2. Family formicidae - Ants - Mutualistic - No: Though ants may be beneficial to plants, they often are seen as a pest that steals away your picnic food.
3. Cimicidae - Bed Bug - Parasitic - No: Bed bugs feed off of humans and are not beneficial to us. There's even a scare that they are coming back to AZ!
4. Felis sylvestris catus - American shorthair cat- Mutualistic - Yes: Cats may be lazy but we domesticated them for a reason. Cats provide some people with happiness and others with allergies, they also feed off of mice and birds sometimes.
5. Black widow - Predator - No: Black widows are predators because they hurt people and are highly feared of...unless you catch these things for a living! :)
6. Columbia fasciata - Pigeons - Mutualistic - No: It seems that all they do is poop on the railings but pigeons do eat rodents and serve some purpose to us.
7. Coccinellidae - Lady bug - Mutualistic - No: The lady bug may serve as a form of entertainment for some people but other than that they just eat other bugs.
8. Carabidae - Ground beetle - Mutualistic - No: Though these beetles have a defense against humans with their stench, they are no real threat to us and they eat other bugs along the way.
9. Lactoca Sativa - Lettuce - Commensal - No: We eat it! We are the predator and they are the prey. We help it grow and nurture it until it is time to eat it, then we get nourishment from it. (as do various bugs)
10. Micruroides eurykanthus - Arizona Coral Snake - Mutualistic - Yes/No: A snake may be kept as a pet. They will eat rats and mice.
11. Culiciade - Mosquito - Parasitic - No: This species also feeds off of us, by biting and eating our blood! We definately do not benefit, but the mosquito does.
12. Cactus peromyscus eremicus - Cactus - Commensal - No: Cactuses grow and actually provide life and energy to those that feed upon it.
13. M. Mexicanus - Wasps - Mutualistic - No: These things hurt! They are like silent predators to humans with allergies!
14. Heloderma suspectum - Gila monster - Predator - No/Yes: When these things bite, it isn't likely they are going to let go. But fear not! You are not as likely to run into one unless you are out in the desert or at a zoo.
15. Felis concolor - Mountain lion - Predator - No: Mountain lions used to always roam around our house at night when we first moved here and there weren't many houses around...about 12 years ago. These will eat you if you aren't careful.
16. Canis latrans say - Coyote - Mutualistic/Predator - No: Coyotes generally travel in packs and will attack if hungry but if you stay out of their way, you should be okay.
17. Antilocapra americana - Antelope - Mutualistic - No: Antelope generally run around and are no harm to people.
18. Taxidea taxus - Badger - Mutualistic - No: These are ugly animals that are also quite viscious. Badgers don't want to lose and are not recommended highly to have as a pet.
19. Geococcyx californianus - Roadrunner - Mutualistic - No: Roadrunners are swift little birds that just roam around looking for bugs to eat.
20. Pituophis melanoleucus daudin - Bullsnake/Gopher snake - Mutualistic - No: These aren't necessarily dangerous to humans either, but like any other animal, you don't want to play around with them and get it mad or you may come out bitten.
21. Equus caballus - Horse - Mutualistic - Yes: Horses are thought of as pets in the fashion that they even have their own sporting games. Horses are almost like dogs when it comes to man's best friend.
22. Cophosaurus texanus - Lizard - Mutualistic - Yes: Lizards serve as pets for many young boys. They do not harm us and we simply like to observe them. They eat many insects that may be bothersome to us.
23. Lepus califonicus - Jack Rabbit - Commensal - Yes: They eat many other organisms such as various plant-life. The jack rabbit is fast and could serve as a pet.
24. Homo sapien - Human - Commensal - Yes: The food we eat mostly is from other organisms.
25. Bos Taurus - Beef - Commensal - Yes: We eat it and it comes from cows!!
26. Opodiphthera eucalypti - Moth - Symbiotic - No: Though they may be freaky, moths don't really do anything to us, just serve as food to other organisms.
27. Anisoptera Carnivorous - Dragon fly - Mutualistic - No: These help get rid of other insects.
28. M. sanguinipes - Grasshopper - Commensal - No: These hoppers may serve as food for some people and other animals but in the U.S. they are mostly just bugs that disturb people.
As you can see we are all part of a large ecosystem full of life that we may not notice on a daily basis but just as we do they live, eat, sleep, mate, and die. Evolution has provided us with so much diversity and it's that diversity that we want to keep in this world. So next time you walk out the door go ahead and see how many different species you see in a day!
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