Plants and Animals:
Insects

Some insects require specific plants that grow at Midewin NTP for food or the completion of their life cycle. Examples include the Silphium root borer (Papaipema silphii), an insect whose nymphs are dependent on Silphium for food. The indigo stem borer (Papaipema baptisiae), Liatris stem borer (Papaipema beeriana), and ironweed stem borer (Papaipema cerussata) have larvae that depend on the plants for which they are named to survive. The Eryngium stem borer (Papaipema eryngii) is a state endangered species whose larvae also depend upon a plant, the rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccafolium) that occurs at Midewin in order to survive.

The larvae of skippers, moth-like butterflies, feed almost entirely on sedges and grasses. The two-spotted skipper (Euphyes bimacula), which is on the watch list in Illinois, is present at Midewin, along with two other skippers, the Dion skipper (Euphyes dion) and black dash (Euphyes conspicua).

Black Swallowtail in field with Blazing Star (Liatris pychnostachya)

Many of the butterflies and moths that inhabit the prairie are specialized pollinators and responsible for the cross-pollination of prairie plants that would not otherwise reproduce. They pollinate many of the plants in the Asteraceae which include coneflowers, sunflowers, and black-eyed Susans. The monarch (Danaus plexippus) is one of the most widely distributed of the butterflies. Its larva feeds exclusively on the leaves of milkweed (Asclepias sp.) . Black swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes) are among the important pollinators of characteristic prairie wildflowers.

Dragonflies (Odonata) and numerous leafhoppers (Homoptera) also inhabit the prairies. Dragonfly nymphs of the genus Sympetrum (meadowhawks) utilize seasonal ponds and prairie potholes.

A wide variety of animals at Midewin depend on insects either as a major food source or as supplementary to their diet. The table below provide just a few examples of the many insect-eating inhabitants of the prairie.