. Only the females build webs, and they may prey upon their mates before, during or after engaging in sexual intercourse. Crowned orbweaver is reluctant to bite humans and will not do so unless scared or provoked. It avoids danger by vibrating in its web until it becomes a blur, confusing predators.
7. Yellow shore crab
8. Dungeness crab
Despite its extremely hard shell, the dungeness crab is able to sense touch through the tiny hairs that cover its body. It is also able to regrow limbs when bitten off. A highly prized seafood, the dungeness crab is considered a delicacy and preferred over the Red rock crab (Cancer productus) due to its meatier limbs. It is the no.1 "single species" fishery in the state of Oregon, while the town of Port Angeles, WA, celebrates the Annual dungeness crab festival each year in October.
9. Silver-spotted tiger moth
Lophocampa argentata is a bear butterfly from the spider owl family (Erebidae). The scientific name of the species was first validly published in 1864 by Packard.
10. Woodland skipper
The wingspan is 2.5 - 3 cm. The upperside is orange with toothed brown borders. The forewing of the males has a black stigma, while females have or a black diagonal band. There is a large reddish patch on the hindwings. The underside is variable in colour, ranging from yellow to reddish to brown. The hindwing varies from unmarked to having a distinct band of cream to yellow spots.
More
