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.
Africanized Honeybee (Killer Bee)
A hybrid strain of the western honey bee, nearly identical in appearance to common honey bees but known for more easily triggered, faster, and more numerous defensive responses when a colony is disturbed.
beeCodling Moth Larva
The classic 'worm in the apple,' this pinkish-white caterpillar tunnels straight to the core of apples and pears, leaving a telltale frass-plugged entry hole behind.
caterpillar-larvaSoft Tick
A wrinkled, leathery, bean-shaped tick that hides by day in nests and cracks, emerging briefly at night to feed and then vanish again.
arachnid
Comet Darner
One of North America's largest and fastest dragonflies, blazing across open water with a fiery red abdomen that gives it its cometary name.
dragonflyCluster Fly
A sluggish, dark fly covered in fine golden hairs that gathers by the hundreds on sun-warmed walls in autumn before slipping indoors to spend the winter.
fly
Face Fly
A house fly look-alike that clusters persistently around the eyes, muzzle, and face of grazing livestock to feed on moisture and secretions.
flyWater Mite
A brilliantly colored, ball-shaped mite that swims through freshwater ponds and streams using fringed, oar-like legs.
arachnid
Wheel Bug
A large, gray, armored-looking true bug named for the distinctive cog-like crest rising from its back, one of the biggest and most unmistakable assassin bugs in North America.
true-bugOwlfly
An acrobatic, dragonfly-mimicking predator instantly given away by its long, clubbed antennae, a feature no true dragonfly ever has.
other
Mining Bee
A furry, solitary ground-nesting bee that emerges in early spring in loose aggregations, often mistaken for a small bumble bee, digging individual burrows marked by small volcano-shaped mounds of soil.
beeCicada 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
Yellow Fever Mosquito
A dark mosquito marked with a lyre-shaped pattern of white scales on its thorax, closely tied to human dwellings and the water-filled containers people leave standing around them.
fly
Broad-Headed Bug
A slender, dark true bug with a notably wide head, whose nymphs are remarkable ant mimics that scurry among leaf litter before maturing into fliers that resemble small leaf-footed bugs.
true-bug
Luna Moth
A large, pale lime-green silk moth with long, elegant tails trailing from its hindwings, considered one of the most striking nocturnal insects in North America.
moth
Dog Tick
A flattened, oval arachnid with mottled silvery markings that waits on grass tips and low brush for a passing host to climb aboard and attach.
arachnid
Bark Scorpion
A slender, pale tan scorpion best known for its unusual habit of climbing trees, walls, and rock faces rather than staying on the ground like most scorpions. Its thin build and long, narrow tail set it apart from the stockier, heavy-clawed scorpions found elsewhere.
arachnid
Red-spotted Purple
A large, iridescent blue-black butterfly lacking tails, notable for closely mimicking the unpalatable Pipevine Swallowtail, with rows of red-orange spots visible along the underside wing margins.
butterfly
Oleander Hawk-Moth
A large, strikingly camouflaged hawk-moth patterned in swirling olive-green, pink, and cream stripes that resemble oleander foliage, with a streamlined, torpedo-shaped body built for fast, hovering flight.
moth
Squash Bug
A flat-backed, brownish-gray true bug commonly found clustered on the leaves and stems of squash and pumpkin plants, where it feeds by piercing plant tissue.
true-bug
Luna Silkmoth
A large, pale lime-green silkmoth with long, trailing tails on its hindwings and delicate eyespots, widely regarded as one of the most striking moths in North America.
moth
Grain Moth
A tiny buff-colored moth whose larvae tunnel invisibly inside individual kernels of stored grain, hollowing them out from within.
moth
Ghost Mantis
A small, angular mantis crowned with a leaf-shaped crest, so thoroughly disguised as a withered leaf that it seems to vanish into dead foliage.
mantis-stickTermite Swarmer
A dense, short-lived cloud of dark, equal-winged insects pouring from a crack in soil or wood, each one a would-be founder of a brand-new termite colony.
other
Pink Toe Tarantula
An agile, tree-dwelling tarantula with a dark velvety body and distinctive pale pink tips on its feet, the pink toe spends nearly its entire life above ground, spinning silk retreats among leaves and bark high in the rainforest canopy.
spider