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Plants are living things that use sunlight to make their own food. Most plants have leaves, stems, roots and either flowers or cones.

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Insects are small animals with six legs and a hard outer shell called an exoskeleton. Most have wings and antennae.

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Reptiles have dry skin covered with scales or bony plates and usually lay soft-shelled eggs.

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Birds have wings, though they cannot all fly. All birds also have feathers. In fact, birds are the only living animal that hat have feathers.

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A mammal is an animal that breathes air, has a backbone and grows hair at some point during its life. Female mammals produce milk to feed their babies. Mammals are among the most intelligent of all living creatures.

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Description: Ornate box turtles are 4 to 5 inches long. They have a flattened dome-like shell that is brown marked with radiating yellow marks that look like starbursts. Their lower shell is also brown marked with yellow. Their skin is gray; the head is dark brown with yellow marks.

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Habitat and behavior: Blanding's turtles are semi-aquatic. They spend a lot of their time in water, but are known to travel long distances over land. In Illinois, they live on wet prairie or wetlands, near water. They eat, breed, and hibernate in water, preferring muddy-bottomed lakes or ponds.

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Fast Facts: Prairie rattlesnake

Species name: Crotalus viridis viridis
Average length: 89 cm to 114 cm
Life expectancy: 16-20 years

Did you know?

The prairie rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in the Canadian prairies.

Physiology

The prairie rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in the Canadian prairies.

It is best known for the unique rings on the end of its tail that knock together and make a rattling sound. The flat, triangular-shaped head hides a pair of the retractable fangs. The body ranges from greenish gray to greenish brown in colour, with dark blotches on the back and a cream-coloured underbelly.

A rattle is added to the string each time the rattlesnake sheds its skin, which happens up to five times in its first summer and around one to two times a year after that. Males tend to have more rings than females.

Habitats/Behaviours

Because it is cold blooded, the prairie rattlesnake's body temperature is affected by its surroundings.

During the winter it hibernates in caves and in the burrows of other animals. In the cool spring and fall weather the rattlesnake hunts in the daytime, while the hotter summer days force it to hunt at night.

The prairie rattlesnake is not aggressive and will usually flee if given the chance. But as a predator it has unique assets. It uses its tongue as part of its smell- and heat-sensing membranes, allowing it to detect something from as far as 30 metres away.

The prairie rattlesnake hunts by striking rapidly at its prey and immobilizing them with the poisonous venom in its fangs. Its normal striking distance is two-thirds of the snake's body length (60 to 76 centimetres, on average). The rattlesnake preys upon small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and ground nesting birds.

Range

The prairie rattlesnake can be found in southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta. In the United States, its range extends from Idaho and Montana to western Iowa to northern Mexico.
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Species name: Crotalus viridis viridis Average length: 89 cm to 114 cm Life expectancy: 16-20 years The prairie rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in the Canadian prairies. The prairie rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in the Canadian prairies.

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Description: Illinois slant-faced grasshoppers average about 25-39 mm. long. Females are mostly green with brown markings. Males are dark brown with a yellowish-white stripe. Its slim body blends in with blades of grass. Wings allow it to move from one area of grass to another.

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Description of the Thirteen lined Ground Squirrel: The thirteen-lined squirrel is from 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 inches long, with a tail that is 2 1/2 to 5 inches long. The body is light to dark brown, with 13 stripes down its back. The stripes alternate between solid white and ark with white dots.

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Description: The plains pocket gopher is a small, solitary (lives alone) rodent. It is 5 1/2 to 9 inches long. In Illinois, this type of pocket gopher is black, rather than yellowish brown. It has large forefeet with strong claws and toes with bristles for digging.

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Interesting facts: Prairie voles use postures to indicate behaviors toward enemies or competitors. They signal a threat by raising their forefeet, extending their head forward, and chattering their teeth. Other postures are the upright stand, the lunge, boxing, wrestling, the chase, and retreat.

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Description: The eastern massasauga ranges in size from 17 to about 40 inches in length. It is heavy-bodied, with several rows of dark brown or gray splotches down the back and sides. It has a rattle on its tail, and it is poisonous. The body color is gray or light brown.

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Insects

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The monarch ( Danaus plexippus), Karner blue ( Lycaeides melissa samuelis), Quino checkerspot ( Euphydryas editha quino), Saint Francis' satyr ( Neonympha mitchellii francisci) and Oregon silverspot ( Speyeria zerene hippolyta) butterflies are all important species for Defenders because of their imperiled status.

Each species is reliant on specific plants or plant families as hosts for their eggs and caterpillars. Their relationship with host plants may be disrupted as the world warms: the plants may most northward so that butterflies can't find them; the butterflies may have to make longer, perilous migrations; and intensifying storms may blow butterflies off course. Pesticides harm species like butterflies even though they are not the target, and overuse of these chemicals destroys important habitats.

Human development is threatening migratory and non-migratory butterflies by fragmenting migration pathways and destroying habitats. Border barriers and other high walls can also block migrations because species like the Quino checkerspot only fly a few feet off the ground.

Defenders works continually to ensure that Congress takes actions that maintain conservation funding for programs, such as the Farm Bill, that benefit landowners and wildlife like butterflies, while preserving environmental protections.

Defenders fights for proper consultation with the Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Services to ensure that activities like pesticide application or development won't further jeopardize imperiled species.

We are also opposing the proposed border wall that may harm butterflies; wall proposals directly target the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, as well as Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park and the National Butterfly Center.

The greatest threats to butterflies are habitat change and loss due to residential, commercial and agricultural development. Climate change, widespread pesticide use, and invasive species are also threatening many species of butterflies, because of both direct impacts and indirect impacts on native host plants.

The monarch's status is under review.

The Oregon silverspot is listed as threatened.

The Quino checkerspot, St. Francis' satyr and Karner blue butterflies are all listed as endangered.

The IUCN has designated the monarch migration a threatened phenomenon.

Create healthy butterfly habitat in your backyard, at your school or business or even on your porch or balcony by planting native flowering plants. Don't use pesticides on your plants!

The world's smallest known species, the blue pygmy found in southern California, has a wingspan of just over half an inch. The largest species, New Guinea's Queen Alexandra's birdwing, can measure up to 12 inches across.

The average lifespan for an adult butterfly is 20 to 40 days. Some species live no longer than three or four days; others may live up to six months.

The monarch is widely distributed across North America, from Central America northwards to southern Canada, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts.
The Karner blue butterfly was found in a continuous band throughout its range but today is found in portions of New Hampshire, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Minnesota.
The Quino checkerspot butterfly is found in a few counties in southern California and northern Mexico.
No populations of St. Francis' satyr have been discovered outside of Department of Defense lands at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.
The Oregon silverspot once thrived in coastal habitat in Oregon, Northern California and Washington, but today it is found at only four locations in Oregon.

Population numbers are generally unknown, but due to shrinking habitat and other threats, populations are threatened and declining.

Some species migrate to avoid adverse conditions. Most migrate relatively short distances, but monarchs migrate over 3000 miles. Monarchs can produce four generations in one summer. The first three generations will have life spans from two to six weeks and will continue moving north. During this time, they will mate and have the next generation that will continue the northward migration. The fourth generation is different and can live up to nine months. These are the butterflies that will migrate south for winter to either Mexico or southern California. Camouflage and chemical defense, where the butterfly has evolved to have toxic chemicals in its body, help defend butterflies from predators. While camouflaged species often look like bark or leaves, toxic butterflies are often brightly colored, and predators associate their bright color with the chemicals.

From egg to adult, butterflies undergo a series of physical transformations known as metamorphosis. After mating, the female butterfly lays her eggs on a caterpillar food or "host" plant. The eggs can hatch within a few days, or within months or even years, depending on whether conditions are right. Caterpillars shed their skin several times as they grow, and then form a chrysalis or pupa. Days, months or even years later, depending on the species, a fully developed winged adult emerges from the chrysalis and the cycle begins anew.

Butterflies rely on the nectar from flowering plants. Caterpillars of each species have their own preferences: monarch eat milkweed, Karner blue eat wild blue lupine, Quino checkerspot eat dwarf plantain, St. Francis' satyr eat sedges and Oregon silverspot eat early blue violet.

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The monarch (Danaus plexippus), Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), Quino checkerspot (Euphydryas editha quino), Saint Francis' satyr (Neonympha mitchellii francisci) and Oregon silverspot (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) butterflies are all important species for Defenders because of their imperiled status. Each species is reliant on specific plants or plant families as hosts for their eggs and caterpillars.

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Description: The eastern plains garter snake is a medium-sized (to 40 inches long), slender snake. It can be identified by its three light stripes that run the length of its body. The basic color of the body is brown; the dorsal (back) stripe is yellow-orange; the side stripes are yellowish-gray.

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Interesting facts: The ears of the conehead grasshopper (and many other long-horned grasshoppers or katydids) are located at the top of the tibia (lower section) of each front leg. They can hear the sounds of some of their predators, such as the sounds put out by bats when they are trying to locate prey.

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Habitat and behavior: The blazing star borer moth, as its name suggests, is dependent upon the blazing star plant(Liatris spicata, Liatris pychnostachya, and Liatris aspera) to survive. The blazing star is a prairie plant that grows in mesic soil.

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Interesting facts: The female Grasshopper Sparrow incubates its eggs in the nest for 12 days. Meanwhile, the male protects their territory of 2-3 acres by singing from his position on a post, tall grass or other perch. Nine days after the young hatch, they leave the nest, which is on the ground under shrubs and grass.

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Description: The prairie kingsnake is a large, slender snake that grows up to 50 inches long. Its ground color is a neutral gray, tan, olive, or brown. The dark blotches are dark gray or brown, or (in southern Illinois) red-brown. The blotches may go across the back similar to bands, or may be large dots towards the sides.

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Description: An Upland Sandpiper is 11-12 inches long and weighs 6 to 7 ounces. Its wingspan is about 20 inches. Its body is brown, streaked with buff and black marks. The legs are yellowish-gray. The bill is black on top and yellow below. The neck, chest, and belly are whitish streaked with dark.

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Habitat and behavior: Bobolinks migrate at night from the north half of South America, where they spend November through March. They travel more than 6,000 miles up to the northern United States and Canada, where they stay during May through July. They uncommonly nest in Illinois; most pass through in the spring and fall.

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Eastern Meadowlark Lithograph, 22 by 28 inches Reproduced from the original painting by Richard Sloan, who was commissioned by the Griggsville Wild Bird Society to creat a series of state bird paintings. Copyright J.L.

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Interesting facts: The male Northern Harrier feeds the female while she is sitting on eggs and for 2 weeks after they hatch. He catches prey, flies home, and calls to the female from the air. She flies up and catches the prey as he drops it to her.

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Description: The Short-eared Owl gets its name from its very small tufts--the two bunches of short feathers that stick out near the top of the head. Its facial disk is round with few markings, except black rims around the eyes. Its bill is black and its eyes are yellow.