Illinois Insects: teaching poster

              Insects and their relatives (arthropods) make up nearly 80 percent of the known animal species. Scientists
currently estimate that 5 to 15 million species of insects exist. In contrast, 5,000 species of mammals are
found on our planet. In Illinois, we have more than 20,000 species of insects, and many more likely
occur, as yet undetected in our state! The scientific study of insects is known as entomology. Entomologists
study insects for many reasons, including their incredible number of species and their wide variety of sizes,
colors, shapes, and lifestyles. The 24 species depicted on this poster were selected by Michael R. Jeffords of
the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Natural History Survey, to represent the variety of
insects occurring in our state.
Order Ephemeroptera mayfly
Order Coleoptera black locust borer
click beetle
elephant stag beetle
lady beetle
Order Plecoptera stonefly
Order Orthoptera birdwing grasshopper
Carolina mantis
katydid
Order Hemiptera large milkweed bug
stink bug
wheel bug
Order Diptera bot fly
crane fly
horse fly
robber fly
syrphid fly
Order Homoptera leafhopper
prairie cicada
Order Phasmida walking stick
Order Neuroptera mantisfly
Order Odonata widow skimmer
Order Megaloptera alderfly
Order Hymenoptera ichneumon wasp
This poster was made possible by:
mayfly
leafhopper
katydid
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Division of Education
Illinois Natural History Survey
Illinois State Museum
Text: Michael R. Jeffords, IDNR, Illinois Natural History Survey
Species List
Photographs ©
Michael R. Jeffords
syrphid fly
large milkweed bug (adults and nymphs)
robber fly
birdwing grasshopper
horse fly
stink bug
widow skimmer
alderfly
wheel bug
lady beetle
walking stick
crane fly
black locust borer
prairie cicada
Carolina mantis
stonefly (nymph)
elephant stag beetle ichneumon wasp click beetle
mantisfly
bot fly
I l l i n o i s
Insects