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George Washington Memorial ParkwaySouth Wing of Arlington House
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George Washington Memorial Parkway
Insects, Spiders, Centipedes, Millipedes
 
Picture of Red-banded Hairstreak Butterfly

- Photo by Brent Steury

Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops), nectaring on Blue Flase Indigo (Baptisia australis) in Great Falls Park.

This group undoubtedly represents the greatest amount of biodiversity found within the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) and is also the least known in terms of biological inventories. Currently, a total of 76 species of butterflies and 729 species of moths have been documented from GWMP. The only additional taxa that have been documented are 466 species of Coleoptera, 110 species of Hymenoptera, 45 species of Diptera, 38 species of Arachnida, 37 Odonata, 28 Trichoptera, 28 Heteroptera, 5 Homoptera, 4 Neuroptera,  2 Orthoptera, 1 Mecoptera, and 1 Plecoptera.
Aerial view of the Parkway  

Did You Know?
When the original stretch of the George Washington Memorial Parkway opened in 1932, it was called "America's Most Modern Motorway."

Last Updated: June 22, 2009 at 08:36 EST