Bug Encyclopedia
Search and identify bugs & insects — beetles, butterflies, moths, ants, bees, spiders and more — with size, habitat, danger, behavior, and how to tell them apart.
Snakefly
A slender predator named for its habit of rearing up its long, mobile neck like a tiny cobra when hunting or threatened.
other
Midge
A slender, mosquito-like fly that forms dense swarms near water at dusk, easily mistaken for a mosquito but lacking any biting mouthparts.
fly
Moth
A broad group of scale-winged insects related to butterflies, typically nocturnal, with stout, often furry bodies and feathery or thread-like antennae.
moth
Peck's Skipper
A tiny, tawny-orange and brown skipper with a bold, irregular yellow patch on the underside of the hindwing that looks almost like a splash of paint.
butterflyTussock Moth Caterpillar
A boldly tufted caterpillar bristling with dense brush-like hair tussocks and long dark pencil plumes that give it an almost punk-rock silhouette.
caterpillar-larvaGall Mite
An almost worm-shaped, microscopic mite that induces plants to grow strange pouches, pockets, and felt-like patches around its feeding sites.
arachnidFlea Beetle
A tiny, shiny beetle that springs away like a flea when disturbed, leaving characteristic small round holes peppered across the leaves it feeds on.
beetle
Goliath Beetle
One of the largest and heaviest beetles on Earth, a massive scarab with a bold pattern of black, white, and brown stripes across its shield-like body.
beetle
Caddisfly
A moth-like insect whose larvae are famous for constructing portable protective cases out of silk and whatever sand, twigs, or debris they can find.
aquatic-insect
Robber Fly
A powerfully built, bristly-faced predatory fly that ambushes other flying insects in midair, piercing them with a stout beak-like proboscis.
fly
Hercules Beetle
One of the largest beetles in the world, with males bearing dramatic, forceps-like horns nearly as long as the rest of their armored, olive-green body.
beetle
Comet Moth (Madagascan Moon Moth)
One of the largest and most spectacular silk moths in the world, with pale yellow-to-red wings and extraordinarily long, ribbon-like tails on the hindwings.
moth
Scorpionfly
A harmless scavenger whose alarming name comes from the male's swollen, upturned abdominal tip, which curls like a scorpion's tail but carries no sting.
other
Black Soldier Fly
A sleek, dark, wasp-like fly whose larvae are voracious decomposers of decaying organic material, while the short-lived adults do not feed at all.
fly
Water Measurer
Thin as a splinter and slow-stepping across the surface film, the water measurer creeps along pond edges spearing tiny prey with its needle-like snout.
true-bug
Saucer Bug
Flattened and rounded like its namesake, the saucer bug is a stout, oval predator that lurks among pondweed, ambushing small invertebrates and other prey with a piercing beak.
true-bug
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth
A robust, olive-and-burgundy day-flying moth with mostly transparent wings that hovers at flowers exactly like a tiny hummingbird, unspooling a long proboscis to sip nectar.
moth
European Stag Beetle
Europe's largest beetle, a glossy dark brown insect in which males carry oversized antler-like mandibles used to wrestle rivals, resembling the antlers of a stag.
beetleWater Boatman Bug
A boat-shaped little swimmer that rows through pond water with oar-like hind legs, grazing on algae rather than hunting other animals.
true-bug
Walking Stick Insect
A master of disguise that has evolved to look almost exactly like a twig, bark or leaf, remaining motionless for hours to avoid the notice of hungry birds and lizards.
mantis-stickThrips
A minuscule, slender insect with fringed, feather-like wings, often noticed only as a fast-moving dark speck darting across a flower petal or windowsill.
other
Northern Walkingstick
A slender, wingless insect so convincingly shaped like a twig that it can rest motionless on a branch just inches from view and go completely unnoticed.
mantis-stick
Elephant Hawk-Moth
A strikingly colored olive-green and bright pink hawk moth named for its caterpillar's trunk-like tapered front end and large false eyespots.
mothCaterpillar
The soft-bodied, segmented larval stage of butterflies and moths, recognized by its worm-like shape, multiple pairs of stubby legs, and voracious appetite for leaves.
caterpillar-larva