The green honeycreeper was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Motacilla spiza. He specified the type locality as Suriname. The specific epithet is the Ancient Greek word for a common finch.  Linnaeus based his description on the "green black-cap fly-catcher" that the English naturalist George Edwards had described and illustrated in his 1743 book A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. In 1853 the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach erected the genus Chlorophanes to accommodate the green honeycreeper. The name combines the Ancient Greek khlōros meaning green with -phanēs meaning showing. A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the tanager family Thraupidae published in 2014 found that the green honeycreeper and the golden-collared honeycreeper (Iridophanes pulcherrimus) were sister species.
Seven subspecies are recognised:
C. s. guatemalensis Sclater, PL, 1861 – south Mexico to Honduras
C. s. argutus Bangs & Barbour, 1922 – east Honduras to northwest Colombia
C. s. exsul Berlepsch & Taczanowski, 1884 – southwest Colombia and west Ecuador
C. s. subtropicalis Todd, 1924 – north, central Colombia and west Venezuela
C. s. spiza (Linnaeus, 1758) – Trinidad, east Colombia, Venezuela (except far west), the Guianas and north Brazil
C. s. caerulescens Cassin, 1865 – south-central Colombia through east Ecuador and east Peru to central Bolivia and west Brazil
C. s. axillaris Zimmer, JT, 1929 – east, southeast Brazil
The purplish honeycreeper (Chlorophanes purpurascens), a bird from Venezuela known only from the type specimen, is now thought to be an intergeneric hybrid between the green honeycreeper and either the red-legged honeycreeper or the blue dacnis.


The green honeycreeper is 13–14 cm (5.1–5.5 in) long and weighs 14 to 23 grams (0.49 to 0.81 oz), averaging about 19 grams (0.67 oz). It has a long decurved bill. The male is mainly blue-tinged green with a black head and a mostly bright yellow bill. The female green honeycreeper is grass-green, paler on the throat, and lacks the male's iridescence and black head. Immatures are plumaged similar to females. The call is a sharp chip.


This is a forest canopy species. The female green honeycreeper builds a small cup nest in a tree, and incubates the clutch of two brown-blotched white eggs for 13 days. It is less heavily dependent on nectar than the other honeycreepers, fruit and seeds being its main food (60%), with nectar (20%) and insects  (15%) as less important components of its diet.


The common bush tanager (Chlorospingus flavopectus), also referred to as common chlorospingus, is a small passerine bird. It is a resident breeder in the highlands from central Mexico south to Bolivia and northwest Argentina. C. flavopectus in the loose sense is a notorious cryptic species complex, and several of the up to 25 subspecies recognized in recent times are likely to be distinct species. Some populations in fact appear to be more distinct than several other members of Chlorospingus.


Traditionally, the genus Chlorospingus was placed with the tanager family, Thraupidae. More recent research suggests that they are actually aberrant brush finches in the Passerellidae and particularly close to Arremonops. Hence, as a common name "chlorospinguses" would arguably better than that the widely used "bush tanagers", as the former is equally well suited to either placement.
The wide range and considerable morphological variation displayed by C. ophthalmicus has been a problem for ornithologists for many decades. Initially, many taxa presently united in this species were considered distinct, but they were eventually all lumped together. More recent results suggest that the common bush tanager is actually a superspecies.
A preliminary study of allozyme data found pronounced divergences between the northern populations. mtDNA ATPase 8 sequence data found five major clades in the Mexican populations alone. These were subsequently confirmed by morphological comparisons. A formal splitting-up of this species into several seems to be the eventual outcome, pending data from the populations south of Mexico. In addition, it would be interesting to determine whether there are geographical variations in the song that would further strengthen the case for species status of the taxa. The morphological variation, though recognizable, is rather inconspicuous and probably more the consequence of genetic drift in freshly isolated subpopulations than a cause for their separation.


These populations are characterized by a crown which is more brownish than gray, and in some even a pure hue of more or less reddish brown. The head markings are usually conspicuous and contrasting. Their song is a high thin whichis whichis witchery tsee tseep seeur with many variations.
It appears as if the group north of the Isthmus of Panama originated before the final bout of the Great American Interchange, by island-hopping across the emerging mountain ranges that now make up the isthmus, some 6 million years ago (mya). The direct descendants of the original colonizers of Mesoamerica are the southernmost Mesoamerican group, as is to be expected. Some 5.5 mya, the Sierra de los Tuxtlas population originated. The other groups west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec radiated rather synchronously between 3 and 4 mya.
Notably, the divergence between the northern clades seems to have occurred far too early for the Pleistocene ice ages to have played a major part. Rather, it appears that the common bush tanager evolved in and was always confined to montane cloud forest. Given its sedentary habits, the phylogeny seems to be a result of a combination of habitat expanding and constricting due to Pliocene climate changes and, less frequently, accidental dispersal (such as to the Sierra de los Tuxtlas and, earlier, to Mesoamerica in general).
The five northern clades are:
Brown-headed bush tanager, Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) ophthalmicus – (Du Bus de Gisignies, 1847):
Found in the Sierra Madre Oriental, from south-east San Luis Potosí south to northern Oaxaca. May contain several subspecies. The status of birds from around Montserrate (westernmost Chiapas) is unknown, but these are probably dwighti.
Crown olive. Throat whitish-gray, speckled and with indistinct "whiskers". Breast-band yellow to chartreuse yellow. Ear region dark. Eyestreak thin. Thin, incomplete white spectacles. Forehead spots indistinct.
Dusky-headed bush tanager, Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) postocularis – Cabanis, 1866:
Found in the extreme southeast Sierra Madre de Chiapas (Volcán Tacaná; probably west to El Triunfo) and southwards along the Pacific slope of the Central American mountains, probably to Nicaragua. If considered a separate species, includes subspecies honduratius and schistaceiceps.
Crown sepia. Throat almost white, speckled, no "whiskers". Breast-band yellow. Ear region whitish. Eyestreak thin, broader behind eye but no spectacles. Forehead unspotted.
White-fronted bush tanager, Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) albifrons – Salvin & Godman, 1889:
Found in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains in Guerrero and Oaxaca. May contain several subspecies such as persimilis of the Sierra de Miahuatlán.
Crown cinnamon. Throat light buff with conspicuous "whiskers" and speckled sides. Breast-band tangerine yellow. Ear region dark. Eyestreak thin, merging into incomplete white spectacles and hence shaped like a horizontal teardrop. Forehead with round white spots.
Dwight's bush tanager, Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) dwighti – Underdown, 1931:
Found in the mountains of north Chiapas and easternmost Oaxaca, west to the Atlantic slope of Guatemala and probably the western Sierra Madre de Chiapas.
Crown olive. Throat almost white, speckled and with indistinct "whiskers". Breast-band chartreuse yellow shading to olive green. Ear region dark. Eyestreak thick. Conspicuous incomplete white spectacles. Forehead spots indistinct.
Wetmore's bush tanager, Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) wetmorei – Lowery & Newman, 1949:
Found in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz
Crown olive. Throat whitish-gray, speckled and with indistinct "whiskers". Breast-band yellow to chartreuse yellow. Ear region dark. Eyestreak thin. Thin but distinct incomplete white spectacles. White forehead spots V-shaped.
Chlorospingus ophthalmicus regionalis is found in Costa Rica. Its relationship to the postocularis group and the Panamanian C. o. novicius warrants thorough study, as these three taxa appear to be rather intermediate between the main northern and the South American groups, with whitish ears but a fairly brownish crown.


Meanwhile, ecological data shows some interesting differences between southern populations too. Several subspecies appear to be well distinct, and there is much evidence suggesting they are distinct species. These birds are generally duskier and more indistinctly marked on the head than the northern populations.
In the north of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia, extending into the Cordillera de Mérida and Serranía del Perijá of Venezuela, a group of subspecies occurs that resembles the northerly birds; subspecies such as C. o. venezuelensis are included here. They might be most closely related to those around the Isthmus of Panama, or constitute a group distinct from the Central American forms. An undetermined and possibly new subspecies is found in Lara state in Venezuela, for example in Yacambú National Park. C. o. jacqueti occurs in Norte de Santander and possibly Boyacá and Santander departments in Colombia; it seems to be the most southerly representative of this group. These birds have a grayish-brown crown, a buffy-white speckled throat, and – like the birds further north – a white ear region. Their dawn song consists of a monotonous series of chit or chup notes.
Between Norte de Santander and the border region of Antioquia, Boyacá, Cundinamarca and Santander departments, a complex situation exists, with C. o. eminens, C. o. exitelus and C. o. trudis being of unclear assignment as to subspecies group. If there is little intergradation in this region, the case for the southern Andean populations being a distinct species is rather robust. In fact, they have time and again been treated as a good species C. flavopectus.
The flavopectus group contains larger birds which lack a pronounced brown tinge on the crown; many members have this area purely gray to blackish. The white throat is almost devoid of spotting, and there is no white ear spot. This group includes taxa such as C. o. flavopectus and C. o. nigriceps from central to southern Colombia, C. o. phaeocephalus from Ecuador, C. o. peruvianus from Peru, or C. o. cinereocephalus and C. o. hiaticolus. Their dawn song consists of a series of chit notes, accelerating to higher-pitched chit-its and often accelerating further but descending in pitch again to fade out in a churring trill trrrrrrrr.... Some, like C. o. phaeocephalus and C. o. nigriceps, have an even more complex dawn song, in which the middle part is replaced by a first trill at constant volume, breaking up into a few shorter trills trrrrrrrr tr tr tr... before ending with the fading lower trill. These populations also tend to give long series of chit calls between their songs.
In the far south of the species' range, C. o. argentatus is found in the yungas of northwestern Argentina. It is not known exactly how these birds relate to the taxa higher up in the Andes; they are generally little-studied. They have a tendency to build their nests uncharacteristically high up in trees; for this reason, it is unknown whether one-egg clutches are as commonly seen in this population as they seem to occur in the flavopectus group. It does not seem to like nesting less than 10 m (33 ft) above the ground, but considering the high rate of failed nesting attempts (more than 35% abandoned nests in one study in El Rey National Park), avoiding predators or other reasons for brood failure does not seem to be a very good explanation for this behavior.


Chlosyne gabbii, or Gabb's checkerspot, is a butterfly from the family Nymphalidae.


Chlosyne gabbii has a wingspan of about 32–45 millimetres (1.3–1.8 in). The upperside of the wings is checkered with bright orange-brown and black, while the underside of hindwing shows pearly-white spots. Females are lighter than the males. Adults can be encountered from May to July.
Larvae feed  on Corethrogyne filaginifolia, Heterotheca grandiflora and Haplopappus squarrosus.


This very rare species can be found in California in the western United States. It is threatened throughout its range.


Chlosyne gorgone, the gorgone checkerspot, is a species of Nymphalinae butterfly that occurs in North America.


The wingspan is between 32 and 45 mm. The dorsal side of the wings are orange with black markings and the hindwings have a submarginal row of solid black dots. The ventral view has a zigzag pattern of brown and white bands with a median band of white chevrons.


The gorgone checkerspot's range is in North America from Alberta east to southern Ontario, south into central Texas, between the Rocky Mountains and Appalachians. Within its range they can most commonly be seen in open areas including ridges, prairies and old fields. They can also be seen at streamsides and in open hardwood forests.


In the northern range there is one brood between July and August, two in the mid-range between May and September and three in the southern range between April and September. The females lay their eggs in clusters on the underside of their host plants. Early instar caterpillars feed in groups and third-instar caterpillars hibernate.


Chlosyne harrisii, or Harris's checkerspot, is a member of the family Nymphalidae that is found in North America. They range from the Canadian Atlantic provinces, excluding Newfoundland and Labrador, to Manitoba and North Dakota south to West Virginia and Ohio. They can often be seen in bogs, meadows and almost anywhere else its host plant occurs. The typical elevations for this species range from 0 to 1,742 feet (531 m). It is listed as a species of special concern and believed extirpated in the US state of Connecticut.


The adult is often confused with another member of the same genus, the silvery checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis). The adult's wingspan is 3.6–5.1 cm. The upperside of the wing is orange with black markings. The underside of the wing has a single red-orange stripe and a reddish-orange, white and black marked pattern on the rest of the hindwing.


There is one flight which occurs between June and July.  The caterpillar of this species feeds on the flat-topped white aster (Aster umbellatus) while adults feed on flower nectar. The female lays eggs in a cluster formation under the leaves of its host plants. The caterpillar overwinters during its third instar.


Chlosyne lacinia, the bordered patch or sunflower patch, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.


The bordered patch is an extremely variable butterfly. The upperside of the wings is mainly black with the forewing having rows of white and/or yellow-orange spots of varying sizes. There is usually one whitish spot in the forewing cell. The hindwing has many color variations. Those variations can be: almost completely black to having some red postmedian spots to having a few rows of white postmedian spots to having an all red-orange discal area to having a yellow-orange postmedian band of varying width. The underside of the wings is just as variable as the upperside. It varies from having a few rows of white and red spots to having a yellow-white hindwing median band of varying width to the underside being mostly golden yellow with large yellow-orange spots and a thick golden-yellow median band. All of these variations have a red spot near the hindwing tornus. Its wingspan ranges from 1 ¹⁄₄ to 1 ⁷⁄₈ inches (32 to 48 mm).


Similar species in the bordered patch's range include the crimson patch (Chlosyne janais), the rosita patch (Chlosyne rosita), and the red-spotted patch (Chlosyne marina).
The crimson patch is larger, the upperside of the forewing has two spots in the cell, and the underside of the hindwing has a yellow basal patch with black spots in it.
The upperside of the rosita patch's hindwing has a basal patch which is often two toned, and the underside of the hindwing is mostly pale yellow with a thick black marginal border.
The red-spotted patch has a row of red marginal spots on the upperside, and underside of the hindwing.


The bordered patch may be encountered in habitats such as desert hills, mesquite woodlands, pinyon woodlands, and oak woodlands. In North America, this species prefers to inhabit agricultural areas and weedy wastelands where the preferred host plant Helianthus annuus occurs.


This species is found from May to October in California, late January to mid-November in Arizona, and all year in southern Texas.


Males will find females by awaiting them on hilltops. Females will lay their eggs in clusters of about 100 or more on the underside of host plant leaves. The eggs are pale yellow green but later turn a reddish color. The young larvae feed together and but do not make a nest. They will become solitary when older. The larva is as variable as the adult. It ranges from mostly orange with black spines and stripes to black with a red-orange mid-dorsal stripe to almost all black. All variations have a red-orange head. The chrysalis varies from almost all white to white with black markings to nearly all black. The third instar larva hibernates and also estivates. The bordered patch has three or four broods per year.


Here is a list of host plants used by the bordered patch:
Common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Giant ragweed, Ambrosia trifida var. texana
Baltimora species
Straggler daisy, Calyptocarpus vialis
bonesets, Eupatorium spies
Indian blanketflower, Gaillardia pulchella
Sunflower, Helianthus annuus
Silverleaf sunflower, Helianthus argophyllus
Texas blueweed, Helianthus ciliaris
Cucumberleaf sunflower, Helianthus debilis
Maximilian sunflower, Helianthus maximiliani
Jerusalem artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus
Camphor weed, Heterotheca latifolia
Showy palafox, Palafoxia sphacelata
Santa Maria feverfew, Parthenium hysterophorus
Crown-beard, Verbesina encelioides
Xanthium pennsylvanicum
Orange zexmenia, Zexmenia hispida


Chlosyne nycteis, the silvery checkerspot, is a species of Nymphalinae butterfly that occurs in North America. It is listed as a species of special concern in Connecticut and Maine, and is believed extirpated in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.


The dorsal view is pale yellow orange with dark borders and markings. The hindwing has white-centered submarginal spots on both sides, dorsal and ventral. The hindwing is pale and has a white crescent at the margin.


Their range consist of southern Canada south to Georgia and Texas, but does not occur in the Gulf Coastal Plain. Silvery checkerspots enjoy moist areas such as streamsides.  They can also be seen in meadows and forest openings.


In the northern portion of its habitat, one brood hatches between June and July; for the remainder of its range, two broods occur from May to September. Three broods have been reported in the deep southern part of Texas. Females lay eggs in batches which can be up to 100 individuals. Early instar caterpillars stay in groups as they skeletonize leaves while the third instar hibernates.


Larval foods are various Asters, including Eurybia macrophylla, Actinomeris alternifolia, Helianthus, and Rudbeckia.


Adult foods include from nectar from Red clover, Common milkweed and Dogbane.


Chlosyne palla, the northern checkerspot, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae that is found in North America. They range from southern British Columbia to Alberta, south to California, Utah, and Colorado, excluding Nevada.


The adult may be often confused with the others of the palla group, sagebrush checkerspot (C. acastus) and Hoffmann's checkerspot (C. hoffmanni). The adult's wingspan is 30–48 mm (1.2–1.9 in). The upperside of the wing has a pattern of dark brown, light orange and tan. The underside of the wing has alternating red and yellow cells.


There is one flight that occurs between April and May or to July in mountainous or northerly areas.  The caterpillar of this species feeds on goldenrod (Solidago), rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus), and asters.


Chlosyne theona, the theona checkerspot, is a species checkerspots in the  butterfly family Nymphalidae  found in North America.  The MONA or Hodges number for C. theona is 4508.


Chondrus crispus—commonly called Irish moss or carrageen moss (Irish carraigín, "little rock")—is a species of red algae  which grows abundantly along the rocky parts of the Atlantic coast of Europe and North America. In its fresh condition this protist is soft and cartilaginous, varying in color from a greenish-yellow, through red, to a dark purple or purplish-brown. The principal constituent is a mucilaginous body, made of the polysaccharide carrageenan, which constitutes 55% of its dry weight. The organism also consists of nearly 10% dry weight protein and about 15% dry weight mineral matter, and is rich in iodine and sulfur. When softened in water it has a sea-like odour and because of the abundant cell wall polysaccharides it will form a jelly when boiled, containing from 20 to 100 times its weight of water.


Chondrus crispus is common all around the shores of Ireland and can also be found along the coast of Europe including Iceland, the Faroe Islands. western Baltic Sea to southern Spain. It is found on the Atlantic coasts of Canada and recorded from California in the United States to Japan. However, any distribution outside the Northern Atlantic needs to be verified.
There are also other species of the same genus in the Pacific Ocean, for example, C. ocellatus Holmes, C. nipponicus Yendo, C. yendoi Yamada et Mikami, C. pinnulatus (Harvey) Okamura and C. armatus (Harvey) Yamada et Mikami.


Chondrus crispus is found growing on rock from the middle intertidal zone into the subtidal zone, all the way to the ocean floor.  It is able to survive with minimal sunlight.
C. crispus is susceptible to infection from the oomycete Pythium porphyrae.


C. crispus is an industrial source of carrageenan commonly used as a thickener and stabilizer in milk products, such as ice cream and processed foods. In Europe, it is indicated as E407 or E407a. It may also be used as a thickener in calico printing and paper marbling, and for fining beer. Irish moss is frequently used with Mastocarpus stellatus (Gigartina mamillosa), Chondracanthus acicularis  (G. acicularis), and other seaweeds, which are all commonly found growing together. Carrageenan may be extracted from tropical seaweeds of the genera Kappaphycus and Eucheuma.


Irish moss undergoes an alternation of generation lifecycle common in many species of algae (see figure below). The two distinct stages are the sexual haploid gametophyte stage and the asexual diploid sporophyte stage. In addition, a third stage - the carposporophyte - is formed on the female gametophyte after fertilization.  The male and female gametophytes produce gametes which fuse to form a diploid carposporophyte, which forms carpospores, which develops into the sporophyte. The sporophyte then undergoes meiosis to produce haploid tetraspores (which can be male or female) that develop into gametophytes. The three stages (male, female, and sporophyte) are difficult to distinguish when they are not fertile; however, the gametophytes often show a blue iridescence.


C. crispus, compared to most other seaweeds, is well-investigated scientifically. It has been used as a model species to study photosynthesis, carrageenan biosynthesis, and stress responses. The nuclear genome was sequenced in 2013. The genome size is 105 Mbp and is coding for 9,606 genes. It is characterised by relatively few genes with very few introns. The genes are clustered together, with normally short distances between genes and then large distances between groups of genes.


The common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) is a medium-sized  crepuscular or nocturnal bird of the Americas within the nightjar family, whose presence and identity are best revealed by its vocalization. Typically dark (grey, black and brown), displaying cryptic colouration and intricate patterns, this bird is difficult to spot with the naked eye during the day. This bird is most conspicuous when in its buoyant and erratic flight. The most remarkable feature of this aerial insectivore is its small beak that belies the massiveness of its mouth. Some claim appearance similarities to owls. With its horizontal stance and short legs, the common nighthawk does not travel frequently on the ground, instead preferring to perch horizontally, parallel to branches, on posts, on the ground or on a roof. The males of this species may roost together but the bird is primarily solitary. The common nighthawk shows variability in territory size.
This caprimulgid has a large, flattened head with large eyes; facially it lacks rictal bristles. The common nighthawk has long slender wings that at rest extend beyond a notched tail. There is noticeable barring on the sides and abdomen, also white wing-patches.
The common nighthawk measures 22 to 25 cm (8.7 to 9.8 in) long, displays a wing span of 51 to 61 cm (20 to 24 in) weighs 55 to 98 g (1.9 to 3.5 oz), and has a life span of 4 to 5 years.


The genus name Chordeiles is from Ancient Greek khoreia, a dance with music, and deile, "evening". The specific minor is Latin for "smaller".
The term "nighthawk", first recorded in the King James Version of 1611, was originally a local name in England for the European nightjar. Its use in the Americas to refers to members of the genus Chordeiles and related genera was first recorded in 1778.
The common nighthawk is sometimes called a "bull-bat", due to its perceived "bat-like" flight, and the "bull-like" boom made by its wings as it pulls from a dive.
They, in addition to other nightjars, are also sometimes called "bugeaters", for their insectivore diet. The common nighthawk is likely the reason that Nebraska's state nickname was once the "Bugeater State", and its people were known as "bugeaters". The Nebraska Cornhuskers college athletic teams were also briefly known the Bugeaters, before adopting their current name, which was also adopted by the state as a whole. A semi-professional soccer team in Nebraska now uses the Bugeaters moniker.


Within the family Caprimulgidae, the subfamily Chordeilinae (nighthawks) are limited to the New World and are distinguished from the subfamily Caprimulginae, by the lack of rictal bristles.
The American Ornithologists' Union treated the smaller Antillean nighthawk as conspecific with the common nighthawk until 1982.
Up until the early 19th century, the common nighthawk and the whip-poor-will were thought to be one species. The latter's call was explained as the nocturnal expression of the common nighthawk. Alexander Wilson, "The Father of American Ornithology", correctly made the differentiation between the two species.


There are 9 currently recognized subspecies:
C. m. panamensis – Eisenmann, 1962: breeds on the Pacific slope of Panama and north west Costa Rica. It is noted to depart Panama during winter for points in South America
C. m. neotropicalis – Selander & Alvarez del Toro, 1955: breeds in south Mexico and Honduras
C. m. howelli – Oberholser, 1914: breeds in west central United States (north Texas, west Oklahoma, and Kansas to east Colorado, less typical form in central Colorado, north east Utah and Wyoming). It is darker than sennetti and paler and less cinnamon than henryi.
C. m. hesperis – Grinnell, 1905: breeds in south west Canada (British Columbia and Alberta), the western interior of United States (Washington, Montana, Nevada, interior California, Utah, extreme north Colorado, west Wyoming). It is darker than sennetti and paler and less cinnamon than henryi.
C. m. aserriensis – Cherrie, 1896: breeds from south central Texas to north Mexico. It is darker than sennetti and paler and less cinnamon than henryi.
C. m. chapmani – Coues, 1888: breeds from southeast Kansas to east North Carolina and southwards to south east Texas and south Florida. It is the darkest of the subspecies.
C. m. sennetti – Coues, 1888: breeds in the north Great Plains: east Montana, south Saskatchewan, Manitoba, southwards to North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. It is the palest of the subspecies.
C. m. henryi – Cassin, 1855: breeds from south east Utah and south west Colorado through mountains of west Texas, Arizona and New Mexico (less north east) to east Sonora, Chihuahua, and Durango. It is unique with ochraceous to deep cinnamon feather edges on upperparts.
C. m. minor – (J.R. Forster, 1771): breeds from south east Alaska to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and south Canada/northern United States (Minnesota, Indiana) to Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Oklahoma. Considered by some as the darkest subspecies.


This species is recorded as widespread during the Late Pleistocene, from Virginia to California and from Wyoming to Texas.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, because their name contained the word "hawk", they had habits of diurnal insect hunting, and they travelled in migrating flocks, they were hunted for sport and nourishment and because they were seen as predators.


The common nighthawk is distinguished from other caprimulguids by its forked tail (includes a white bar in males); its long, unbarred, pointed wings with distinctive white patches; its lack of rictal bristles, and the key identifier – their unmistakable calls. These birds range from 21 to 25 cm (8.3 to 9.8 in) in total length and from 51 to 61 cm (20 to 24 in) in wingspan. Body mass can vary from 55 to 98 g (1.9 to 3.5 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 17.2 to 21.3 cm (6.8 to 8.4 in), the tail is 13 to 15.1 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in), the bill is 0.5 to 0.8 cm (0.20 to 0.31 in) and the tarsus is 1.2 to 1.6 cm (0.47 to 0.63 in).
The common nighthawk resembles both the Antillean nighthawk and the lesser nighthawk and occurs at least seasonally in the entire North American range of both of these species. The lesser nighthawk is a smaller bird and displays more buffy on the undertail coverts, where the common nighthawk shows white. Common nighthawks and Antillean nighthawks exhibit entirely dark on the basal portion of the primary feathers, whereas lesser nighthawks have bands of buffy spots. Common and Antillean nighthawks have a longer outermost primary conveying a pointier wing tip than the lesser nighthawk. The common nighthawk forages higher above ground than the lesser nighthawk and has a different call. The only reliable way to distinguish Antillean nighthawk without disturbance is also by the differences in their calls. Visually, they may only be distinguished as different from the common nighthawk once in the hand. Subtle differences are reported to be a challenge in field identification.


The common nighthawk may be found in forests, desert, savannahs, beach and desert scrub, cities, and prairies, at elevations of sea level or below to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). They are one of a handful of birds that are known to inhabit recently burned forests, and then dwindle in numbers as successional growth occurs over the succeeding years or decades. The common nighthawk is drawn into urban built-up areas by insects.
The common nighthawk is the only nighthawk occurring over the majority of northern North America.
Food availability is likely a key factor in determining which and when areas are suitable for habitation. The common nighthawk is not well adapted to survive in poor conditions, specifically low food availability. Therefore, a constant food supply consistent with warmer temperatures is a driving force for migration and ultimately survival.
It is thought that the bird is not able to enter torpor, although recent evidence suggests it does.


During migration, common nighthawks may travel 2,500 to 6,800 kilometres (1,600 to 4,200 mi). They migrate by day or night in loose flocks; frequently numbering in the thousands, no visible leader has been observed. The enormous distance travelled between breeding grounds and wintering range is one of the North America's longer migrations. The northbound journey commences at the end of February and the birds reach destinations as late as mid-June. The southbound migration commences mid-July and reaches a close in early October.
While migrating, these birds have been reported travelling through middle America, Florida, the West Indies, Cuba, the Caribbean and Bermuda, finally completing their journey in the wintering grounds of South America, primarily Argentina.
As aerial insectivores, the migrants will feed en route, congregating to hunt in marshes, rivers and on lakeshores. In Manitoba and Ontario, Canada, it is reported that during migration the nighthawks are seen most commonly in the late afternoon, into the evening, with a burst of sunset feeding activities.
Additionally, it has been noted that during migration the birds may fly closer to the ground than normal; possibly foraging for insects. There is speculation that feeding also occurs at higher altitudes.
The common nighthawk winters in southern South America, but distribution in this range is poorly known due to difficulties in distinguishing the bird from the lesser nighthawk and in differentiating between migrants and overwintering birds. In some South and Central American countries, a lack of study has led to restricted and incomplete records of the bird. Records do support wintering in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina.


In the common nighthawk, all bodily plumage and rectrices are replaced in the post-juvenile moult. This moult commences in September at the breeding grounds; the majority of the body plumage is replaced but wing-coverts and rectrices are not completed until January–February, once the bird arrives at the wintering grounds. There is no other moult prior to the annual moult of the adult. Common nighthawk adults have a complete moult that occurs mostly or completely on wintering grounds and is not completed until January or February.


There are no differences between the calls and song of the common nighthawk. The most conspicuous vocalization is a nasal peent or beernt during even flight. Peak vocalizations are reported 30 to 45 minutes after sunset.
A croaking auk auk auk is vocalized by males while in the presence of a female during courtship. Another courtship sound, thought to be made solely by the males, is the boom, created by air rushing through the primaries after a quick downward flex of the wings during a daytime dive.
In defense of their nests, the females make a rasping sound, and males clap their wings together. Strongly territorial males will perform dives against fledglings, females, and intruders such as humans or raccoons.


Frequent flyers, the long-winged common nighthawk hunts on the wing for extended periods at high altitudes or in open areas. Crepuscular, flying insects are its preferred food source. The hunt ends as dusk becomes night, and resumes when night becomes dawn. Nighttime feeding (in complete darkness) is rare, even on evenings with a full moon. The bird displays opportunistic feeding tendencies, although it may be able to fine-tune its meal choice in the moments before capture.
Vision is presumed to be the main detection sense; no evidence exists to support the use of echolocation. The birds have been observed to converge on artificial light sources in an effort to forage for insects enticed by the light. The average flight speed of common nighthawks is 23.4 km/h (14.5 mph).


The common nighthawk was observed to drink on its winter range by flying extremely low over the surface of the water.
No evidence suggests this bird casts pellets.
The common nighthawk is recognized to discharge feces around nest and roosting positions. The bird will sporadically defecate in flight. The defecation is pungent.


The common nighthawk breeds during the period of mid-March to early October. It most commonly has only one brood per season, however sometimes a second brood is produced. The bird is assumed to breed every year. Reuse of nests by females in subsequent years has been reported. A monogamous habit has also recently been confirmed.
Courting and mate selection occur partially in flight. The male dives and booms (see Vocalization) in an effort to garner female attention; the female may be in flight herself or stationary on the ground.
Copulation occurs when the pair settles on the ground together; the male with his rocking body, widespread tail wagging and bulging throat expresses guttural croaking sounds. This display by the male is performed repeatedly until copulation.
The preferred breeding/nesting habitat is in forested regions with expansive rocky outcrops, in clearings, in burned areas or in small patches of sandy gravel. The eggs are not laid in a nest, but on bare rock, gravel, or sometimes a living substrate such as lichen. Least popular are breeding sites in agricultural settings. As displayed in the latter portion of the 20th century, urban breeding is in decline. If urban breeding sites do occur, they are observed on flat gravel rooftops.
It is a solitary nester, putting great distances between itself and other pairs of the same species, but a nest would more commonly occur in closer proximity to other species of birds.
Females choose the nest site and are the primary incubators of the eggs; males will incubate occasionally. Incubation time varies but is approximately 18 days. The female will leave the nest unattended during the evening in order to feed. The male will roost in a neighbouring tree (the spot he chooses changes daily); he guards the nest by diving, hissing, wing-beating or booming at the sites. In the face of predation, common nighthawks do not abandon the nest easily; instead they likely rely on their cryptic colouration to camouflage themselves. If a departure does occur, the females have been noted to fly away, hissing at the intruder or performing a disturbance display.


The eggs are elliptical, strong, and variably coloured with heavy speckling. The common nighthawk lays two 6–7 g (0.21–0.25 oz) eggs per clutch; the eggs are laid over a period of 1 to 2 days. The female alone displays a brood patch.
The chicks may be heard peeping in the hours before they hatch. Once the chicks have broken out of the shells, the removal of the debris is necessary in order to avoid predators. The mother may carry the eggshells to another location or consume a portion of them. Once hatched, the nestlings are active and have their eyes fully or half open; additionally they display a sparing cover of soft down feathers. The chicks are semi-precocial. By day 2, the hatchlings' bodily mass will double and they will be able to self-propel towards their mother's call. The young will hiss at an intruder.
The young are fed by regurgitation before sunrise and after sunset. The male parent assists in feeding fledglings and will also feed the female during nesting. No records exist to support a parent's ability to physically carry a chick.
On their 18th day, the young will make their first flight; by days 25–30, they are flying proficiently. The young are last seen with their parents on day 30. Complete development is shown between their 45–50th day. At day 52, the juvenile will join the flock, potentially migrating. Juvenile birds, in both sexes, are lighter in colour and have a smaller white wing-patch than adult common nighthawks.


There has been a general decline in the number of common nighthawks in North America, but some population increases also have occurred in other geographical locations. The bird's large range makes individual risk thresholds in specific regions difficult to establish. In Ontario, the common nighthawk is rated as a species of special concern.
The Common nighthawk's trait of being a ground-nesting bird makes it particularly susceptible to predators, some of which include domestic cats, ravens, snakes, dogs, coyotes, falcons and owls.
Lack of flat roofs, pesticides, increased predation and loss of habitat are noted factors of their decline. Further unstudied potential causes of decline include climate change, disease, road kills, man-made towers (posing aerial hazards), and parasites.
The absence of flat roofs (made with gravel) in urban settings is an important cause of decline. In an effort to provide managed breeding areas, gravel pads have been added in the corners of rubberized roofs; this proves acceptable, as nesting has been observed.


Chorispora tenella is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by several common names, including purple mustard, blue mustard, musk mustard, and crossflower. This mustard is native to parts of Eurasia but is well known in other parts of the world, particularly in temperate regions, as an introduced species and a noxious weed.


This is an annual herb reaching a maximum of half a meter in height. It has wavy-edged alternate leaves of lanceolate or oblanceolate shape of up to 8 centimeters long, and glandular hairs are typically observed on most parts of the plant. The four tiny petals of each cruciform flower emerge from a loose tube of sepals and spread into a corolla about a centimeter wide. The flowers are lavender to pale magenta in color, and a field heavily infested with purple mustard can take on a distinct lavender wash. The flowers have a light scent—more noticeable when many individual plants are blooming together in a large area—which is considered unpleasant by some and fragrant by others. The fruits are long upturned cylindrical capsules about 4 centimeters long containing round, reddish-brown seeds that eventually burst from the fruit pods.


According to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, the word origin of the scientific name for this species is as follows:
The Greek "Chori", "separate", and " spora", "seed", refers to the constricted seed shape. "Tenella" means slender and could refer to the overall plant or flower or seed shape, all of which are slender.  The plant was named Raphanus tenellus in 1776 by Peter von Pallas (1741–1811) from Eurasian specimens and was renamed Chorispora tenella in 1821 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778–1841). It was first collected [in the United States] in Utah in 1937.


This is a tenacious weed which can be troublesome in agriculture. It reduces yields in grain fields and when it is consumed by dairy cattle it gives their milk a bad taste and odor. This plant reproduces by seed, so any control method preventing the plants from setting seed is effective.
Outside of its native range, this species commonly occurs in areas where the soil has been disturbed, as well as along roadways, in pastures, and in steppe habitats.


Choristoneura fumiferana, the eastern spruce budworm, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae native to the eastern United States and Canada. The caterpillars feed on the needles of spruce and fir trees. Eastern spruce budworm populations can experience significant oscillations, with large outbreaks sometimes resulting in wide scale tree mortality. The first recorded outbreaks of the spruce budworm in the United States occurred in about 1807, and since 1909 there have been waves of budworm outbreaks throughout the eastern United States and Canada. In Canada, the major outbreaks occurred in periods circa 1910–20, c. 1940–50, and c. 1970–80, each of which impacted millions of hectares of forest. Longer-term tree-ring studies suggest that spruce budworm outbreaks have been recurring approximately every three decades since the 16th century, and paleoecological studies suggest the spruce budworm has been breaking out in eastern North America for thousands of years.
Budworm outbreaks can have significant economic impacts on the forestry industry. As a result, the eastern spruce budworm is considered one of the most destructive forest pests in North America, and various methods of control are utilized. However, the species is also ecologically important, and several bird species are specialised on feeding on budworms during the breeding season. Several theories exist to explain the cyclical budworm outbreaks.


Clemens originally named the eastern spruce budworm, C. fumiferana, in 1865, which was recognized as a Nearctic representative of the genus Choristoneura. At this time, the name applied to populations in a variety of geographic regions and biotopes. The C. pinus, a distinct form of the Choristoneura, was later established as a separate species. However, a large group of this genus in the western part of North America remained taxonomically undefined as the "western complex" until T.N. Freeman established several new species in 1967. Field collections of late instar larvae of Choristoneura populations were taken from a range of localities in a wide arc, from the Atlantic seaboard along the edge of the Laurentian Shield to the Mackenzie River area near the Arctic Ocean. From these collections, only points east of the Rocky Mountain foothills yielded C. fumiferana. The two-year-cycle budworm C. biennis occurs only in the subalpine forest region, with alpine fir and interior spruce as hosts. Budworm populations from Rocky Mountain regions south of the area of introgressive hybridization of spruce differ from C. biennis. Other budworms are of little or no consequence with respect to spruces.


Eastern spruce budworm egg masses are immobile and less vulnerable to predation than other stages of the cycle. Small larvae are exposed to predators during dispersal but become safer while bud or needle mining or overwintering in hibernacula. Large larvae actively escape predation by dropping from the tree foliage, which can also attract the attention of other predators. Predators outside of host plants on the forest floor include ants, spiders, beetles, and small mammals. Pupae are vulnerable because the budworm are generally immobile in this state. The adult moths can fly away from predators but are then exposed to various birds, dragonflies, and robber flies. Spruce budworm male and female moths experience increased vulnerability during copulation.
Insectivorous birds are a common and major predator of the spruce budworm, mainly preying on the larvae and pupae. Examples of species include sparrows, thrushes, and overstory warblers. Bird distribution will change to reflect budworm density in the forests. A 1989 study found that the highest populations of spruce budworm larvae and pupae occur in June and July. This coincides with the period when some species of birds require maximum food to feed their young. As a result, predation by birds helps control the growth of budworm predation. Other major predators include various invertebrates, primarily spiders.
In spruce-fir forests throughout Maine, the late-instar spruce budworm larvae is preyed on by eumenid wasps such as the A. adiabatus, and E. leucomelas. This predation is important in controlling populations of the spruce budworm in forest stands.
Spruce budworm larvae are attacked by parasitoids from the Hymenoptera and Diptera orders, which include common wasps such as Apanteles fumiferanae and Glypta fumiferanae. First- and second-instar larvae are parasitized in the summer. When they are in their fourth or higher instars the next summer, the larvae are killed by the newly emerged wasps. Other species of parasitoid wasps (e.g. Meteorus trachynotus) will attack the larvae when they are in their third to fourth instars, emerging during the sixth instar or from the pupae.
About 90 parasitoids have been collected from spruce budworm in eastern North America. In 1996, Henry found that the suite of parasitoids collected from spruce budworm in isolated white spruce plantations of southern Ontario differed from the usual suite of parasitoids found in the boreal forest.


Weather and variances in temperature can influence the larval development of the spruce budworm. During the cold winters, the larvae overwinter in their hibernaculae in true diapause until they can resume growth in the springtime. When the weather is warm in late fall and early spring, the budworm may metabolize at a higher rate, which depletes its finite food resources while in the hibernaculae. Harsher winters are associated with declines in population, even reaching 49% mortality. This is either due to the frigid temperatures or cumulative effect of the cold over time. Frost can be deadly to these early-instar larvae. Warm spring temperatures may also have multiple effects. After emergence, it may prompt more dispersal which increases mortality, but this is hard to determine. It is more likely to help development and increase survival. Overall, cold, wet temperature may be detrimental during this larval period while hot and dry summer weather is most favorable.


Chorizanthe rigida, with the common names of devil's spineflower, rigid spineflower, spiny-herb, rigid spiny-herb, is an annual plant in the family Polygonaceae the buckwheats. It is a member of the genus Chorizanthe, the spineflowers and is found in the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico, in the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Baja California, and Sonora.


Chorizanthe rigida is a common desert plant found in the Sonoran and Mojave Desert - in bajadas (washes), flat mesas that flood with annual rains, and rocky hillsides and ridgelines. A locale range example is its presence in most habitats of the Muggins Mountains Wilderness in southeastern Arizona.
In desert flats, the short 3 inch plant can be easily obscured, by downstream-washed debris that easily collects on the spineflower skeleton. Thus small hillocks of debris are found, a spineflower in the core; possibly this is the advantageous form of germinating at least the source location into a second generation.
In flat mesas the plant can be hidden under clumps and not seen. On a roadside, its skeleton will be left as a single erect plant, the taller plants being found in the highest water-pooled areas. In the eastern Colorado Desert the plant can be found in any major wash in mid spring following at least moderate winter rains.


The Chorizanthe rigida plant, is a short, erect and sometimes single-stalked, but multi-stalked to 5 stalks or more, 2.5-2.5–6.0 inches (1–2 dm) in height. It grows quickly, especially following spring rains. With the onset of early summer it turns into a spine-skeleton. It has a main taproot, mostly longer than the plant is tall, taking advantage of the rainfall's ground moisture.
The devil's spineflower is extremely conspicuous when growing in its bright new green; when desiccated its spiny skeleton is blackish, dark gray, or of medium browns and blends in easily to the desert background ground colors.
In the hottest sections of the western Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona the Rigid Spineflower is mostly a 2.5 to 5 inch plant and is often not noticed when the plant goes dry, (see here (a multi-stalked short plant)).


Chorthippus brunneus, also known as the common field grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper of the subfamily Gomphocerinae. It was first described by Thunberg in 1815. It is also known as Gryllus brunneus, although this name has not been adopted by the IUCN. The IUCN lists C. brunneus as Least Concern.


C. brunneus  are predominantly brown. However, they show a large variation in colour and can also be black, green, purple, or white. Wing patterns vary between individuals and can be mottled, striped, striped-mottled, or plain. Both green and purple grasshoppers tend to have plain forewing patterns while black grasshoppers primarily have mottled forewing patterns. Brown grasshoppers do not consistently have the same forewing pattern instead they have variable forewing patterns.
At least two loci are responsible for pronotum color in C. brunneus. Green alleles are dominant to all other colors while brown alleles are recessive to all other colors. Wing pattern is determined by a separate locus than colour. The plain forewing pattern is dominant and the striped and mottled forewing patterns are codominant.


C. brunneus are found in Europe, north Africa, and temperate Asia. They prefer dry habitats. They are present in higher numbers in heathland areas compared to agricultural areas. This can be explained by the difference in sward height in the two areas. C. brunneus  prefer habitats with sward heights of 100 to 200 mm and fine leaved grass species. In fact a positive correlation between C. brunneus and both Agrostis   species and  Festuca   species exists. Fine leaved grass species and taller sward heights occur more commonly in heathlands where less human alteration of the land occurs compared to agricultural sites. Sward height also influences abundance. A greater number of C. brunneus are found in taller swards although some scientific literature suggests C. brunneus thrives in wastelands.
Vertebrate grazing also influences C. brunneus density by directly influencing sward height. Ungrazed areas have higher densities of C. brunneus than grazed areas. Vertebrate grazing is thought to alter plant hormones two of which are known to effect fecundity, abscisic acid, and gibberellins. Additionally grazing results in the production of proteinase inhibitors in plants and the alteration of nitrogen levels. In areas that experience less vertebrate grazing C. brunneus  have increased rates of development, higher adult weights, and increased fecundity.


C. brunneus are herbivores and polyphagous. They feed primarily on grasses.


Males attract females by singing via stridulation. An interested female will respond singing a similar-sounding song. The male will respond to the female by singing again. This can continue until copulation or the female becomes disinterested. Although a female response to male song does not guarantee mating it does increase the likelihood of copulation. Upon contact the male will produce a soft song and mount the female.


While the average weight of females does not differ between high and low-density population conditions reproductive output is greater in low-density conditions compared to high-density conditions. Females in high-density conditions also experience a higher mortality rate. In a study by Wall and Begon (1987) 10 of 29 females in high-density conditions died while no females died in the low-density conditions.
A positive correlation also exists between the number of eggs per pod and the length of a female's hind femur. Females in high-density conditions produced only half of the eggs produced by females in low-density conditions. Larger females in high-density conditions produce eggs at a faster rate than smaller females. While smaller females in low-density groups produce eggs faster than larger females resulting in an equal reproductive output between small and large females.


In northern Spain C. brunneus and C. jacobsi form a hybrid zone. It has been suggested that the two species diverged during Pleistocene ice age. Both have the same number of chromosomes (2n=17) with three pairs of long metacentric, four pairs of medium acrocentric, and one pair of short acrocentric chromosomes. Using in situ hybridization an extra rDNA sequence is consistently found on the X chromosome in C. brunneus that is absent in C. jacobsi. The additional rDNA is not expressed in either C. brunneus or the hybrids that possess the rDNA sequence. C. brunneus  and C. jacobsi  can also be differentiated based on song and by the difference in number of stridulatory pegs located on the hind femur.
Using a mark and recapture procedure, the lifetime dispersal of C. brunneus and C. jacobsi were estimated to be similar to other grasshopper species that form hybrid zones. C. brunneus and C. jacobsi are dominant during different months. C. brunneus are dominant in August while C. jacobsi are dominant in June and July. Additionally C. brunneus are only found in valley habitats while C. jacobsi are found in both valley and mountain habitats This suggests both seasonal and temporal isolation between the two species.
C. brunneus, C. jacobsi, and hybrid females all show a preference for male C. brunneus and C. jacobsi  songs over hybrid male songs. Differences in song traits echeme, syllable, and phrase length have a small epistatic effect but cannot be fully explained by genetic factors. Low genetic variation was found to occur between the three song characteristics in C. brunneus and C. jacobsi and no sex linkage was found. Peg numbers on the stridulatory file, while different between the two species, are surprisingly not dependent on song characteristics. Genetics cannot account for the difference in peg number. Instead additive effects explain the phenotypic variation in both song characteristics and peg number between C. brunneus, C. jacobsi, and their hybrids.


C. brunneus are hemimetabolous. Females lay eggs over a 10-week period in the soil. Eggs hatch as early as April. Hatchlings typically go through four nymphal stages before becoming adults. Adults can live into the late autumn.


C. brunneus  lay eggs in a variety of habitats from chalk hills to sandy hills but most commonly lay their eggs in sandy, dry habitats. In the lab, C. brunneus prefer dry and compact substrates composed of fine particles such as sand. They produce the largest number of eggs between 28-35 °C degrees.
In theory, smaller eggs should have higher mortality rates because of reduced provisions provided within the egg. However researchers found that egg viability is greater in the southern populations where eggs are smaller. This can be explained by higher overwintering temperatures.
Egg size is influenced by a number of factors. As maternal age increases so does egg size. At the beginning of the breeding season females lay smaller eggs compared to the end of the breeding season. Eggs laid in the last part of the breeding season are smaller in size due to deteriorating maternal health.
Research suggests that there is no correlation between stage of development and water uptake. While eggs can withstand a large amount of water loss they cannot survive complete desiccation. Therefore, it is not important at what point water is absorbed, it is only important that water is absorbed at some point.
A larger egg size generally results in a larger hatchling and adult size. Eggs laid by C. brunneus from late August to early September are the heaviest, hatch the latest, and have heavier hatchlings. While earlier hatchlings are initially smaller, earlier hatchlings achieve a larger body size than later hatchlings. Maximum temperatures rather than minimum temperatures influence the weight of hatchlings unless the minimum temperature exceeds the tolerance limit. In later hatchlings warmer weather and decreased food availability promotes more rapid development resulting in a smaller body size compared to earlier hatchlings. The heaviest hatchlings come from colder habitats. Increased population density also results in decreased adult size as well as slower development.


C. brunneus overwinter via obligate egg diapause. Research suggests that diapause can be broken regardless of the stage of development. Eggs can be kept for up to a year at 5 °C and still hatch. In the lab, diapause can be broken by keeping the eggs at 25 °C for two weeks before lowering the temperature to approximately 4 °C for several weeks.


Two populations of C. brunneus have females that have an additional instar inserted between instar II and III termed instar IIa. Morphological characteristics of instar IIa are a mixture of instars II and III. Females are of an intermediate size and length between instars II and III. Wing buds closely resemble the wing buds of instar II but have more venation than the typical wing buds of instar II. Genitalia development is closer to the development of instar III development.
Additional instars have been found in other acridid species that display sexual dimorphism in which females are larger than males such as C. parallelus. C. brunneus females on average are 3 to 4 times larger than males. The occurrence of the additional instar most likely reflects the habitat the C. brunneus females occur. Females with the additional instar have only been found to occur in the region of East Anglia in Britain. The longer summers in East Anglia may facilitate earlier hatching and an increased growth rate permitting the inclusion of instar IIa allowing the females to reach a larger size. Decreased availability of food may encourage rapid development also explaining the inclusion of an additional instar.


Development rate is not affected by humidity but is affected by heat source.C. brunneus reared with a radiant heat source take six to seven weeks less to reach their adult instar than those that are not. Development is also quicker in nymphs reared in low-density populations.
Males and females weigh the same until the third instar where females outweigh the males. Females take a longer time to develop as they have longer instars than males. However, males develop more uniformly and live longer than females.
In England, northern populations of C. brunneus  have faster development and shorter growth periods compared to southern populations.


C. brunneus produce song by moving stridulatory pegs against their elytra. The normal calling song consists of 5-12 notes that range between 0.25 and 0.50 seconds in length. Notes are followed by a 3-second period of rest. Males will repeat the song at intervals.
Males produce a rival song when they come into contact with other males. C. brunneus males produce sounds during the pauses of the other males' song. Notes in the rival song are produced three to four times faster than notes produced in the normal song. In the normal song notes are produced every 1.5–2 seconds but in the rival song notes are produced every 0.35–0.57 seconds.
Courtship songs are produced after the male produces some notes from his normal song and fails to copulate. Courtship songs in C. brunneus consist of softer notes similar to the normal song produced at higher frequencies. After producing the song for a duration the male will attempt to copulate with the female. If he is unsuccessful he will produce several short, loud notes before producing the courtship song again. A receptive female will respond to the male's song leading to the alteration of song between her and the male. This is called the attraction song.
Male C. brunneus not only produce several different types of calls, they also show variation in characteristics of the same song. Stabilizing selection has acted on male C. brunneus song. Males with intermediate song characteristics are most successful while males with extreme characteristics are the least successful in attracting a mate.
Song production is sensitive to the environment.


C. brunneus are used as a bioindicators for heavy metal pollution. They are commonly found living in habitats that are polluted with heavy metals such as Szopienice and Olkusz in Poland. Some sites have heavy metal concentrations as high as 124.3±15.9 mg•kg-1. Individuals can have heavy metal concentrations as larger as 21.25 mg•kg-1. Exposure to heavy metal concentrations alters catalytic ability of enzymes. Individuals from heavily polluted sites have increased glutathione concentrations and decreased glutathione S-transferase activity. In the lab, individuals exposed to zinc during diapause have lower glutathione concentrations. Dimethoate exposure enhances the effect of heavy metal exposure decreasing glutathione concentrations and reducing acetylcholinesterase activity by almost 50%. Exposure to dimethoate also decreases glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and carboxylesterases activity. Because C. brunneus in non polluted reference sites do not experience the same decrease in enzyme activities, researchers have suggested that the decreased enzyme activities can be contributed to the tradeoff associated with adapting to living in heavily polluted habitats. Individuals are forced to allocate more energy towards neutralizing harmful effects of heavy metals instead of allocating the energy to growth and development.


The slender-billed gull (Chroicocephalus genei) is a mid-sized gull which breeds very locally around the Mediterranean and the north of the western Indian Ocean (e.g. Pakistan) on islands and coastal lagoons. Most of the population is somewhat migratory, wintering further south to as far as North Africa and India. A few birds have wandered to western  Europe. A vagrant individual was reportedly seen on Antigua, April 24, 1976 (AOU, 2000).
The genus name  Chroicocephalus is from Ancient Greek khroizo, "to colour", and kephale, "head". The specific genei commemorates Italian naturalist Giuseppe Gené.


The slender-billed gull breeds in lagoons and lakes around the Mediterranean Sea and in similar locations in countries bordering the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean. In 2010 a successful colony was found breeding on an island in a mountain lake in Algeria. The lack of predators and disturbance allowed over 98% of the eggs to hatch. It overwinters on the coast in estuaries and bays. It feeds in deltas, marshes and grassland. It is one of a number of species of gull to feed on landfill sites.


About half of the slender-billed gull's food is fish. It flies a few metres above the surface of the water and dives into the water when it sees suitable prey. It also probes in the mud with its beak to feed on marine invertebrates and catches insects in flight.
This rather uncommon gull breeds in colonies, nesting on the ground and laying up to three brown-spotted white eggs in a scrape sparsely lined with feathers and bits of vegetation. Incubation takes about 25 days and the young fly after another 25 days. Like most gulls, it is gregarious in winter, both when feeding and in evening roosts. It is not a pelagic species, and is rarely seen far from land.


The slender-billed gull is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.


The brown-hooded gull (Chroicocephalus maculipennis) is a species of gull found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Falkland Islands, and Uruguay. Its specific epithet, maculipennis, means 'spotted wings' (macula + penna). It is a white bird with a brown head and red beak and feet.


The mature bird has a dark brown head and throat with a white semicircle around the posterior part of the eye, while the neck, chest and abdomen are white. The beak and legs are red. The primary flight feathers are dark gray, while the secondaries and covert feathers are a lighter gray. This bird may be confused with the Franklin's gull. There is no significant sexual dimorphism.


This species is found in South America, breeding from Argentine and Chilean Patagonia, the Falkland Islands and Uruguay. In winter, its range extends up to the coasts of north Chile and central Brazil. Its natural habitats include freshwater lakes, intertidal marshes, river banks, and open fields.


These are gregarious birds. Their diet consists primarily of insects, carrion, and food items obtained through kleptoparasitism from other birds. In particular they steal crabs from the red-gartered coot (Fulica armillata) and clams from the American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus). The profitability of stealing from these birds is 3.5 times higher for the coots than the oystercatchers. They build floating nests among aquatic vegetation at the edges of ponds and lakes. Three to four eggs are usually laid.
The black-headed duck has a brood parasite relationship with the brown-hooded gull in which a female will lay an egg in the nest of a brown-hooded gull with the intent of having the host gull incubate the egg instead of herself.


The silver gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae)  is the most common gull of Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull (Larus pacificus), which also lives in Australia.
The silver gull should not be confused with the herring gull, which is called "silver gull" in many other languages (scientific name Larus argentatus, German Silbermöwe, French Goéland argenté, Dutch zilvermeeuw), but is a much larger, robust gull with no overlap in range.


It has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus, as is the case with many gulls, but is now placed in the genus Chroicocephalus. Hartlaub's gull (C. hartlaubii) of South Africa was formerly sometimes considered to be subspecies of the silver gull.
There are three subspecies:
C. n. forsteri (Mathews, 1912) – north and northeast Australia, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands
C. n. novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) – southern Australia and Tasmania
C. n. scopulinus (Forster, JR, 1844) or red-billed gull – New Zealand


Silver gulls are found in all states of Australia, as well as New Zealand and New Caledonia. It is a common species, having adapted well to urban environments and thriving around shopping centres and garbage dumps. Their successful adaption to urban habitats have seen their population increase in areas of human activity, with the availability of nesting grounds the only limiting factor on population growth.
Silver gulls have twice been recorded in the United States; one bird was shot in August 1947 at the mouth of the Genesee River, Lake Ontario, and another was photographed in Salem County, New Jersey, in autumn 1996. Both are believed to have escaped from captivity.


The silver gull has a sharp voice consisting of a variety of calls. The most common call is a harsh, high pitched 'kwarwh'.


The silver gull naturally feeds on worms, fish, insects and crustaceans. It is a successful scavenger, allowing increased numbers near human settlements.


The black-headed gull  (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is a small gull that breeds in much of  the Palearctic including Europe and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds reside in the milder westernmost areas of Europe. Small numbers also occur in northeastern North America, where it was formerly known as the common black-headed gull. As is the case with many gulls, it was previously placed in the genus Larus.
The genus name  Chroicocephalus is from Ancient Greek khroizo, "to colour", and kephale, "head". The specific ridibundus is Latin for "laughing", from ridere "to laugh".
The black-headed gull displays a variety of compelling behaviours and adaptations. Some of these include removing eggshells from one's nest after hatching, begging co-ordination between siblings, differences between sexes, conspecific brood parasitism, and extra-pair paternity. They are an overwintering species, found in a variety of different habitats.


This gull is 37–44 cm (14+1⁄2–17+1⁄2 in) long with a 94–110 cm (37–43+1⁄2 in) wingspan and weighs 190–400 g (6+3⁄4–14+1⁄8 oz).
In flight, the white leading edge to the wing is a good field mark. The summer adult has a chocolate-brown head (not black, although does look black from a distance), pale grey body, black tips to the primary wing feathers, and red bill and legs. The hood is lost in winter, leaving just two dark spots. Immature birds have a mottled pattern of brown spots over most of the body, and a black band on the tail. There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.
It breeds in colonies in large reed beds or marshes, or on islands in lakes, nesting on the ground. Like most gulls, it is highly gregarious in winter, both when feeding or in evening roosts. It is not a pelagic species and is rarely seen at sea far from coasts.
The black-headed gull is a bold and opportunistic feeder. It eats insects, fish, seeds, worms, scraps, and carrion in towns, or invertebrates in ploughed fields with equal relish. It is a noisy species, especially in colonies, with a familiar "kree-ar" call. Its scientific name means laughing gull.
This species takes two years to reach maturity. First-year birds have a black terminal tail band, more dark areas in the wings, and, in summer, a less fully developed dark hood. Like most gulls, black-headed gulls are long-lived birds, with a maximum age of at least 32.9 years recorded in the wild, in addition to an anecdote now believed of dubious authenticity regarding a 63-year-old bird.


Eggshell removal is a behaviour seen in birds once the chicks have hatched, observed mostly to reduce risk of predation. Removing the eggshell acts as a way of camouflage to avoid predators seeing the nest. The further away egg shells are from the nest, the lower the predation risk. Black-headed gull eggs experience predation from different species of birds, foxes, stoats, and even other black-headed gulls. Although mothers show some form of aggressiveness when a predator is near, in the first 30 minutes, wet chicks can be easily taken by other black-headed gulls after hatching when the parents of the wet chick are distracted.
Black headed gulls also carry away other objects that do not belong in the nest. The removal of eggshells and other objects is important not only in the incubation period but also during the first few days after the eggs hatch. However, the removal process seems to increase as time goes on. The removal is done by both the male and female parents, normally lasts a few seconds and is done three times a year.
A black-headed gull is able to differentiate an egg shell from an egg by acknowledging its thin, serrated, white, edge. Therefore, the weight of the egg or eggshell does not play a role when determining its value.


Other hypotheses have attempted to explain the survival value of black-headed gulls removing their eggshells from the nest, including:
The sharp edges of the shells after hatching could harm the chicks
The eggshell could somehow intrude during the brooding
The eggshell could slip over the unhatched egg, creating a double shell
Some of the moist organic material left from the shell could lead to a production of bacteria and mould


Male chicks have less of a chance of survival when compared to female chicks. Black-headed gulls are a sexually size-dimorphic species, so the larger sex is at a disadvantage when the amount of food sources are low.
Male birds are more likely to be born in the first egg and female birds are more likely to be born in the third. The position of a female black-headed gull in response to the food available when laying the eggs can predict the offspring's characteristics.


Conspecific brood parasitism is a behaviour that occurs when females lay their eggs in another female’s nest, of the same species. It can reduce the cost of incubation and nestling young by passing it on to another bird. Black-headed gulls usually lay three egg clutches, and the first two are normally larger than the third. The third egg normally has the lowest survival rate, while the first or second are usually the parasitic eggs.
Most of the egg dumping occurs within the beginning of the egg laying period. The parasitic eggs being laid in another conspecific’s nest increases the chance of hatching and may occur because of nest desertion or a nest being taken over by another bird.
Multiple eggs in a nest from different mothers may also result from intra-specific nest parasitism, joint female nesting, and nest takeover. Intra-specific nest parasitism is a disadvantage to the hosts because the female could end up taking care of the parasitic chicks over her own and therefore neglecting them and reducing their fitness. Another disadvantage for the host is that incubating more chicks than their own takes up more energy.


The rate of extra-pair paternity (EPP) has a large variation between populations of black-headed gulls. It is primarily a context-dependent strategy, meaning not all black headed gulls experience this behaviour. The variation between populations of extra-pair paternity can be explained by the variation it has on the advantages and disadvantages it has on a female, as well, as the variation in pressure on a females choice.
The differences in the rate of EPP may be determined by multiple different factors: life history traits, ecological factors or different behavioural strategies of males.


Egg-laying can be earlier in Black-headed Gulls nesting in the centre of the colony, with central pairs tending to lay larger eggs, which have a higher hatching success, than pairs nesting at the periphery of the colony. Centrally nesting individuals have also been found to be in better condition and have higher genetic quality.


Black-headed gulls display both head-bobbing walking (HBW) and non-bobbing walking (NBW). Head-bobbing walking is expressed by a hold phase and a thrust phase. The hold phase in black-headed gulls occurs mainly during the single support phase and is when the bird balances its head to equal the environment. Head-bobbing walking occurs during a seeking type foraging by walking through water and includes benefits such as enhancing motion and pattern detection and gathering depth information from motion parallax during the thrust phase. Non-bobbing walking occurs when black-headed gulls are displaying a waiting behaviour while foraging on flat surfaces.


The eggs of the black-headed gull are considered a delicacy by some in the UK and are eaten hard boiled. The collection of black-headed gull eggs is heavily regulated by the UK government. Eggs may only be taken by a small number of licensed individuals at six sites between April 1 and May 15 each year and only a single egg may be taken from each nest. No eggs are permitted to be sold after June 30. As the gulls tend to lay in late April and early May, the eggs are in effect, only available to purchase for 3 or 4 weeks per year.


Observations on the behavior of black-headed gulls show that black-headed gulls individuals synchronize their vigilance activity with other black-headed gulls neighbors. Synchronization in black-headed gulls groups is dependent on the distance between the black-headed gulls members.


On 19th October 1991, local Broome birder Brian Kane saw a strange species of bird while trawling the local sewer ponds. Upon seeing this bird, he contacted the Broome Bird Observatory by telephone to verify the species, however there was conjecture regarding its identity.  Kane took photos of the bird and recorded field notes, before sending this information to the Appraisals Committee in Hobart, Tasmania, who were able to confirm that it was indeed a black-headed gull. This was the first recorded sighting of the species in Australia.


The Andean gull (Chroicocephalus serranus) is a species of gull in the family Laridae. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus.
It is found in the Andes in mountainous regions of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is unusual for a gull in that it breeds inland in mountain areas. It may be variously found around rivers, freshwater lakes, saline marshes, and pastureland.


At 45–48 cm (18–19 in) long, the Andean gull is large for a black-headed gull (it is the largest gull with that kind of plumage in the Americas). It is the largest species in the genus Chroicocephalus and has a dark hood, a pale grey back and a pattern of black and white on its primaries.


The Andean gull is known from Chile, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia where it breeds in mountainous areas, usually at elevations of over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). In areas with harsh winters it migrates to lower elevations in winter, sometimes as far as the coast. Flocks of these gulls are common on the coast in southern Peru and northern Chile, but It has yet to be established where these particular birds breed. In the wetlands of the Altiplano it is resident and breeds at 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) while in southern Argentina it may breed at as little as 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) but this is in similar habitats to the birds further north. The Andean Gull nests in small scattered colonies, sometimes even as solitary pairs, in small, isolated ponds. Unusually for a gull of this size, it becomes sexually mature at the age of two years rather than three.
It feeds on a variety of prey items, including insects and worms taken on fields and grasslands; it also sometimes catches aerial insects and eats some garbage when available.


It was earlier taxonomically classified under the genus Eupatorium, but is now considered more closely related to other genera in the tribe Eupatorieae.


A recent review indicates that the ethno-pharmacological, fungicidal, nematicidal importance of the plant and its use as a fallow species and as a soil fertility improvement plant in the slash and burn rotation system of agriculture has contributed to its continued use and spread in Nigeria.


Chromolaena odorata is considered an invasive weed of field crops and natural environments in its introduced range.  It has been reported to be the most problematic invasive species within protected rainforests in Africa.  In Western Africa it prevents regeneration of tree species in areas of shifting cultivation.  It affects species diversity in southern Africa. The plant's flammability affects forest edges.
In Sri Lanka it is a major weed in disturbed areas and coconut plantations.


Biological control with a defoliating artiid was attempted in the 1970s.
A pilot study in the Ashanti region of Ghana introduced the moth Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata to some effect.
A renewed call for coordinated biological control effort in Nigeria was made in 2014, to attempt to bring the plant back into an ecological equilibrium.
In Australia a systematic eradication programme with herbicide has been initiated.
The gall forming tephritid fly Cecidochares connexa was introduced into Guam from Indonesia in 1998 and is widespread across the island. Chromolaena odorata forms galls around the fly larvae that become a nutrient sink that diverts energy away from plant growth to provide nutritive tissue along the walls of the larval chamber. Between 1 and 7 larvae can be found in each gall.


In the nineteenth century Chromolaena odorata escaped from the botanical gardens at Dacca (India), Java (Indonesia) and Peradeniya (Sri Lanka).  In Western Africa the plant was accidentally introduced with forestry seeds.  It was introduced as an ornamental in Southern Africa, and was introduced to Ivory Coast in 1952 to control Imperata grasses.  It was first found in Queensland, Australia in 1994 and was perhaps introduced with foreign pasture seeds. It is locally called Communist Pacha in the southern Indian state of Kerala as the plant was introduced there in the 1950s, the era when the communists formed a government.
Chromolaena odorata, also known as “devil weed,” was found on the east side of the Big Island (Hawai'i) earlier in 2021, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported on September 28, 2021.


Chromolaena odorata contains carcinogenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
It is toxic to cattle.
It can also cause allergic reactions.
Recent research has shown the plant is larvicidal against all major mosquito vectors.


Chrysobalanus icaco, the cocoplum, paradise plum, abajeru or icaco, is a low shrub or bushy tree found near sea beaches and inland throughout tropical Africa, tropical Americas and the Caribbean, and in southern Florida and the Bahamas. An evergreen, it is also found as an exotic species on other tropical islands, where it has become a problematic invasive. Although taxonomists disagree on whether Chrysobalanus icaco has multiple subspecies or varieties, it is recognized as having two ecotypes, described as an inland, much less salt-tolerant, and more upright C. icaco var. pellocarpus and a coastal C. icaco var. icaco. Both the ripe fruit of C. icaco, and the seed inside the ridged shell it contains, are considered edible.


Chrysobalanus icaco is a shrub 1–3 metres (3.3–9.8 ft), or bushy tree 2–6 metres (6.6–19.7 ft), rarely to 10 metres (33 ft). It has evergreen broad-oval to nearly round somewhat leathery leaves (3 to 10 cm long and 2.5 to 7 cm wide). Leaf colors range from green to light red. The bark is greyish or reddish brown, with white specks.
The clustered flowers are small, greenish-white, and appear intermittently throughout the year but more abundantly in late spring. The fruit that follows (a drupe) is variable, with that of the coastal form being round, up to 5 cm in diameter, white, pale-yellow with a rose blush or dark-purple in color, while that of the inland form is oval, up to 2.5 cm long, and dark-purple. The fruit is edible, with an almost tasteless to mildly sweet flavor, and is sometimes used for jam. It contains a five- or six-ridged brown stone with an edible white seed. The common name for this fruit in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana is "fat pork". The seed's kernel is used ground into a powder and dried, as a spice (variously called gbafilo, itsekiri, umilo,emilo or omilo) as part of West African Pepper Soup Mix.
Chrysobalanus icaco is unable to survive a hard frost, but is planted as an ornamental shrub in subtropical regions due to its appearance, easily manageable size, and tolerance of shallow and variable soils (for example, as alkaline as pH 8.4) and partial shade. Several cultivars are available:
'Red Tip' is of the inland ecotype, and is the most commonly planted in Florida, often as a hedge. It is a chance occurrence that has pink new growth.
'Green Tip' is another example of the inland type that has green new growth.
'Horizontal' is of the coastal type, and tends to root wherever its creeping branches touch the ground, creating clumps over time that can help stabilize the soil. Combined with the high salt tolerance of the coastal ecotype, this characteristic means it can be planted to stabilize beach edges and prevent erosion.
Chrysobalanus icaco plays a role in traditional medicine in some parts of its native range, and has been the subject of scientific investigations that have provided evidence of hypoglycemic, antioxidant, antifungal and other pharmacological properties of the leaf extract.


Chrysochus cobaltinus, the cobalt milkweed beetle or blue milkweed beetle, is a member of the diverse family leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae). It occurs in the Western United States and British Columbia.


C. cobaltinus has an iridescent cobalt-blue exoskeleton. Both sexes range from 6–9 millimetres (0.24–0.35 in) in length, with clubbed antenna. The elytra usually have more or less evident epipleura, changing within the varying species within the Chrysomelidae. It rarely has an exposed pygidium. The body is oval, although the ventral is not prominently convex.


C. cobaltinus is similar to click beetles in being able to launch themselves a couple times the length of their body.
Both adults and larvae feed on dogbane (Apocynum) and milkweed (Asclepias) species. Adults typically feed on the foliage and flowers of the newly-developed plant. When a large community appears, they consume a large portion of the leaf tissue from the plant, which causes significant damage to the plant. The adults eat holes in the leaves of the host plant, appearing in spring as the days become warmer and the plant's leaves begin to develop. During the spring they disperse in large numbers on various plants within the same area of distribution.


Adults emerge in early summer and persist on milkweed plants in patches for approximately six weeks. Females are highly polyandrous; males engage in extended periods of post-copulatory mate guarding.
The adult females lay their eggs on the leaves of dogbane and milkweed plants; the larva consumes the leaf tissue between the veins, leaving nothing but a skeleton. On occasion the larva also eats the root system of the plant. C. cobaltinus larvae in large numbers can consume all the plant's leaves. This apparently does not kill the plant; it goes dormant until the following year, although if the larvae consume the root system of the plant, it will eventually wither away.


C. cobaltinus ranges in High Plains from British Columbia south through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado to Arizona and New Mexico. East of the Rocky Mountains, the species is replaced by Chrysochus auratus. Historically, the two species were considered to have allopatric distributions. Recently, at least two narrow regions in western North America have been documented where both C. auratus and C. cobaltinus occur and apparently interbreed.


Chrysodeixis eriosoma, the green garden looper, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. Mostly cosmopolitan in distribution, it is a pest in Japan, China, India, Sri Lanka,  the Malay Peninsula and Australasia. It is present in Hawaii and recorded as an incursion in mainland North America and Russia. It is morphologically identical to Chrysodeixis chalcites and the two may be sibling species.


Chrysodeixis eriosoma has a wingspan of 42 mm. Some specimens are much darker than others.
Chrysodeixis eriosoma differs from C. signata in the head, thorax, and forewing having a reddish tinge; abdomen with the lateral and anal tufts often black in the male. Forewing with much more gilding on the basal, medial, and outer areas; the antemedial line more oblique, the postmedial more oblique and sinuous; the Y mark large, prominent, and golden, the arms often filled in with golden and occasionally joined to the tail.
Chrysodeixis eriosoma and Chrysodeixis chalcites moths cannot be separated morphologically, and they may be sibling species. However, they may be distinguished based on DNA sequencing, pheromones, or geographic origin as C. chalcites is found in the Palearctic and C. eriosoma in the tropical and subtropical regions of eastern Asia and the Pacific islands as well as in Australia and New Zealand. The species is abundant in agricultural areas and open habitats in lowlands and foothills but has been found at altitudes up to 2600m The literature referring to C. chalcites in southern and eastern Asia or Oceania may actually refer to C. eriosoma.


The larvae are green with a number of faint longitudinal dorsal and lateral white lines. They also sometimes have black dots on their sides. As for most other plusiine, they lack two pair of prolegs and thus move in a looper fashion, which is somewhat similar to caterpillars in the family Geometridae. They grow to a length of about 4 cm. They are polyphagous and have been reported to feed on over sixty species of plants.


Duration of the pupal stage varies from a few days in summer to about a month in winter.


Chrysolepis chrysophylla is a species of flowering shrub or tree in the beech family known by the common names golden chinquapin, giant chinquapin, and western chinquapin. It is native to the Pacific coast of the United States.


Shrubby forms of the plant occur in dry areas, higher elevations, and poor soils. The plant grows into a tree up to 45 metres (148 ft) tall in cooler, moister areas such as valley bottoms and north-facing slopes, and foggy and rainy areas. The trunks can reach up to 90 centimetres (35 inches) in diameter. The bark is reddish, thin and smooth on young trunks; on older specimens it becomes thicker and platy. The open crown of the large tree is conical in shape. The leathery evergreen leaves are dark green on the upper sides and golden underneath. The leaves are 5 to 13 cm (2 to 5 in) long and folded upward along the midrib. The species is monoecious, with individuals bearing both male and female flowers. White male flowers are borne in the leaf axils, and a cluster of female flowers is borne beneath them. A spiny bur contains one to three nuts, each about 1 cm in diameter. There is generally a burl at the base of the tree. The tree may sprout from adventitious buds in the burl, a form of vegetative reproduction that is more common in dry areas where it is less likely that seedlings would become established. The tree may live up to 500 years.
The species resembles tanoak, but has chestnutlike fruit instead of an acorn.


Chrysolepis chrysophylla is endemic to the Pacific coast of the United States, growing from extreme southern Washington through western Oregon, south to west-central California. It grows in climax forests dominated by redwood, white fir, western hemlock, and Shasta red fir, or mixes of tree types. It may be an understory shrub, or it may codominate the canopy as a tree. Habitat types where the tree may be found include coastal forests, woodlands, and chaparral. In the western Cascade Mountains it grows in western hemlock forests. In the southern Cascades it grows at higher elevations but takes on a smaller, shrubbier form. It can be found growing up to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) above sea level.


The tree is shade intolerant, thus requiring occasional disturbances to propagate. Contrarily, the shrub form can tolerate shade and is relatively indifferent to disturbances. Older trees become affected by heart rot.
The nuts are commonly eaten by squirrels and chipmunks.


The tree has a heavy, strong wood which is light brown with a pinkish tinge. It rarely grows in large enough quantities to serve commercial purposes.
The nut is edible, having a flavor similar to the hazelnut or filbert. They were consumed by Native Americans.


Chrysolina americana, common name rosemary beetle, is a species of beetle belonging to the family Chrysomelidae.


Chrysolina americana can reach a length of 5–8 millimetres (0.20–0.31 in). They have colourful elytra with metallic green and purple longitudinal stripes. The wings are quite short, so these beetles can fly for short distances, but most tend to walk.
This species feeds on various aromatic Lamiaceae, mainly on rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) (hence the common name), lavender (Lavandula) and thyme (Thymus).
In the Mediterranean region females lay their eggs in late summer on the leaves of the host plants. The larvae show whitish to blackish bands. Larval development continues during the winter months. The pupal stage lasts about three weeks. The imago is released in the spring.


Despite the species name americana, this leaf beetle is native and common to southern Europe, North Africa, the Near East and the Middle East.


This species was first discovered living outdoors in the United Kingdom in 1994. By 2002 it had become widespread in the London area, and spreading rapidly throughout. Although it is susceptible to some pesticides, it is usually recommended that home growers pick off beetles by hand, or shake them off onto a sheet of paper to remove them, if the plant affected by them is intended for culinary purposes. Otherwise, they do not present a major problem to the host plants, although a large,  long- term infestation can be devastating.


Chrysomela scripta, the cottonwood leaf beetle, is a species of leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is found in Central America and North America.


Chrysomya megacephala, more commonly known as the oriental latrine fly or oriental blue fly, is a member of the family Calliphoridae (blowflies). It is a warm-weather fly with a greenish-blue metallic box-like body. The fly infests corpses soon after death, making it important to forensic science. This fly is implicated in some public health issues; it can cause accidental myiasis, and also infects fish and livestock.


Chrysomya megacephala's eggs are "oval with one flat face and another convex". Adult flies reflect a metallic blue-green color on their thorax and abdomen and have yellow gena, or cheeks. Larvae vary in size according to instar and are shaped more thickly towards the rear. C. megacephala have large red eyes, those of males being close together, and those of females farther apart. The cercus of the male is longer than that of the female.


Chrysomya megacephala has a wide geographical distribution. It is most common in the Oriental and Australasian realms. It is also found in Japan and the Palearctic realm. The range of C. megacephala has grown since the 1970s, with the species expanding into New Zealand and Africa, along with South, Central, and North America. C. megacephala entered the United States through harbors and airports. The fly has been found in California, as well as Texas, Louisiana, and Hawaii. C. megacephala exists in two forms, the normal and the derived. Tropical forests on the Pacific Islands, such as Samoa, are home to the normal form; the normal is considered to be the plesiomorphic form of C. megacephala. The derived form is thought to have emerged from Papua New Guinea and is said to be synanthropic, or ecologically associated with humans.


Chrysomya megacephala prefer warm climates, and display a correlation between warmer temperatures and higher fecundity. In tropical populations, such as in Brazil, fertility is also lower in areas with high densities of larvae, where many in one small area compete for the same food source. A correlation between wing size and temperature as well as tibia size and temperature has also been found in this species. There was a similar relationship between wing and tibia size and fecundity. All three of these values variables, fecundity, wing size and tibia size, stay within the same range throughout the year, showing seasonal variation to be absent. This has been of interest to researchers, since this fly is present in high numbers in warm weather and low numbers in cold weather. The majority of Dipteran species that have had a life table constructed have demonstrated a tendency for smaller bodies in the warmer months. C. megacephala has a relatively long lifespan as an adult which has helped the species become successful at invading new geographical areas. The long adult lifespan means that the parents are present to rear the offspring, ensuring their survival.