These birds are gregarious and are found in flocks of as many as 60 birds. They feed on the ground or on low shrubs and grass stalks. They constantly utter a low cheeping or chirping contact call as they forage. They visit water and drink with a rapid sip and swallow action. Their feed on a wide range of grass seeds and will also make use of crop species.
The breeding season is spread out and varies with region. They nest in winter in southern India and after summer in northern India. They nest, an untidy ball of grasses with an opening on the side, is placed in low shrubs, often on thorny Acacia and are known to make use of the old nests of baya weaver sometimes even visiting those that are occupied by the weaver birds. They will sometimes build their nest below the platform nests of vultures or storks. Old nests are used as dormitories through the year for roosting. Females are known to lay their eggs in the nests of other pairs. The clutch varies from 4 to 8 white eggs and these are incubated by both parents for about 11 days. Helpers may be involved in breeding as more than a pair are sometimes seen at a nest.
Several parasitic protozoans and coccidia (Sivatoshella lonchurae) have been described from the species.


Euonymus europaeus, the spindle, European spindle, or common spindle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gentle slopes, tending to thrive on nutrient-rich, chalky and salt-poor soils. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree.


Euonymus europaeus grows to 3–6 m (10–20 ft) tall, rarely 10 m (33 ft), with a stem up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter. The leaves are opposite, lanceolate to elliptical, 3–8 cm long and 1–3 cm broad, with a finely serrated edge. Leaves are dark green in summer. Autumn colour ranges from yellow-green to reddish-purple, depending on environmental conditions.
The hermaphrodite flowers are produced in late spring and are insect-pollinated; they are rather inconspicuous, small, yellowish green and grow in cymes of 3–8 together. The capsular fruit ripens in autumn, and is red to purple or pink in colour and approximately 1–1.5 cm wide. When ripe, the four lobes split open to reveal the orange seeds.


It is a popular ornamental plant in gardens and parks due to its bright pink or purple fruits and attractive autumn colouring.
In cultivation in the UK, the cultivar 'Red Cascade' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
European spindle wood is very hard, and can be cut to a sharp point; it was used in the past for making spindles for wool-spinning and for butchers' skewers.
Charcoal produced from this plant is seen as superior among artists due to its strength and density.
Parts of the plant have been used medicinally. However, the fruit is poisonous, containing, amongst other substances, the alkaloids theobromine and caffeine, as well as an extremely bitter terpene. Poisonings are more common in young children, who are enticed by the brightly coloured fruits. Ingestion can result in liver and kidney damage and even death.


Euonymus obovatus, the running strawberry bush, is a trailing, woodland groundcover plant of the family Celastraceae, which is native to eastern North America in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.


Eupatorium altissimum, the tall thoroughwort, is a perennial plant whose native range includes much of the eastern and central United States and Canada (Ontario south to Nebraska, eastern Texas, the Florida Panhandle, and Massachusetts.  It almost always grows on limestone soils, as does Brickellia eupatorioides, with which it is often confused.  It can hybridize with Eupatorium serotinum.
Eupatorium altissimum is a perennial herb sometimes more than 150 cm (5 feet) tall. Leaves and stems are covered with whitish hairs. The plant produces a large number of small white flower heads in a large flat-topped array at the top of the plant. Each head generally has 5 disc florets but no ray florets.
Eupatorium altissimum is part of Eupatorium even when that genus is defined narrowly to include about 40 species of mostly white-flowered plants of North America, Asia, and Europe.


Eupatorium capillifolium, or dogfennel (also written "dog fennel"), is a North American perennial herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the eastern and south-central United States. It is generally between 50 cm and 2 meters tall with several stems that fork from a substantial base.  The stems and base are covered in leaves so dissected that they resemble branching green threads coming out of the stem in fractal patterns. When crushed, the leaves and flowers smell rather unpleasant.


Dogfennel is closely related to Eupatorium compositifolium (yankeeweed) and Eupatorium leptophyllum and some authors consider all of them varieties of E. capillifolium. Others maintain them as three species but consider them a related group, known as dogfennels or the Traganthes group.  They all are characterized by dissected leaves.


Dogfennel thrives on roadsides, in fields and reduced tillage crops, as well as areas that have burned or otherwise been disturbed. It is found in the early to middle (seral) stages of ecological succession. It is native to the southern and eastern United States, from Massachusetts south to Florida, and west to Missouri and Texas, and also Cuba and the Bahamas.  Unlike insect-pollinated plants in this genus, E. capillifolium is wind-pollinated. Dogfennel was also known to be planted by Johnny Appleseed.
Dogfennel is eaten by Florida's scarlet-bodied wasp moth, Cosmosoma myrodora.  These moths feed on the plant while mature, to store its toxins and ward off predators.


Dogfennel spreads by both seeds and rootstocks and can grow quite aggressively.  It is common in pastures, especially those that are unimproved or overgrazed, and degrades the quality of the pasture by competing with desired forage species. Dogfennel contains liver-damaging pyrrolizidine alkaloids, so livestock are known to eat all the turf around a stand of it. To remove infestations of dogfennel, the recommended course of action is to mow it before it can seed.
It has also been introduced outside its native range, for example in Nepal.


Dogfennel contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids which can cause liver failure.


Eupatorium capillifolium is extracted into an essential oil and has anti-fungal properties.


Eupatorium hyssopifolium, also known as hyssopleaf thoroughwort, is a fall-blooming herbaceous plant native to North America.  Like other members of the genus Eupatorium it has inflorescences containing a large number of very small flower heads, each with 5 white disc florets but no ray florets.  At 0.5 to one meter (20-40 inches) tall, it is towards the shorter end of the range of heights found in Eupatorium species.
Plants which are classified as E. hyssopifolium can be either diploid or polyploid, and some of them seem to have been the result of past hybridizations with Eupatorium serotinum.  Hybrids with E. album  and E. linearifolium also seem to exist.  The hybrid E. torreyanum is similar to E. hyssopifolium but is a hybrid of E. serotinum and Eupatorium mohrii.
Eupatorium hyssopifolium is found in much of the eastern and south-central United States, from Massachusetts west to Wisconsin, and as far south as Texas and Florida.  It grows in moist soils.
Varieties
Eupatorium hyssopifolium var. hyssopifolium - leaves 2–5 mm wide
Eupatorium hyssopifolium var. laciniatum A.Gray - leaves 5–15 mm wide


Eupatorium hyssopifolium can be used medicinally (applied externally for insect and reptile bites).  It can also be planted near crops to attract beneficial insects.


Eupatorium perfoliatum, known as common boneset or just boneset, is a North American perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a common native to the Eastern United States and Canada, widespread from Nova Scotia to Florida, west as far as Texas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Manitoba. It is also called agueweed, feverwort, or sweating-plant. It was introduced to American colonists by natives who used the plant for breaking fevers by means of heavy sweating. It is nearly always found in low, wet areas.


Eupatorium perfoliatum grows up to 100 cm (39 inches) tall, with leaves that clasp the stems. The plant produces dense clusters of tiny white flower heads held above the foliage.
Eupatorium perfoliatum can form hybrids with other species of the genus Eupatorium, for example Eupatorium serotinum.


Eupatorium perfoliatum leaves and roots contain mixed phytochemicals, including polysaccharides (containing xylose and glucuronic acid), tannins, volatile oil, sesquiterpene lactones, sterols, triterpenes, alkaloids, and various flavonoids, such as quercetin, kaempferol, and caffeic acid derivatives. E. perfoliatum and several of its related species are listed on the Poisonous Plants Database of the US Food and Drug Administration, with E. perfoliatum described as an "unapproved homeopathic medicine" with unknown safety by the US National Library of Medicine.
Holistic health companies marketing fraudulent supplement products that contained E. perforliatum with claims of benefit against COVID-19 were warned by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2020 about making illegal health claims and scamming consumers from their money.


Eupatorium perfoliatum (also called boneset) was used in traditional medicine by Native Americans who applied extracts for fever and common colds. Possible effects of E. perfoliatum for these uses remain undefined by adequate scientific research, and are unconfirmed by high-quality clinical research. If consumed in large amounts, its tea made from leaves may cause diarrhea.


Eupatorium perfoliatum is a specific butterfly food and habitat plant. It provides nectar for butterflies in the adult life cycle stage, particularly the white M hairstreak and the bronze copper butterfly.


Eupatorium rotundifolium, commonly called roundleaf thoroughwort, is a North American species of plant in the family Asteraceae. It native to the eastern and central United States, in all the coastal states from Maine to Texas, and inland as far as Missouri and the Ohio Valley. It is found in low, moist habitats such as wet savannas and bogs.


The stems up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall and are produced from short rhizomes. The inflorescences are composed of a large number of small white flower heads, each with 5 disc florets but no ray florets. Plants can be highly variable due to hybridization.


Three varieties of Eupatorium rotundifolium are recognized. They are:
Eupatorium rotundifolium var. ovatum (Bigelow) Torr.
Eupatorium rotundifolium var. rotundifolium
Eupatorium rotundifolium var. scabridum (Elliott) A.Gray
The plants known as Eupatorium rotundifolium var. saundersii have often been treated as a variety of E. rotundifolium.  They can be distinguished based on morphology, and molecular evidence also suggests that these plants may be different enough from E. rotundifolium to recognize them as a species, Eupatorium pilosum.


As is common in Eupatorium, E. rotundifolium can form hybrids with other species in the genus.  In particular, Eupatorium godfreyanum is a hybrid of E. rotundifolium and Eupatorium sessilifolium.


Eupatorium rotundifolium contains sesquiterpene lactones of the guaianolide type including euparotin acetate and eupachlorin acetate, both of which inhibit tumor growth in vitro when isolated from the plant.


Eupatorium serotinum, also known as late boneset or late thoroughwort, is a fall-blooming herbaceous plant native to North America.
Eupatorium serotinum ranges throughout most of the eastern United States, found in every coastal state from Massachusetts to Texas and inland as far as Minnesota and Nebraska. There are reports of one small population in the Canadian Province of Ontario, and other reports of the species on the south side of the Río Grande in northern Mexico.
Like other members of the genus Eupatorium, Eupatorium serotinum is about one to two meters (40-80 inches) tall and has inflorescences containing a large number of tiny white flower heads with 9–15 disc florets but no ray florets.
Eupatorium serotinum grows in open sites (either dry or moist), and can hybridize with Eupatorium perfoliatum and other members of the genus Eupatorium.  Unlike wind-pollinated plants in this genus, E. serotinum is pollinated by insects.


Eupeodes corollae is a very common European species of hoverfly. Adults are 6–11 millimetres (0.24–0.43 in) in body length. Males and females have different marking on the abdomen; males have square commas on tergites 3 and 4, whereas females have narrow commas. Larvae feed on aphids. This species has been used experimentally in glasshouses as a method of aphid control, and to control scale insects and aphids in fruit plantations. They were found to be partial to the fruit, eating more fruit than aphids.
E. corollae is found across Europe, North Africa and Asia. Adults are often migratory.


External images
For terms see Morphology of Diptera

Wing length 5-8·25 mm. Male abdomen with pre-genital segment very large and conspicuous. Genitalia large. Yellow spots reach the side margin of tergites 3 and 4.Scutellum mainly yellow-haired. Female frons with white dust spots and junction between black ground colour and yellow spots straight.


Palaearctic Range: from Fennoscandia South to Iberia, to the Mediterranean basin. Coastal States of Africa down to South Africa. Ireland East into European Russia, Russian Far East, Siberia, to the Pacific coast and Japan. China, Formosa.
The male genitalia and the larva  are figured described by Dusek & Laska (1961)


Habitat: grassland, dune systems, dry river beds, garrigue, most sorts of farmland (including arable crops), suburban gardens, orchards, alpine grassland in the Alps. Hedgerows, grassy clearings in woodland, crops, gardens, tracksides, and road verges. Flowers visited include umbellifers, Achillea millefolium, Campanula rapunculoides, Chrysanthemum, Cirsium, Eschscholzia californica, Galeopsis, Hypericum, Leontodon, Origanum vulgare, Potentilla erecta, Ranunculus, Rubus fruticosus, Salix, Senecio, Tripleurospermum inodoratum, Tussilago.
The flight period is May to September (all the year in southern Europe). Information on the biology of Eupeodes corollae is provided by Marcos-Garcia (1981)  and Barkemeyer (1994).


The scrub euphonia (Euphonia affinis) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae.


Both sexes have a thin, fine bill, smaller than that of other euphonias. Legs and eyes are dark. The male is bright yellow below and black above, with a small yellow spot on the forecrown. The crissum is white.  Females have a grey head, dusky olive upperparts, buff-grey underparts, and white belly and crissum.


Its nest is a globular structure with a side entrance, placed in tangles of vegetation or another protected place.  The eggs number 2-5 and are whitish with brown speckles.


The scrub euphonia is frequently found in association with yellow-throated euphonias, as well as in mixed species feeding flocks.  It consumes much fruit, being particularly attracted by mistletoe berries.


This is a vocal species.  Its calls include a bright dwee dwee dwee, a plaintive syeeu syeeu and a twittering flight call, slip slip.  Their songs are variable, including si chi-chi-chi-si and a liquid, twittering warble.


This bird is widespread and evaluated as "least concern" by the IUCN.  It can adapt to human-altered environments and is a common bird throughout its large range.


The yellow-throated euphonia (Euphonia hirundinacea) is a species of songbird in the family Fringillidae. It is found in southeastern Mexico and throughout Central America with its range stretching from Belize south to western Panama. It inhabits primarily both humid and dry regions where it prefers the forest edge, open woodland, and shaded plantations. It has two subspecies, the nominate subspecies Euphonia hirundinacea hirundinacea and Euphonia hirundinacea gnatho. This finch is a small bird with pointed wings and a short bill and short tail. Males of this species have dark glossy blue-black upperparts excluding a yellow forecrown, and bright yellow underparts, while females have olive green upperparts and whitish-gray breast and lower parts. It has a shrill song that alternates between high-pitched and moderately pitched and appears to be able to mimic some calls of other birds.
The yellow-throated euphonia is a frugivore that feeds primarily on mistletoe berries, which it swallows whole, and has also been observed feeding on figs and ripe bananas. Breeding dates range from March to August depending on locality. Breeding pairs work together to build a domed nest and visit the nest in pairs to feed hatchlings. It is listed as a species of least concern due to its stable population and large range.


The yellow-throated euphonia is one of 27 species of the genus Euphonia, which includes arboreal passerines restricted to the Neotropics. Euphoniinae are characterized by the absence of a gizzard associated with a highly specialized frugivorous diet and the construction of domed globe-shaped nests with a side entrance. Euphonias exhibit sexual dimorphism where males are dark iridescent blue in their upperparts and yellow on their ventral side, and females are typically olive-colored above and either yellow or gray below. The genus Euphonia is paraphyletic with Chlorophonia nested in it and was traditionally considered part of Thraupinae, however recent phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA demonstrated that Euphonia and Chlorophonia formed a monophyletic group distinct from the rest of the Thraupinae, which agrees with morphological and behavioral differences between Euphonia and Chlorophonia and the Tanagers. Later molecular studies identified that euphonias belonged to the Fringillidae and specifically can be placed as sister to the Carduelinae. The presence of an entirely South American clade within the Fringillidae, which are extant primarily in the Old World, suggests that the early family history of finches underwent significant intercontinental dispersals, with euphonias adapting to a different ecological niche in the Neotropics.
Two subspecies are recognized, the nominate subspecies Euphonia hirundinacea hirundinacea and Euphonia hirundinacea gnatho. Euphonia hirundinacea gnatho differs from nominate subspecies in having a larger, more swollen bill, a more bottle-green and “less bluish” gloss of the upper parts in the male, and more yellowish underparts in the female.


The yellow-throated euphonia is a small, short-billed, short-tailed arboreal passerine with pointed wings. An adult is 10–12 cm long with the tail contributing 3.3 to 3.6 cm. The wingspan is 5.8 to 6.1 cm and weight about 11.6 – 17.8 g. The adult male of the nominate species has a small bright yellow patch on its forehead that extends back to about the middle of the eyes. The rest of the head, upperparts including upper-wing coverts, and the upper-tail coverts are a glossy blue-black. The flight feathers are black with steel blue edgings and the entire underparts are yellow. The underwing coverts are white and the under-tail coverts are a dark dull grey. The inner webs of the outer 2-3 feather pairs are mostly white forming a large, white, oval-shaped area on the wing undersurfaces. The beak tip is black, becoming blue-gray beneath nostrils and on mandible. The irises are brown and the legs and feet are dusky dark gray. The adult female has an olive-green faintly glossy metallic coloration on top of her head, side of head, and upperparts. The throat, center of breast and lower underparts are whitish to greyish-white and sides of breast, sides, and flanks are bright yellowish olive-green. Under tail-coverts are pale olive-yellowish and the beak is similar to the adult male. Juvenile males look similar to females, but plumage is of a looser texture and the olive-green of upperparts lacks gloss. Immature males also resemble females and first assume yellow feathers on the throat and median underparts as their whole ventral surface turns yellow before black begins to appear. The males then develop a black mask, black on their crown and head or a crown with mixed black and olive. The back, sides, and wings start out olive-green and are the last part of the bird to turn dark blue.
The male's song includes high pitched shrill and squeaky notes that often rapidly alternate in a choppy pattern of 2-4 notes with moderately pitched notes. Some male songs are reported to include mimicked notes from other birds, but with a smaller repertoire than the closely related E. violacea and E. laniirostris. Callnotes include a rapid “pidgel-eece,” a conversational “chi-bib-bib-bib-bib,” a rough hurried “tuck-a-tuck” or “chuck-a-chuck,” a clear “weet,” and a full-throated “queer” or “gleer”. Its calls have been described as short and explosive. Females produce calls that are thin and “chaffy” in quality and are high pitched and almost trilled.
Yellow-throated euphonia males are distinctive across most of their geographic range due to their yellow throat, however they overlap with the similar thick-billed euphonia in southwestern Costa Rica and western Panama. Thick-billed euphonia also have a yellow throat, but have a more extensive yellow crown than yellow-throated euphonia and are much more common in geographic areas where their ranges overlap. Female yellow-throated euphonia are distinguishable from other sympatric Euphonia females due to their whitish or pale grey throat, center of breast, and belly, and their yellow flanks. Female scrub euphonia, thick-billed euphonia, and yellow-crowned euphonia have entirely greenish yellow to yellow ventral parts, and female white-vented euphonia have whitish throats, but a yellow breast.


The yellow-throated euphonia has a northern range limit in eastern Mexico of southern Tamaulipas, eastern San Luis Potosí, northeastern Puebla (east of Huauchinango), and northern Veracruz south to Tuxpan and Tlapacoyan. Its range extends south into Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, eastern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and western Panama. E. h. gnatho is found in northeastern Nicaragua, Costa Rica (absent in southwest and Caribbean lowlands), and extreme Western Panama. It is found mainly in dry to humid regions along forest borders, second growth, shady plantations, and medium-height thick growing woods along river gorges and streams. Occurs from lowlands to 2100 m in Mexico and primarily in plateau and hill country in El Salvador and Costa Rica. Presumed to reside in foothills between 900 m and 1200 m elevation in western Panama. Resident over most of range with some local seasonal movement in response to food availability. In Mexico it is considered likely only a non-breeding visitor from October to May on the Pacific slope of Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca. Found to be present in El Salvador only during the spring and summer months, so possible that it is migratory.


The yellow-throated euphonia feeds almost exclusively on fruits and berries, particularly feeding on mistletoe berries and locally feeds heavily on figs and ripe bananas. They are known as “mistletoe birds” in the islands of the Lesser Antilles and insects contribute considerably less to their diet than fruits. When they do hunt for insects, they look through leaves and small branches of trees as well as combing over seed heads of palms. They have also been observed catching insects and feeding them to their fledglings. Mistletoe berries have a moderately tough skin containing a seed and in feeding the euphonias break the outer skin with their bills and swallow the single seed surrounded by an adhesive pulp. The seeds pass through the intestinal canal wholly undigested and nutritive matter is readily assimilated without preliminary grinding. This subsistence on a particularly specialized food that does not require mechanical comminution to digest has resulted in the loss of the gizzard and the specialization of the digestive tract into a simple membranous sac connecting the esophagus and duodenum, which is arranged to permit the rapid and unobstructed passage of food through the entire length of the canal.
Yellow-throated euphonia breeding is reported in May and August in Mexico, June in Belize, March–May in Guatemala and April–June in Costa Rica. Nests are dome-shaped with a side entrance and are made from grass, narrow leaves, rootlets, moss, and lichens. They are placed anywhere from eye level to 15 m up in stream bank niches, roadside banks, on tree trunks, on branches or palm fronds, within epiphytes or in clumps of moss. Yellow-throated euphonias were found to lay an average of five eggs at one-day intervals with incubation lasting about 15 days and female brooding of the young through day 6 or 7 after hatching. This clutch size is among the highest reported for neotropical passerines with other species of euphonia typically laying three to four eggs per clutch. Their eggs are white and lightly spotted brownish at larger end. Parents build the nest together and visit the nest in pairs thereafter, virtually always accompanying each other to the nest entrance in a possible example of mate guarding or distraction display. Nestlings are primarily fed regurgitated fruits and seeds starting on the day of hatching and chicks fledge at 19 days. The yellow-throated euphonia is unusual in that it feeds its young regurgitated fruits and seeds at hatching, but does not appear to feed them many insects or other animal protein throughout the growth period. This may be due to their specialized digestive tract which makes ingesting harder foods difficult. Yellow-throated euphonia occur in pairs throughout the year, but do not defend territories.


Currently the yellow-throated euphonia is listed as a species of least concern due to a stable current population trend, lack of evidence for decline of adult members of the species, and a large estimated range of 1,440,000 square km. Yellow-throated euphonia were observed to be kept in cages in San Jose, Costa Rica in 1892, but there is a lack of information about current relationships with humans. They are believed to be tolerant of habitat disturbance as they commonly occupy plantations, second growth, and forests edge. They have been observed to nest near human habitation in dirt road banks about 1–3.5 m above the ground as well as in rotting fence posts.


The thick-billed euphonia (Euphonia laniirostris) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae, formerly placed in the Thraupidae.
This euphonia measures 10 cm (3.9 in). The male has entirely yellow underparts from throat to vent save for a small terminal patch of white on the undertail. Upperparts are a dark blue-black except for the yellow crown patch which extends from the bill over the head to just past the eye. The female, like many euphonias, is dull olive above and yellow below.
It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and heavily degraded former forest.


This succulent resembles the head of Medusa, with many serpent-like stems arising from a short, central caudex. They sometimes exceed 1 metre in diameter, partly buried in the ground, covered with numerous crowded branches.
Euphorbia caput-medusae was introduced to the Netherlands around 1700 and was one of the early plants described by Linnaeus (Species Plantarum, 1753).


This species is primarily coastal, occurring along the western coast of South Africa, southwards to the Cape Peninsula.
It is still common around Cape Town where it grows in deep sand or rocky outcrops on the coast. It is particularly common in the Peninsula Shale Renosterveld vegetation of Signal Hill.
It also occurs along the south coast of the Western Cape Province, from Cape Town the form previously known as "muirii" extends along the coast eastwards as far as Mossel Bay.


Euphorbia characias, the Mediterranean spurge or Albanian spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae typical of the Mediterranean vegetation.
It is an upright, compact evergreen shrub growing to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall and wide.


It has many woolly stems and characteristic black or dark brown nectar glands in the cyathia, which are borne in dense spherical clusters, from spring to early summer. The fruits are smooth capsules. It is a tough plant, capable of resisting long periods of drought. It grows preferably in dry areas, often far away from the water table, both in flat as well as in mountainous terrain. This plant can also resist high salinity.


Two main subspecies are found in different regions of the Mediterranean Basin. These often overlap in the western areas of distribution:
E. characias subsp. characias (s). From Portugal to Crete
E. characias subsp. wulfenii (Hoppe ex W.D.J.Koch) Radcl.-Sm. 1968 (s). From Southern France to Anatolia.


Euphorbia characias is valued as an ornamental plant for its ability to survive drought and its groundcovering capabilities. It is suitable for any location, sheltered or exposed, in light soil in full sun. It is fully hardy down to −10 °C (14 °F).


Garden cultivars are sold under the names ‘Black Pearl’, ‘Thelma's Giant’, ‘Lambrook Gold’, ‘Silver Swan’ and ‘Tasmanian Tiger’, among others. They come in a variety of colors, from silvery grey and bluish green to greenish yellow. These garden varieties are valued in Mediterranean or desert landscaping for not being highly demanding and for looking good despite lack of watering in sunny areas.
The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-
‘Tasmanian Tiger’
‘Whistleberry Garnet’
E. characias subsp. characias ‘Blue Hills’
E. characias subsp. wulfenii ‘Jimmy Platt’


This plant also has uses in traditional medicine; like many other species of genus Euphorbia its toxic white and sticky sap has been used to treat skin excrescences, like cancers, tumors, and warts, since ancient times.


Euphorbia corollata is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Euphorbiaceae that is native to North America. A common name for the species is flowering spurge. It has a milky sap that can cause skin and eye irritation in some people. It grows up to 1 m (3 ft) tall, with smooth stems and light green leaves arranged alternately or in whorls. Leaves are about 10 mm (1/2 in) wide and 75 mm (3 in) long. Each stem terminates in a panicle 20 to 25 mm (3/4 to 1 in) across. Flowers are about 6 mm (1/4 in) across and consist of one pistillate and several staminate flowers surrounded by five white bracts - not petals but formed from the involucre at the base of the flowers. Flowering spurge blooms from June to September.


Flowering spurge grows in most soil types as long as they are well-drained. It is usually found in prairies, pastures, glades, and along roads and train tracks. It has excellent drought tolerance and  develops a deep taproot. It is difficult to transplant once established.
Flowering spurge is native from Texas north to South Dakota and east to the Atlantic coast.


The flowers are pollinated by a variety of insects including bees, wasps, flies, and butterflies. Other insects feed on foliage, stems, and other parts of the plant, although mammals avoid it because of its toxic sap. Seeds are fed on by wild turkey, greater prairie chicken, bobwhite quail, mourning dove, and horned lark.


Euphorbia helioscopia, the sun spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It is a herbaceous annual plant, native to most of Europe, northern Africa, and eastward through most of Asia.
Folk names include wart spurge, umbrella milkweed and madwoman's milk.


It is an annual plant growing in arable land and disturbed ground. It grows to 10–50 cm tall, with a single, erect, hairless stem, branching toward the top. The leaves are oval, broadest near the tip, 1.5–3 cm long, with a finely toothed margin. The flowers are small, yellow-green, with two to five basal bracts similar to the leaves but yellower; flowering lasts from mid-spring to late summer.


It is highly poisonous. Active ingredients are extracted from it for use in pharmaceutical industry. It is also a plant used in Chinese traditional medicine.
Its extract has been found to inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma in vivo in mice and in vitro in human cells.


Euphorbia helioscopia contains the jatrophone-type diterpenoids euphoheliosnoid A, B, C and D and other toxic diterpenes such as euphoscopins, epieuphoscopins euphornins, cuphohelioscopins and euphohelionone.
Four esters of 12-deoxyphorbol (12-deoxyphorbol-13-phenylacetale-20-acetate, 12-deoxyphorbol-13-dodec-dienoate-20-acetate, 12-deoxyphorbol-13-[2-methyl-cis-2-butenoate]-20-acetate and 12-deoxyphorbol-13-[2-methyl-cis-2-butenoate]) can be isolated from the fresh aerial parts. These substances are the major skin irritants found in the plant.
m-Hydroxyphenylglycine and 3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine are two amino acids that can be isolated from the latex of E. helioscopia.
Hydrolysable tannins can be found in E. helioscopia. Helioscopinin A (1,6-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-2,4-(S)-dehydrohexahydroxydiphenoyl-3-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose), helioscopinin B (1,6-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-3-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose), helioscopin A (1,6-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-2,4-(R)-elaeocarpusinoyl-3-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose) and helioscopin B (1,3,6-tri-O-galloyl-2,4-(R)-elaeocarpusinoyl-β-D-glucose) can be found together with eight other tannins: corilagin, punicafolin, geraniin, elaeocarpusin, furosin, terchebin, mallotusinin and carpinusin. Helioscopinin-A shows anti-allergic and anti-asthmatic activities in guinea pigs. It is suggested that this compound exerts its activities through antagonism on leukotriene D4-induced responses.


Euphorbia maculata, known as spotted spurge or prostrate spurge, the latter name not to be confused with Euphorbia prostrata, is a fast-growing annual plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to North America. It is a common garden and lawn weed in the United States.
It grows in sunny locations and a variety of soils, and functions as a pioneer species in ecological succession. The sap of this plant is a mild skin irritant and can cause a rash in some people. The sap is poisonous and considered carcinogenic.


Euphorbia maculata is typically prostrate, with specimens rarely reaching up as high as 30 centimetres (12 in). The stems spread out in a mat along the ground with each stem rarely greater than 45 centimetres (18 in) long. The leaves are oval but rather elongate, up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long, and arranged in opposite pairs. The cyathia, bisexual reproductive structures unique to plants in the genus, are very small, with four white petal-like appendages that are sometimes pink.
The leaves are often marked with a reddish spot in the center, a feature that led to the common name of spotted spurge. It is similar to Euphorbia prostrata, but that species has shorter leaves that are more rounded at the tips. It may occasionally be confused with Euphorbia serpens but the very short and rounded leaves of E. serpens in combination with the larger (but still inconspicuous) cyathia should remove any potential for confusion.


Euphorbia marginata (commonly known as snow-on-the-mountain,  smoke-on-the-prairie, variegated spurge, or whitemargined spurge) is a small annual in the spurge family.
It is native to parts of temperate North America, from Eastern Canada to the Southwestern United States. It is naturalized throughout much of China.
The type specimen was collected in Rosebud County, Montana from the area of the Yellowstone River by William Clark during the Lewis and Clark Expedition.


Snow-on-the-mountain has grey-green leaves along branches and smaller leaves (bracts or cyathophylls) in terminal whorls with edges trimmed with wide white bands, creating, together with the white flowers, the appearance that gives the plant its common names.
Snow-on-the-mountain has also been found to emit large quantities of sulfur gas, mainly in the form of dimethyl sulfide (DMS).


Euphorbia melanadenia is a species of Euphorbia known by the common name red-gland spurge. It is native to the deserts and mountains of Baja California and southern California and Arizona, where it grows in dry, rocky habitat. It is a perennial herb forming a small clump or mat of very slender, tangling red stems. The stems are lined with pairs of slightly woolly oval-shaped leaves 2 to 9 millimeters wide. The tiny inflorescence is a cyathium less than 2 millimeters wide. The cyathium is a bell-shaped array of white, scalloped petal-like appendages surrounding the actual flowers. Each appendage has at its base a shiny red nectar gland. At the center of the appendages is a ring of male staminate flowers around a single female flower. The female flower develops into an oval-shaped fruit which bears wrinkled white seeds.


Euphorbia misera is a semi-succulent shrub in the genus Euphorbia commonly known as the cliff spurge or coast spurge. A drought-deciduous shrub, it is typically found as a gnarled, straggly plant occupying seashore bluffs, hills and deserts. Like other members of its genus, it has a milky sap, which can be found exuding out of the light gray bark when damaged. The alternately-arranged leaves are round and folded in the middle, with small hairs on them. The "flowers" (actually an inflorescence called a cyathium) can be found blooming year-round, and are colored maroon or yellow in the center with 5 white to light-yellow petal-like appendages attached outside. This species is native to the Baja California peninsula and Sonora in Mexico, and the coast of southern California in the United States, where it is a rare species. It is threatened in some localities by the development of its coastal habitat, which tends to be prime locations for high-end residential and commercial developments.


Euphorbia misera is a drought-deciduous shrub standing erect or mounding. An acrid, milky sap is exuded when the leaves or branches are ruptured or cut. It has small, rounded, hairy leaves and inflorescences at the tips of the branches. The distinctive flower has a central nectar disc with a bright red appendage with scalloped edges and a light yellow fringe. The fruit is a spherical capsule with lobes containing round, wrinkled gray seeds.


The majority of the plant is covered in very fine hairs, except for the stems. The stems are soft and rubbery, covered in a light gray bark, stout, and often gnarled. The stems may reach 5–10 decimetres (1.6–3.3 ft) in length. The branches are semi-succulent and flexible. The pubescent leaves are petioled, on short, lateral spurs placed in a lateral arrangement. The leaf is 0.4–1.5 centimetres (0.16–0.59 in) long, shaped ovate to round, and more or less folded, with entire margins. The base of the leaf is obtuse to rounded, and the tip is rounded. The stipules are thread-like and fringed.
The inflorescence is a cyathium, (a structure that looks similar to a traditional flower) with usually a single cyathia at a branch tip or sometimes in the distal axils. The involucre is 2–3 millimetres (0.079–0.118 in) long and bell shaped. There are 5 glands on the cyathium, colored a maroon to yellow. The glands are 1.5–2 millimetres (0.059–0.079 in) long, transversely oblong or elliptic. Attached to the glands are white to light-yellow petal-like appendages. These appendages may be narrower than to wider than the gland, and are scalloped or irregularly cut. There are 30 to 40 staminate flowers. The fruits are 4–5 millimetres (0.16–0.20 in) long, shaped spheric and lobed, and are densely puberulent or becoming glabrous (hairless). The seeds are 2.5–3 millimetres (0.098–0.118 in) long, ovoid, and round in cross section. The seeds are colored white to gray and tend to be wrinkled.


This species was described by George Bentham in 1844, based on the botanical science from the explorations of the H. M. S. Sulphur. The name misera is Latin for "poor" or "wretched," which might refer to the appearance of the plant without its leaves.
This species is related to the similar-looking Euphorbia californica.


This species is distributed across the Baja California peninsula (the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur) and parts of Sonora in Mexico, and the coast of southern California in the United States. On the Baja California peninsula, this species is a common and widespread shrub found from the vicinity of Tijuana in northwest Baja California south to the southern Sierra de la Giganta in Baja California Sur, along with adjacent Pacific and Gulf of California islands. Plants found on the San Benito Islands have sometimes been regarded as their own species, Euphorbia benedicta, based on their larger gland appendages and seeds. In Sonora, this species is found on the Gulf coast. In California, this species can be found on coastal bluffs and mesas from Corona Del Mar in Orange County to the international border in San Diego County, along with Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, and San Clemente islands. A disjunct population is found in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County.
This species is found growing on rocky slopes and soils, vertical cliff faces, and coastal bluffs. It is an abundant resident of coastal succulent scrub habitat present in coastal California and Baja California. Habitats vary from bluff margins and coastal mesas to outright desert.


Euphorbia nutans is an annual herb growing erect with pairs of oblong leaves along its stems. The leaf may be up to 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) long, hairy or hairless, and finely toothed.
The inflorescence may be solitary or borne in clusters. Each inflorescence is a cyathium, with flat white or red appendages surrounding the actual flowers. At the center of the array of appendages are several staminate flowers surrounding one pistillate flower. The latter develops into a fruit, which is a capsule about 2 millimetres (0.079 in) wide.


Euphorbia paralias, the sea spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to Europe, northern Africa and western Asia.
The species is  widely naturalised in Australia. It invades coastal areas, displacing local species and colonising open sand areas favoured by certain nesting birds.  Major eradication programmes have been undertaken in some areas, for example by Sea Spurge Remote Area Teams in Tasmania, with great success.


It is an erect, glaucous, perennial plant growing up to 70 cm tall. The plant has many stems, dividing into 3-5 fertile branches, each branching further. The cauline leaves (arising from the stem, without stalk) are crowded, overlapping, elliptic-ovate (ovate toward the top of the stems), fleshy and 5 to 20 mm long. Leaves on fertile branches are circular-rhombic or reniform. Flower head on a solitary cyathia, found in upper forks or at the apex, surrounded by bell-shaped bracts. Female flowers are with styles that divide into two short stigmas, flowering September–May. Fruit is a capsule flattened from above or nearly spherical, deep furrows, wrinkled on keels. Seeds ovoid, pale-grey and smooth. There is a kidney-shaped fleshy outgrowth from the seed coat.


Euphorbia polycarpa (formerly Chamaesyce polycarpa) is a species of spurge known by the common name smallseed sandmat. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, especially the deserts and other dry, sandy areas. This is a perennial herb producing stems that trail along the ground to form a clump or mat, sometimes growing somewhat upright. The leaves are each under a centimeter long. They are round or oval-shaped and have triangular stipules at the bases.
What looks like a single flower is actually an inflorescence of many staminate (male) flowers united around a single central pistillate (female) flower. Bracts surrounding the flower unit are white and petal-like. The fruit is a thin spherical capsule less than 2 millimeters wide layered over a seed.
"Chamae" derives from the Greek meaning "on the ground", referring to its spreading low lying growth near the ground, and "Syke" is from Greek for "fig".


Euphorbia serpens is a species of Euphorbia known by the common name matted sandmat. It is native to South America but it can be found on most continents as an introduced species and often a weed. This is an annual herb forming a mat of prostrate stems which root at nodes where the stem comes in contact with the ground. The oval leaves occur in oppositely arranged pairs, each leaf less than a centimeter long. The inflorescence is a cyathium with scalloped white petal-like appendages surrounding the actual flowers. A red nectar gland is at the base of each appendage, and at the center of the cyathium are several male flowers around one female flower. The fruit is a lobed, spherical capsule.


Euphorbia spathulata is an annual herb not exceeding half a meter in height with oval-shaped leaves one to three centimeters long. The upper stem may be bright to dull red and is hairless.
At the tips of the stems are inflorescences of tiny glandular flowers.
The fruit is a rounded green capsule a few millimeters wide with obvious bumps on the surface. It contains light brown netted seeds.


Euphoria inda, the bumble flower beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae. It is found in North America.


Euphoria kernii, or Kern's flower scarab, is a species of scarab beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.


The marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval stage lasts for approximately seven to eight months and includes a period of hibernation over the winter. The larvae are dependent on the host food plant Succisa pratensis not only for feeding but also for hibernation, because silken webs are formed on the host plant as the gregarious larvae enter hibernation. Females lay eggs in batches on the host plant and are, like other batch-layers, selective about the location of oviposition because offspring survivorship levels for batch-layers are more tied to location selection than they are for single-egg layers.
As of 2019 the butterfly's global conservation status is considered of least concern, but it has faced rapid decline and is considered regionally vulnerable or endangered over much of its range.


This species is widespread in the Palearctic realm, from Ireland in the west to Yakutia in the east, and to north-west China and Mongolia in the south. The marsh fritillary is in decline in Europe and it is one of eleven butterflies covered by the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan. Within the British Isles, it is more frequent in the south and west, but especially in Wales where there is a stronghold
This species lives in calcareous grassland, in woodland clearings, in damp marshy areas (hence the common name), and in heathy grassland, dominated by tussock forming grasses, including purple moor and rush pastures. In Finland, E. aurinia has been shown to favor semi-permanent grasslands and impermanent clearcuts in the forest. Young clearcuts were preferred over old clearcuts due to the dense growth of vegetation in old clearcut forests. In the United Kingdom, two types of grasslands can be inhabited by E. aurinia: damp grasslands that are either neutral or acidophilus and dry grasslands that have an abundance of plants growing in lime-rich soil (calcicolous grasslands). These butterflies can reach an elevation of 10–2,200 metres (33–7,218 ft) above sea level.
In the British Isles, the marsh fritillary is usually found in damp, heathy grasslands that are called rhos pastures, from the Welsh word rhos meaning heath. Small populations can be an important element of the ecology because they produce many mobile individuals which can then found other populations. The marsh fritillary is protected under UK law, listed under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and the EU Habitats and Species Directive (Annex II). The Devon Wildlife Trust owns a number of sites at which it monitors this species.  Examples include Stowford Moor (near Holsworthy, Devon), Dunsdon nature reserve (near Bude), Mambury Moor (near Great Torrington), Vealand Farm nature reserve (near Holsworthy), and Volehouse Nature Reserve (near Holsworthy). In 2009, population counts had significantly increased from years 2007 and 2008. In 2018, a breeding population was found in Carmarthenshire, Wales, after an absence of 50 years.
In Lithuania (included into the Lithuanian Red Data Book since 2000, red list category-3 (R))(Rašomavičius, 2007) is protected insect species.  Euphydryas aurinia usually is found in natural and seminatural moist or wet oligotrophic grasslands (purple moorgrass and heath rush meadows), base rich fens, mostly in Eastern, North-Western and Central Lithuania, where its main foodplant Succisa pratensis (Dipsacaceae) is abundant. Inhabited patches frequently are situated along woodland edges or surrounded by bushes. Species is not found in Southern Lithuania where sandy soils predominate and in South-Western Lithuania where agriculture is very intensive.


Euphyes dion, the Dion skipper or Alabama skipper, is a species of butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in scattered populations along the Atlantic coast of North America, from western Massachusetts and south-eastern New York south to north-eastern Florida, west to north-eastern Texas, and north to south-eastern North Dakota, northern Wisconsin, southern Ontario and southern Quebec. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut.
The wingspan is 37–45 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from July to early August in the north and two generations with adults on wing from May to September in the south.
The larvae feed on various sedges, including Scirpus cyperinus, Carex lacustris and Carex hyalinolepis. Adults feed on nectar from various flowers including pickerelweed, sneezeweed, buttonbush and Alsike clover, among others.


Euphyes dion dion
Euphyes dion alabamae (Lindsey, 1923)


Euphyes vestris, the dun skipper, sedge witch or dun sedge skipper, is a species of butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in North America from Nova Scotia west across southern Canada to southern Alberta, south to Florida, the Gulf Coast and eastern Texas. There are disjunct populations in the High Plains and Rocky Mountains and along the Pacific Coast.
The wingspan is 29–35 mm. Adults are on wing in July in one generation per year. They feed on the nectar from white, pink and purple flowers, including Asclepias syriaca, Vicia americana, Prunella, Mentha × piperita, Apocynum, Ceanothus americanus and Echium vulgare.
The larvae feed on various sedges, including Cyperus esculentus and Carex heliophila.


Euphyes vestris vestris (California)
Euphyes vestris metacomet (Harris, 1862) (from Alberta east through the southern parts of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, southeast through Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, and eastward to the Atlantic coast)
Euphyes vestris kiowah (Reakirt, 1866)
Euphyes vestris harbisoni Brown & McGuire, 1983 (California)


Eupithecia miserulata, the common eupithecia, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1863 and it can be found in North America, from Ontario and Maine in the north to Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas in the south. It is also found in Arizona and California.
The wingspan is 12–20 mm. The forewings are grayish to grayish brown. The hindwings are the same color, but have a small discal spot and a variably represented an extradiscal line. The moths flies from March to November depending on the location.
The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, including coneflower, asters, willows, cherry, juniper and clover.


Euplagia quadripunctaria, the Jersey tiger, is a day-flying moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus in 1761. The adult wingspan is 52–65 millimetres (2.0–2.6 in), and they fly from July to September, depending on the location. They tend to fly close to Eupatorium cannabinum.
The larvae (caterpillars) are polyphagous, feeding from September to May on nettles (Urtica) and raspberries (Rubus), dandelion (Taraxacum), white deadnettle (Lamium), ground ivy (Glechoma), groundsel (Senecio), plantain (Plantago), borage (Borago), lettuce (Lactuca), and hemp-agrimony (Eupratoria). The insect overwinters as a small larva.
Large groups of adults of subspecies E. q. rhodosensis can be found on occasion aestivating (sheltering from the summer heat) in Petaloudes, on Rhodes, in a place that has become known as the Valley of the Butterflies.


Euplagia quadripunctaria is widely distributed in Europe from Estonia and Latvia in the north to the Mediterranean coast and islands in the south. It is also found in western Russia, the southern Urals, Asia Minor, Rhodes and nearby islands, the Near East, Caucasus, southern Turkmenistan, and Iran. Individuals are known to migrate northwards from their regular breeding grounds during the summer.


Aside from being frequent in the Channel Islands (whence its common name comes), this species was rarely seen in the British Isles in Victorian times. It was described by William Forsell Kirby as, "a great rarity in the South of England, except one locality in Devonshire." Since then however it has spread more widely in Devon and Cornwall, and has recently been seen more frequently in southern England, especially on the Isle of Wight, in northern Kent, and south London. They have been seen regularly and in numbers every year in London first discovered at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve in Forest Hill since 2004, so it is probable that they have established a breeding colony.
Mothrecording.org shows a string of connected sightings on the South Kent coast from Dover to Rye in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. These are disconnected from the block of sightings in South-West England and so probably came from the Continent directly.


Euplagia quadripunctaria quadripunctaria (Europe, Caucasus, Transcaucasus, northern Anatolia, northern Iran, southern Turkmenistan)
Euplagia quadripunctaria fulgida (South Turkey, Syria, Lebanon)
Euplagia quadripunctaria rhodosensis (Western Turkey and neighboring islands of Greece)


This is the only lepidopteran which has been designated as a 'priority species' under Annex II of the Habitats Directive in the European Union, as of 1992, which means areas in which it occurs can be declared Special Areas of Conservation.


The southern red bishop or red bishop (Euplectes orix) is a small passerine bird belonging to the bishop and widowbird genus Euplectes in the weaver family, the Ploceidae. It is common in wetlands and grassland in Africa south of the Equator. North of the Equator, it is replaced by the northern red bishop or orange bishop (E. franciscanus) which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of this species.


In 1751 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the southern red bishop in the fourth volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Grenadier". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a live bird kept at the home of George Shelvocke in Greenwich. Edwards was told that the bird had come from Angola. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the southern red bishop with the buntings in the genus Emberiza. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Emberiza orix and cited Edwards' work. The southern red bishop is now one of 17 species placed in the genus Euplectes that was introduced in 1829 by the English naturalist William John Swainson. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek eu meaning "fine" or "good" with the New Latin plectes meaning "weaver". The specific epithet orix is from Latin oryza meaning "rice". The southern red bishop is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.


The southern red bishop is 10–11 centimetres long and has a thick conical bill. Breeding males are brightly coloured with red (occasionally orange) and black plumage. The forehead, face and throat are black and the rest of the head is red. The upperparts are red apart from the brown wings and tail. The upper breast and under tail-coverts are red while the lower breast and belly are black. The non-breeding male and female have streaky brown plumage, paler below. Females are smaller than the males.
It has various twittering calls and a nasal contact call. The male has a buzzing song.
Breeding males of the northern red bishop have a red throat, black extending further back on the crown and long tail-coverts which almost cover the tail. The females and non-breeding males are almost identical to those of the southern red bishop.


It occurs from South Africa north to Angola, southern and eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Zambia southern Uganda north-east Nigeria and south-west Kenya. It is largely absent from the Namib Desert and Kalahari.
In the breeding season it is found near water among grass, reeds, sedges or crops such as sugar cane. Outside the breeding season it will venture into drier grassland and savanna habitats.


It is a fairly gregarious bird, nesting in colonies and foraging in flocks. It feeds on seeds and some insects. It often roosts in mixed flocks with other members of the weaver family.
At the start of the breeding season, the males build several nests to attract females. They perform a display flight with their feathers fluffed up. They are polygynous and mate with several females. The nest is most commonly built among reeds and is made of grasses and other plant materials woven together. Two to four eggs are laid.


The brown-tail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is native to Europe, neighboring countries in Asia, and the north coast of Africa. Descriptions of outbreaks, i.e., large population increases of several years duration, have been reported as far back as the 1500s. The life cycle of the moth is atypical, in that it spends approximately nine months (August to April) as larvae (caterpillars), leaving about one month each for pupae, imagos and eggs. Larvae (caterpillars) are covered in hairs. Two red spots on the back, toward the tail, distinguish these species from other similarly hairy moth larvae. The winged adults have white wings and a hairy white body with a tuft of brown hair at the tip of the abdomen. Females lay one egg cluster, usually on the underside of a leaf of a host plant. The species is polyphagous, meaning that it feeds on many different species of trees, including pear, apple, maple and oak.
This species was accidentally introduced to the United States in the 1890s. During the early 20th century it was present from eastern Connecticut northward into New Brunswick, Canada, but a subsequent severe population collapse reduced the territory to parts of coastal Maine and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, by the late 20th century. One theory for the decline appeared to be parasitism by a fly introduced to combat spongy moths. Starting in 2015 there has been a population spike and territory expansion in coastal Maine. In Europe, there are multiple parasitic and predator species, yet there is still a history of population outbreaks.
Hairs from the caterpillars are toxic for humans, causing a poison ivy-like itchy rash of up to sometimes weeks-long duration due to mechanical and chemical irritation. Direct contact with larvae is not necessary, as the hairs are shed and can become windblown. Toxins in the hairs remain potent for up to three years. Outdoor activities such as mowing a lawn or raking leaves in the fall can cause exposure.


The upper surface of the wings of this species is pure white. Males may have some brown color on the underside of the forewing. Wingspan is 36–42 millimetres (1.4–1.7 in). The body is very hairy and white except for the tail which is covered in reddish-brown hairs, much more prominent in the females. Males have larger antennae, used to detect pheromones released by unmated females. Females have a larger body. As winged adults, this species is superficially similar in appearance to Euproctis similis (native to Europe) and Hyphantria cunea (native to North America), but female E. similis have a yellow tail tuft and H. cunea lacks tail tuft coloration.
The female lays one cluster of 200 to 400 eggs, typically on the underside of a leaf. The egg cluster is covered with hairs from her anal tuft. The larva is very hairy, brown with white markings, and two prominent red spots toward the tail end. The hairs provide protection from predators; the larva incorporates some into the cocoon within which it pupates. The species overwinters communally as larvae within a tough, silken tent constructed around branch-tip leaves and anchored to twigs. In areas where the species is abundant, these tents are a familiar sight, and can be seen on a huge range of plants, especially in late fall and winter when unaffected leaves have fallen.


This species can be found throughout Europe, except in the most northern countries, also in the westernmost countries of Asia, such as Turkey, Syria and Israel, and the countries across the northern parts of Africa. Charles H. Fernald and Archie H. Kirkland recount historic mentions of brown-tail moths dating back to 1500s, describing outbreaks in Paris, London and Berlin so severe as to completely strip all trees of leaves. Carl Linnaeus described the species in the tenth edition (1758) of Systema Naturae.


The brown-tail moth is an invasive species in the United States and Canada, having arrived in Somerville, Massachusetts, circa 1890 and becoming widespread there and in neighboring Cambridge by 1897. Initial outbreaks were most evident in pear and apple trees. Doctors reported "poisonings" (skin rash) far worse than poison ivy rash. Within a few years it was seen as a serious, fast-spreading, horticultural and health problem. Through the early parts of the 20th century it was present in much of New England from eastern Connecticut to Maine, and northward into New Brunswick, Canada, but the 1906 introduction of the parasitic tachinid fly Compsilura concinnata to counter spongy moths collaterally impacted brown-tail moths. By the late 20th century the habitat was reduced to the coast and islands of Maine, and also parts of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Cold and wet weather hinders re-expansion of the population outside its current territories, although starting in 2015 there has been a population spike and territory expansion in coastal Maine, from Portland to Bar Harbor. In addition to North America, there have been reports of this species appearing in China, Japan and New Guinea.


The brown-tail moth produces one generation a year. It has four life stages; egg, larval, pupal, and adult. Eggs are laid in July and hatch in August. The annual cycle is approximately one month as eggs, nine months as larvae, one month as pupae, and one month as imagoes (winged, sexually mature adults).
Eggs are preferentially laid on oak trees.
Pre-diapausing larvae: Emerge and feed gregariously starting in August after about three weeks of egg incubation.
Diapausing larvae: As a response to shortened periods of daylight, larvae build communal winter nests in the fall, inside of which they overwinter. These involve webbing binding leaves together at tree-top branch tips. Distinct from other communal moth larvae such as eastern tent caterpillar which over-winter as eggs, then create webbed nests in branch crotches during spring and summer.
Post-diapausing gregarious larvae: The emerging larvae, approximately one centimeter long, resume feeding in early April synchronized with bud break, and still inhabit the winter nests as their resting places, or else make communal web-nests. These small larvae will also detach from trees and fall to the ground, then search for new trees.
Post-diapausing dispersive larvae: Once larvae reach late instars, colonies break up and larvae start feeding independently.
Pupation: Larvae pupate in June after six to eight instars.
Emergence: Imagoes (winged, sexually mature adults) appear about one month later; mate, lay eggs and die.


In the United States, many species of birds prey on the winged adults, including English house sparrow and blue jay. A review of mortality causes in England and mainland Europe described the brown-tail moth as undergoing periodic population outbreaks, each developing rapidly and lasting for several years, followed by a decline to relative obscurity. In a study conducted in England, egg, larvae and pupae deaths were attributed to several parasites, including microsporidia, cytoplasmic and nuclear viruses, and larvae predation by birds, specifically identifying the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) and titmice. A more recent review, conducted in Spain, identified 17 species of parasites, viral diseases, unspecified predation and other, unknown, causes of death spanning from eggs not hatching, during summer, winter and spring as larvae, finishing with pupae failing to produce winged adults. Generally, mortality increased with population density, although in outbreak regions there was some compensation by females laying 21.6% more eggs (cause not discussed).
Compsilura concinnata, a parasitic fly, pierces the brown-tail moth larva and deposits its own larva inside. This fly was introduced to North America in 1906 in an attempt to counter spongy moth, an invasive species. While not entirely successful for that purpose, one research group concluded that introduction of this fly had a great impact on brown-tail moths while not being as effective on spongy moths, the reason being that the fly larvae need to over-winter inside a host larvae. (Brown-tail moths over-winter as larvae, whereas spongy moths over-winter as eggs.) An older review describes other fly species that were confirmed as brown-tail moth larvae parasites, then released in U.S.: Apanteles lacteicolor, Metrous versicolor and Sturmia nidicola.


Branch-tip webs can be clipped in winter and very early spring, and either dropped into a bucket of soapy water or burned. Gloves should be worn. Appropriate pesticides should be applied before early May because that is when the larvae start to develop harmful hairs. For organic garden and farm situations there are sprays that use a strain of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).


Cicely Blair wrote a paper about the rash caused by the brown-tail moth caterpillar in the British Isles. It, and other descriptions, confirmed that loose hairs can break off and cause very itchy rashes on contact with skin, as well as breathing difficulties similar to asthma if inhaled. Rashes can persist for weeks. The same symptoms have been reported as far back as 1903. The reactions are due to a combination of mechanical and chemical stimuli, the barbed hairs in effect becoming lodged in and physically irritating the skin, and also functioning as microtubules to introduce irritating chemical compounds that have hydrolase, esterase and hemolytic activity. This rash reaction may be referred to as lepidopterism. The species should be handled using protective gloves at all stages of its life cycle. Shed hairs blow about, and can be brought indoors on clothing and shoes, so rashes can occur without the victim coming in direct contact with the caterpillars. The toxins in the hairs remain potent for up to three years after being shed. Outdoor activities such as mowing a lawn or raking leaves in the fall can cause exposure.
A related species, mistletoe browntail moth (Euproctis edwardsi), has been reported as causing a similar rash in Australia, in people working at or visiting a community center, attributed to caterpillars feeding on a tree outside the building. In addition to brown-tail and mistletoe browntail, several other Euproctis species are identified as causing rashes in humans, including Euproctis baliolalis, Euproctis limbalis and Euproctis lutea (all three native to Australia). Urticating hairs, i.e., itch and rash-producing, are also reported for caterpillars of other moth and butterfly species.


Brown-tail larvae have been reported as feeding on 26 genera of non-resinous trees and shrubs belonging to 13 different families. This polyphagy is considered unusual. Non-specific host plant feeding combined with its tendency to reach extreme outbreak densities makes this species a major pest of fruit orchards, ornamental trees and hardwood forests. Partial list of plant species: apple, cherry, beach plum (Cape Cod, Massachusetts), beech, elm, grape, hops, maple, oak, pear, raspberry, rose and willow. An early description of the introduction to the United States in the 1890s identified pear and apple trees as most greatly afflicted, but mentioned that once trees were entirely bare of leaves, the larvae would descend to the ground in great numbers and move toward any leafy plant, including vegetable plants.


The brown-throated parakeet (Eupsittula pertinax), also known as the Prikichi, St. Thomas conure or the brown-throated conure, in aviculture, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae.


The brown-throated parakeet was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus pertinax. The brown-throated parakeet is now one of five species placed in the genus Eupsittula that was introduced in 1853 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek eu meaning "good" with the Modern Latin psittula meaning "little parrot". The specific epithet pertinax is Latin meaning "tenacious" or "persistent".
Fourteen subspecies are recognised, some of which are island endemics. They have varying colours particularly of the crown, face and underparts.
E. p. ocularis (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1865) – Panama
E. p. aeruginosa (Linnaeus, 1758) – north Colombia and northwest Venezuela
E. p. griseipecta (Meyer de Schauensee, 1950) – northeast Colombia
E. p. lehmanni (Dugand, 1943) – east Colombia
E. p. arubensis (Hartert, E, 1892) – Aruba (Netherlands Antilles)
E. p. pertinax (Linnaeus, 1758) – Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles)
E. p. xanthogenia (Bonaparte, 1850) – Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles)
E. p. tortugensis (Cory, 1909) – La Tortuga Island (off north Venezuela)
E. p. margaritensis Cory, 1918 – Margarita Island (off north Venezuela)
E. p. venezuelae (Zimmer, JT & Phelps, 1951) – north, central Venezuela
E. p. surinama (Zimmer, JT & Phelps, 1951) – northeast Venezuela through the north Guianas
E. p. chrysophrys (Swainson, 1838) – southeast Venezuela, central, southwest Guiana and adjacent Brazil
E. p. chrysogenys (Massena & Souancé, 1854) – northwest Brazil
E. p. paraensis (Sick, 1959) – north-central Brazil


The brown-throated parakeet is mostly green, with the lower parts being a lighter green than the upperparts. Black/grey beak. Some blue in the wing feathers. Head and face colours depend on the subspecies. Though most subspecies are brown-throated, both E. p. pertinax and E. p. xanthogenia have most of the head, including the throat, orange-yellow. It is not to be confused with the similarly-named extinct brown-headed parakeet of Raiatea in the Society Islands (Tahiti and its neighbors), more commonly known as the Society parakeet. This species of parakeet predominantly eat seeds (such as Acacia and Cassia) and forage for them in small groups. They also feed on fruits (such as Mangifera), nuts, blossoms and occasionally insects. They utter loud calls while flying through the habitat, foraging groups either respond or stay silent. If the foraging group responds, groups flying above may join the foraging group or carry on.


It is found widely in woodland, savanna and scrub throughout northern South America and the southeastern Caribbean in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Trinidad and Tobago, the ABC islands in the Netherlands Antilles, and northern Brazil (mainly the Rio Negro/Branco region) with a disjunct population in south-western Pará. Another disjunct population is found in southern Central America in Panama and Costa Rica, and is sometimes considered a separate species, the Veraguas parakeet (A. ocularis). The brown-throated parakeet has been introduced to Puerto Rico (where now possibly extirpated), the U.S. Virgin Islands (mainly Saint Thomas, hence the alternative name St. Thomas conure), and various other islands in the Lesser Antilles (at least Dominica; recent sightings also from Martinique and Guadeloupe).


Eurema daira, the fairy yellow, barred yellow or barred sulphur, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. The species was first described by Jean-Baptiste Godart in 1819. It is found from Argentina north to the southern United States. Strays can be found up to southern Arizona, South Dakota, southern Texas and even Washington, D.C.
The wingspan is 32–41 mm. Adults are on wing year round in the southern part of the range and in late summer and fall as vagrant.
The larvae feed on Fabaceae species, including Stylosanthes biflora and Aeschynomene species. Adults feed on the nectar of various flowers including joint vetches and shepherd's needle, and are the principal pollinators of Cnidoscolus urens.


Eurema hecabe, the common grass yellow, is a small pierid butterfly species found in Asia, Africa and Australia. They are found flying close to the ground and are found in open grass and scrub habitats. It is simply known as "the grass yellow" in parts of its range; the general term otherwise refers to the entire genus Eurema.


The common grass yellow exhibits seasonal polyphenism. The lepidopteran has a darker summer morph, triggered by a long day exceeding 13 hours in duration, while the shorter diurnal period of 12 hours or less induces a fairer morph in the post-monsoon period.


Upperside (dorsal surface): yellow, variable in tint from sulphur to rich lemon yellow according to season and locality. Forewing: apex and termen deep black, this colour continued narrowly along the costal margin to base of wing, near which it often becomes diffuse; the inner margin of the black area from costa to vein 4 very oblique and irregular, between veins 2 and 4 excavate on the inner side, this excavation outwardly rounded between the veins and inwardly toothed on vein 3; below vein 2 the black area is suddenly dilated into a square spot which occupies the whole of the tornal angle; the inner margin of this dilatation is variable, in the typical form slightly concave. Hindwing: terminal margin with a narrow black band which is attenuated anteriorly and posteriorly; dorsal margin broadly paler than the ground colour.
The region of dorsal surface that appears visibly yellow to humans also reflects brightly in the ultraviolet (320-400 nm) owing to the presence of multilayer cuticular nanostructures.
Underside (ventral surface): yellow, generally a slightly paler shade than that of the upperside, with the following reddish-brown markings. Forewing: two small spots or specks in basal half of cell and a reniform (kidney-shaped) spot or ring on the discocellulars. Hindwing: a slightly curved subbasal series of three small spots, an irregular slender ring or spot on the discocellulars, followed by a highly irregular, curved, transverse, discal series of spots or specks, some or all of which are often obsolescent. On both the forewings and hindwings, the veins that attain the costal and terminal margins end in minute reddish-brown specks. Antenna are greyish yellow, the club black; head, thorax and abdomen are yellow, shaded with fuscous scales; beneath: the palpi, thorax and abdomen are yellowish white. The sex-mark seen from above appears as a thickening of the basal half of the median vein on the forewing.


Upperside: Very similar to that of the male but without the sex-mark; the black areas on both forewings and hindwings slightly broader, with the inner edge of the black terminal band on the hindwing often diffuse.
Females also have a reduced patch of ultraviolet-reflecting scales located in the proximate region of the dorsal forewing. The mechanism responsible for this colouration is the same as in males but the reflectance is less bright.
Underside: ground colour and markings as in the male. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen similarly coloured.


Upperside: ground colour and markings much as in wet-season specimens, the emargination on the inner side of the black area and the tornal dilatation on the forewing similar. On the hindwing, in the great majority of individuals, the black terminal band is also similar; in a few it is narrower and diffuse inwardly in both sexes.
Underside: ground colour similar to that in wet-season specimens, but very many have a greater or less irroration of black scales over the yellow parts of the wing; the reddish-brown markings on both forewings and hindwings are also similar, but the spots are larger, more clearly defined, darker, and therefore far more conspicuous. In addition, on the forewing there is a preapical, very prominent, transverse, elongate spot or short bar or reddish brown extended downwards from the costa. This spot is irregular in shape and of variable width, but does not seem to ever spread outwards to the actual edge of the termen. In a few specimens there is also a small reddish-brown spot in interspace near the tornus. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen, and in the male, the sex-mark, as in wet-season specimens.


Eggs are laid on Abrus precatorius, Falcataria moluccana, Acacia sp., Aeschynomene species and numerous other Leguminosae, Euphorbiaceae and Cucurbitaceae sp..
Studies suggest that the females can discriminate colours when choosing host plants for oviposition.
Larva: "Long, green, rough, cylindrical, or slightly depressed, with a large head."
Pupa: "Suspended by the tail and by a moderately long band; the abdominal segments are round, but the thorax is much compressed, the wing-cases uniting to form a deep sharp keel. The head-case terminates in a short pointed snout. Ordinarily the pupa is solitary and green, but sometimes on a twig in large numbers. Many Pierine and other larvae seek each others company at that time. Having selected a dead branch of some neighbouring bush, they acquired the colour of their surroundings as nearly all Pierine and Papilionine pupae do to a greater or less extent."
This species has been found to be parasitised by multiple strains of Wolbachia. These bacteria can alter the sex ratios of the species.


E. h. albina Huang, 1994 (Fujian)
E. h. amplexa (Butler, 1887) (Christmas Island)
E. h. biformis (Butler, 1884) (Ambon, Serang)
E. h. brevicostalis Butler, 1898 (Timer to Kai Island)
E. h. diversa (Wallace, 1867) (Buru)
E. h. hecabe Cambodia
E. h. hobsoni (Butler, 1880) (Taiwan)
E. h. kerawara Ribbe, 1898 (Bismarck Archipelago)
E. h. latilimbata (Butler, 1886) (Sumatra, Borneo)
E. h. latimargo Hopffer, 1874 (Celebes)
E. h. mandarina (de l'Orza, 1869) (Japan)
E. h. maroensis (Butler, 1883) (Maroe Island)
E. h. nivaria Fruhstorfer, 1910 (Solomons)
E. h. oeta (Fruhstorfer, 1910) (West Irian to Papua)
E. h. phoebus (Butler, 1886) (Northern Australia)
E. h. solifera (Butler, 1875) (Africa)


The goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis), also known as the goldenrod ball gallmaker, is a species of fly native to North America. The species is best known for the characteristic galls it forms on several species in the Solidago, or goldenrod, genus. The fly's eggs are inserted near the developing buds of the plant. After hatching, the larvae migrate to an area below the plant's developing buds, where they then induce the plant's tissues to form into the hardened, bulbous chamber referred to as a gall. E. solidaginis’s interactions with its host plant(s) and insect, as well as avian, predators have made it the centerpiece of much ecological and evolutionary biology research, and its tolerance of freezing temperatures has inspired studies into the anti-freeze properties of its biochemistry.


Eurosta solidaginis is in the order Diptera and the family Tephritidae. The Tephritidae are commonly referred to as fruit flies, a common name they share with the Drosophilidae family. The goldenrod gall fly was first put into the genus Eurosta by D. W. Cocquillet in 1910. Two subspecies exist: E. solidaginis subsp. solidaginis and E. solidaginis subsp. fascipennis, distinguished morphologically by differences in hyaline regions of the wing margin. The former subspecies can be further subdivided into two host races, one of which forms galls in Solidago altissima and the other in S. gigantea.


E. solidaginis is widely distributed across the United States, ranging from Washington all the way to the eastern seaboard. The two subspecies occupy different ranges, with E. solidaginis subsp. solidaginis being found from the east coast to Minnesota and the Dakotas, up to the southeastern provinces of Canada, and down the southern border of the United States. E. solidaginis subsp. fascipennis, on the other hand, can be found as far west as Washington and as far east as Minnesota.


Adult E. solidaginis emerge from their galls in the spring, with the males emerging prior to the females. The flies proceed to mate on goldenrod plants, and the females use their ovipositors to insert fertilized eggs into the buds of the goldenrod.
Though E. solidaginis has been reported to form galls on seven different species of goldenrod, only three appear to be common targets: Solidago canadensis, S. gigantea and S. altissima. Once the larvae hatch, typically between 5 and 8 days after the egg is laid, the larva eats its way to the base of the goldenrod bud and induces a gall. These galls serve as food sources and shelters from rain, wind and ice. Despite being the larva's overwintering structure, the gall itself does not provide significant insulation. Instead, the larva itself has robust freezing tolerance. The larva feeds on the tissues of the gall and molts twice before excavating a narrow exit tunnel out of the gall in mid-September. After digging its tunnel, without actually opening up the gall to the outside, the larva overwinters and, if it survives, molts into an adult and leaves the gall the following spring.
	A number of predators and parasites prey on the larvae of E. solidaginis. The black-capped chickadee (Parus atricapillus) and the downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) target large galls, breaking them open and removing the larva living inside. The parasitic wasps Eurytoma obtusiventris and E. gigantea also target the gallmaker. The former injects its eggs directly into E. solidaginis larvae prior to gall formation, whereas the latter oviposits into the gall itself. In both cases, the E. solidaginis larvae are consumed. There is also Mordellistena unicolor, a beetle whose larvae, after hatching on the surface of a gall, burrow their way in and feed off of its nutritive tissues. M. unicolor typically kills the E. solidaginis larva inhabiting the gall, but this does not appear to be an essential part of its life cycle. One of the upshots of these interactions is that larvae that produce galls of a moderate size – that is, not small and thin enough for wasps to easily penetrate, but not large enough to attract the attention of birds – have a fitness advantage. In addition to these direct, predatory interactions, a negative correlation has been observed between goldenrod defoliation by Trirhabda beetles, suggesting that competition for plant resources may also have an important role to play in the Eurosta/Solidago system.


The ability of E. solidaginis to survive the freezing temperatures of winter has been the subject of much research. In response to dropping temperatures and the senescence of surrounding plant tissues, the larva begins to synthesize and accumulate sorbitol and glycerol in its tissues. These compounds help protect the larvae against freezing damage by lowering the melting point of their bodily fluids, thus reducing the amount of ice that can form. Aquaporins, membrane proteins involved in the channeling of water, have also been shown to play a key role in E. solidaginis’ freezing tolerance. As ice forms in the larva's bodily fluids, solutes in the unfrozen liquid are concentrated, creating a strong osmotic gradient. In species like E. solidaginis that can channel water quickly enough in response to this freezing stress, water rapidly travels to the solute-rich extracellular environment, switching places with cryoprotectant molecules like glycerol, thus protecting the larva's tissues. Upregulation of these aquaporin proteins in the winter seasons corroborates the hypothesis that they play a key role in freezing tolerance. It has also been found that mild winter temperatures are detrimental to the survival rate of E. solidaginis, with researchers speculating that cool or freezing temperatures may actually benefit the insect by allowing it to conserve energy


Eurybia divaricata (formerly Aster divaricatus), commonly known as the white wood aster, is an herbaceous plant native to eastern North America. It occurs in the eastern United States, primarily in the Appalachian Mountains, though it is also present in southeastern Canada, but only in about 25 populations in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. In the U.S. it is abundant and common, but in Canada it is considered threatened due to its restricted distribution. It can be found in dry open woods as well as along wood-edges and clearings. The species is distinguished by its flower heads that have yellow centers and white rays that are arranged in flat-topped corymbiform arrays, emerging in the late summer through fall. Other distinguishing characteristics include its serpentine stems and sharply serrated narrow heart-shaped leaves. The white wood aster is sometimes used in cultivation in both North America and Europe due to it being quite tough and for its showy flowers.


Eurybia divaricata is a late summer to fall-flowering herbaceous perennial, typically growing to heights between 30 and 90 cm, though some specimens may be up to 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) tall. The plant emerges each year from rhizomes and forms dense colonies of clones that lack sterile rosettes. The rhizomes are branched, elongated and become woody with age. One simple erect stem is present per plant. It is flexible and nearly hairless to finely hairy near the base, though densely covered with fine hair towards the extremities. It is very similar to and often confused with E. chlorolepis, E. schreberi and Symphyotrichum cordifolium, though E. schreberi differs in having wider leaves with more teeth, while E. chlorolepis has more rays, longer involucres, and only occurs in the southern U.S. from Virginia to Georgia.
Three types of leaves with differing morphology are present: cauline leaves, or those that appear on the stem from the middle of the plant upwards; basal leaves, or those that are present at the base of the plant; and distal leaves, which are those found on the extremities of the plant. All types are thin and sharply serrated with 6 to 15 pointed teeth per side. They are ciliate, meaning they have small hairy projections emerging from the margins of the leaf, while the apices, or tips of the leaves, are acuminate, meaning they taper to a point. The adaxial (i.e. upper) surfaces of the leaves are nearly hairless or sparsely hairy, while the abaxial (i.e. lower) surfaces are sparsely hairy with the veins being more villous, or covered in shaggy hairs.
The basal leaves are ovate, or egg-shaped, with bases that are cordate, or heart-shaped. The blades measure 1.9 to 6.5 cm in length by 1.7 to 6 cm (0.67 to 2.36 in) in width and have petioles ranging in length from 2 to 7 cm. They wither when the plant flowers. The cauline leaves have petioles measuring 2.5 to 7 mm (0.098 to 0.276 in) long that are often winged. Their blades are also ovate, though the bases may be cordate to rounded. They measure 2 to 20 cm (1 to 8 in) long by 1 to 10 cm (0.5 to 4 in) wide, making them often much longer than the basal leaves. The distal leaves are typically sessile, meaning that no petiole is present, though they are sometimes subpetiolate, meaning a very short petiole is present. The blades are ovate to lanceolate, meaning lance-shaped, with rounded bases and are 0.5 to 2 cm (0.20 to 0.79 in) long by 0.1 to 0.8 cm (0.039 to 0.315 in) wide.
The capitula, or flower heads, are arranged in relatively flat-topped corymbiform arrays. The capitula number anywhere from 4 to 50 and up to 100 or more in exceptional cases. The peduncles, i.e. the flower stalks, are up to 1.5 cm (0.59 in) in length and are densely covered with non-glandular hairs. Bracts, modified leaves that appear at the axil of a peduncle, are typically absent, though in some cases up to two are present. The involucres, which are the whorls of small, scale-like modified leaves that appear at the base of the capitulum, are in between cylindric and campanulate (i.e. bell-shaped) in shape and measure 4.2 to 6 mm (0.17 to 0.24 in) long, making them much shorter than the pappi.
The phyllaries, which are the small leaves that make up the involucre, number from 25 to 30 and are arranged in 4 to 5 series. The inner phyllaries are between linear and lanceolate in shape with a purplish colouration towards the apices, while the outer ones are more oblong. All of the phyllaries are strongly unequal with hardened bases, margins that are somewhat scarious (i.e. thin, membranous and dry) as well as fimbriate-ciliate, meaning fringed with hair at the margins. Their apices are rounded to acute in shape, while the surfaces are sparsely haired, though sometimes sparsely covered in stipular glands. Their chlorophyllous zones, a darker green zone where chlorophyll is concentrated, appear on the upper half of the outer phyllaries, to the upper third or along the outer midveins of the inner phyllaries. The outer phyllaries typically measure 0.7 to 1.5 mm (0.028 to 0.059 in) wide with the lengths rarely exceeding 2.5 times the width.
As with most members of the family Asteraceae, the actual flowers appear in two different forms: as ray florets, which have strap-like appendages that look like petals and project around the outside of the capitulum, and as disc florets, which appear at the center of the flower head and are very small. The ray florets number between 5 and 10, though as many as 12 may be present. Their straps are white and measure 6 to 12 mm long by 1.5 to 2.2 mm wide. The disc florets number from 12 to 19 and up to 25 and have yellow corollas (i.e. petals, though they are fused into a tube) that are 4.1 to 4.8 and exceptionally 5.5 mm long. Their corollas are abruptly ampliate, or enlarged, with tubes that are longer than their campanulate throats. The tubes measure 2.3 to 2.6 mm while the throats are typically only 0.9 to 1.2 mm long. The lobes, i.e. the friges of the throat, are reflexed and lanceolate in shape, measuring 0.7 to 1.4 mm.
The fruit are cypselae, a type of achene, which are brown in colour, slightly compressed and are between cylindric and obovoid, or inversely egg-shaped. They are between 2.6 and 3.8 mm (0.10 and 0.15 in) in length and sparsely strigillose, or set with stiff bristly hairs, with 7 to 10 ribs, which themselves are tan to stramineous (i.e. straw-coloured). The pappi, which are modified sepals, are made up of reddish to cream-coloured bristles that are 3.7 to 5 mm (0.15 to 0.20 in) long, making them equal to or longer than the disc corollas in length. The bristles are fine and barbellulate, or barb-like, though they may be sometimes more or less clavate, or club-shaped, towards their apices.


Several different plants are superficially quite similar to the white wood aster, but close examination as well as knowledge of the plants' differing habitats and ranges can readily distinguish them. The most similar species is the mountain wood aster (Eurybia chlorolepis), which was previously considered conspecfic with E. divaricata. E. chlorolepis differs in having flower stalks that are longer than 1.5 cm, while those of E. divaricata are shorter than this. The involucres of the mountain wood aster are generally between 6.5 and 9 mm in length, while those of the white wood aster are normally from 4.2 to 6.5 mm long, but in rare cases they may be as long as 7.5 mm. The mountain wood aster almost always has more rays than the white wood aster: the former usually has 12 to 16, but occasionally as few as 10, while the latter generally has 5 to 10 and never more than 12. The rays are also longer on the mountain wood aster at 17 to 18 mm in most cases, while the white wood aster's are generally only 10 to 15 mm. Lastly, E. chlorolepsis is present only from southern Virginia south to Georgia in the Appalachian Mountains at altitudes of 1,200 to 2,000 metres (3,900 to 6,600 ft), while E. divaricata can be found from southern Canada south to Alabama, meaning their ranges only overlap in the southern United States, and there only at high elevations.
Another species commonly confused with the white wood aster is Schreber's aster (Eurybia schreberi). Schreber's aster is typically found on moister soils, though it can also be found on mesic sites. While much of their ranges overlap, Schreber's aster is not found south of Virginia or Tennessee. Schreber's aster can also be distinguished by the more numerous teeth on the leaves, typically numbering 15 to 30 per side to the white wood aster's 6 to 15 per side. The leaves are wider on Schreber's aster with broader sinuses at the bases. The flower stalks are also densely hairy on the white wood aster, while they are only sparsely haired on Schreber's aster. Lastly, the clones of E. schreberi have sterile rosettes, while those of E. divaricata do not.
Two other superficially similar plants include the bigleaf aster (Eurybia macrophylla) and the heartleaf aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium), though both usually have blue or pale blue rays, while those of E. divaricata are always white. Both species sometimes have white rays in rare cases, but E. macrophylla can still be distinguished by its larger and broader leaves and S. cordifolium by its straighter and branched stems.


Eurybia divaricata is present primarily in the Appalachian Mountains in eastern North America, with some populations in adjacent lowlands. It can be found on dry to mesic sites in eastern deciduous and mixed deciduous woods as well as on edges, clearings, and roadsides. It is most common at altitudes ranging from 0 to 1,200 metres (0 to 3,937 ft), though it can be found as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 feet). In Canada, it is present in Ontario and Quebec, while in the United States it can be found in all states from Maine south as far as Alabama and west to Ohio and Kentucky. It also has been introduced to Europe, particularly to the Netherlands.
The species is known from only 25 locations in Canada, and is considered threatened.


While the white wood aster does not compare in popularity to the other cultivated asters, such as the New England aster, it does have its niche, especially in North American native gardens. The plant flowers earlier than many other asters, does not require any staking to support it and flowers well in shade. It is attractive to gardeners due to its showy white flowers that emerge in mid to late summer, its prostrate habit, as well as its hardiness and the minimal maintenance it requires. It has little problem with both disease and insects. They do require partial shade, however, and they perform best when given about 4 hours of sunlight. The plants can be cut to 20 cm (8 in) in the spring in order to delay flowering and increase the number of branches. It is marginally hardy in USDA zone 3, and fully hardy from zones 4 to 8. It is commonly available in North American nurseries and several cultivars have been selected, including:
'Fiesta', which has leaves streaked with white, giving the effect of confetti, and flowers that are light lavender. The selection was made in Waseca, Minnesota.
'Raiche Form', which has white flowers that are larger than usual and darker, thin, sinewy stems. The cultivar was found by Roger Raiche.
'Snow Heron', which has white flowers and dark green leaves splotched and streaked with white. The cultivar was selected from a chance seedling grown at the Heronswood Nursery in Washington.
The young leaves of the plant can be cooked and eaten.


Eurydema oleracea is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae and is commonly known as the rape bug, the crucifer shield bug, the cabbage bug or the brassica bug.
Its specific name oleracea means "related to vegetables/herbs" in Latin and is a form of holeraceus (oleraceus).


The rape bug has a shiny, flat dark-colored body about 5–7 millimetres (0.20–0.28 in) long and 4 millimetres (0.16 in) wide. The species has a dark ground colour which is overlain with red, yellow, cream, white or orange markings. There is an oval spot on the top of the mesonotum and one on each of the elytra as well as a longitudinal stripe on the prothorax. In young adults these spots are yellow but change to white or red in older bugs. The colour of the abdomen changes at the same time from buff to black. Such age-specific changes in the imago coloration, are connected with sexual maturation of the bugs and often take place in diapausing imagos at the time they are becoming active again.
The eggs are cylindrical, buff-colored with a dark pattern. They are laid on the stems and inflorescences of host plants in batches usually of about twelve eggs in two neat rows. Each female lays sixty to eighty eggs over a period of four to six weeks. The nymph is pale gray with a dark-brown pronotum and spots on the dorsal side of the abdomen. It moults five times, and the adults and nymphs live quite openly on plants. Adults overwinter, hibernating in leaf debris at the edge of woods or in bushes.


This species has a wide distribution in the eastern Palearctic realm. It is found in Western Europe except for northern Scandinavia, Kazakhstan, most of Russia, the mountainous regions of west and central Asia, and in North Africa.


These species overwinters as an adult, emerging in late spring. There is one generation in the northern part of their range and two in the south. The adults and nymphs are consumers of a wide range of cruciferous plants (Brassicaceae), feeding mainly on the flowering parts. Among cultivated crops the bugs damage cabbage, radish, turnip, rutabaga, horseradish and rape. They can also develop on many species of wild cruciferous plants. Natural enemies include a number of species of parasitoid wasps in the family Scelionidae, some species of predatory bugs in the family Nabidae, a rare parasitic fly Clytiomya continua, some spiders and ants. They can be controlled by crop rotation, the destruction of cruciferous weeds and the use of insecticides.