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.
Common House Spider
Tucked into a messy tangle of silk in a quiet corner, the common house spider is one of the most familiar indoor spiders, quietly picking off flies and other small insects that blunder into its web.
spider
Woolly Aphid
A tiny, soft-bodied aphid that hides beneath a dense coat of white, cottony wax filaments, often appearing as fuzzy white patches clustered on bark or twigs rather than as recognizable insects.
true-bug
Cicada Killer's Prey Cicada
A large, thick-bodied, clear-winged insect best known for the loud, buzzing chorus males produce from treetops on hot summer afternoons, and a preferred prey item of the cicada killer wasp.
true-bug
Baltimore Checkerspot
A striking black butterfly checkered with rows of orange and cream-white spots, closely associated with wet meadows and its turtlehead host plant, and recognized as a state insect symbol in parts of its range.
butterfly
Six-spot Burnet Moth
A day-flying moth with glossy black-green forewings marked by six bold red spots and vivid crimson hindwings, a striking warning-colored insect often mistaken for a butterfly as it visits summer wildflowers.
moth
Silverfish Firebrat
Two closely related, wingless, silvery or mottled insects with fish-like darting movements and three long tail bristles, one favoring damp basements and the other thriving near warm ovens and furnaces.
other
Ichneumon Wasp
A slender, long-antennaed parasitoid wasp, often mistaken for a giant mosquito or a stinging insect, that is best known for the extraordinarily long ovipositor some species use to drill into wood and lay eggs on hidden larvae.
wasp
Bush Cricket
Known by its long, thread-like antennae and evening chorus of chirps, this leaf-colored insect spends its life hidden among grass and foliage, often heard far more often than seen.
grasshopper-cricket
Long-Legged Fly
A jewel-bright little fly that flashes metallic green, blue, or bronze in the sunlight as it darts across leaves on comically long, stilt-like legs, pausing to perform quick territorial displays. Both adults and larvae are active hunters of even smaller insects, making this tiny fly a useful predator in gardens and wetlands alike.
fly
Screwworm Fly
A metallic blue-green blowfly whose larvae are unusual among maggots for feeding on living tissue rather than carrion, drawn to even small open wounds on warm-blooded animals. The species has been the target of one of the most successful large-scale insect eradication campaigns in history across much of North America.
fly
Non-Biting Midge Larva (Bloodworm)
Wriggling through soft bottom mud in dense colonies, the bloodworm gets its striking red color from a specialized blood pigment that lets it survive in oxygen-poor water where few other insects can.
aquatic-insect
Vaporer Moth
A tussock moth with dramatic sexual differences: the male is a small rusty-brown day-flying moth with a white wing spot, while the female is a flightless, wingless gray sac-like insect that never leaves her cocoon.
moth
Goliath Birdeater
The heaviest spider in the world, the Goliath birdeater is a massive, hairy tarantula from the South American rainforest whose leg span can rival a dinner plate, though despite its name it primarily hunts insects and other invertebrates rather than birds.
spider
Snipe Fly
A slender, long-legged fly often seen perched head-down on a sunny tree trunk or fence post, patiently watching for smaller insects to ambush. Its tapered, wasp-like abdomen and habit of resting motionless with legs splayed give it a distinctive, almost sentry-like posture in woodland clearings.
fly
Vinegar Fly
A tiny tan fly with bright red eyes that seems to appear out of nowhere the moment a banana starts to spoil, drawn in by the smell of fermentation rather than the fruit itself. Few insects have contributed more to the science of genetics, making this unassuming kitchen visitor one of the most studied animals on Earth.
fly