Critter Cam

These large insects (can grow up to 3 inches long) are not found in Southern California but originate from Madagascar – an island off the coast of eastern Africa. They can live up to 5 years in captivity and typically feed on vegetable material and high-protein pellets (like dog food)!

As their name suggests, Madagascar hissing cockroaches hiss when they feel threatened. Their hiss is produced forcing air through small openings on its back (known as spiracles). Unlike most other cockroaches, these animals do not have wings.

This critter is one of the most common species of snail; it is found worldwide in gardens and moist environments. They are mollusks, a group of animals that include many ocean-dwelling animals such as oysters, mussels, and squid. They typically live 2 to 5 years and grow to be a little larger than an inch.

Garden snails are naturally hermaphroditic, meaning they have both male and female reproduction parts. Despite this, these animals typically mate with a partner.

These common invertebrates are actually the larval form of a species of darkling beetle. Although they eat vegetation and fruits, they are known to feed on stored grains—hence their name. Recently, scientists have discovered that mealworms can also eat and degrade polystyrene (Styrofoam) with no negative effects to the animal.

Mealworms grow up to about an inch, and after about 10 weeks, they transform into a pupa. A few weeks later, a mature darkling beetle emerges.

The Painted Lady is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica and Australia.

The Painted Lady caterpillar is sometimes known as the thistle caterpillar, as it can often be found feeding on this spiny plant. But these caterpillars are generally picky eaters, preferring specific 'host species' such as mallow and thistle to most other types of vegetation. They are also known to eat soybean leaves, potentially making them a pest. (In Southern California, they can feed on Cheeseweed mallow, a common weed found just about anywhere!)

The caterpillars emerge from tiny light blue eggs only a few millimeters long. Over the course of a few weeks, they'll grow to 1-2 inches before they reach their next phase of development--the pupa.

Painted Lady butterflies are known for their great migrations. Here on the West Coast, a full migration can cross several generations, even up to 6 generations occurring on the trip from Mexico, up to Canada and back down South. In spring 2019, following a particularly rainy winter, millions of Painted Ladies were seen migrating across Southern California.