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.
Longhorn Beetle
A beetle instantly recognizable by antennae often longer than its own body, ranging from small woodland species to large, dramatically patterned tropical and temperate forms.
beetle
Ladybug
A small, round, brightly colored beetle with a domed, shiny shell typically red or orange with black spots, one of the most recognizable and beloved beetles found in gardens worldwide.
beetle
Ground Beetle
A fast-moving, shiny black or metallic beetle with long legs and prominent jaws, usually found scurrying under rocks and debris where it hunts other small invertebrates.
beetle
Karner Blue
A tiny, silvery-blue butterfly dependent entirely on wild lupine and now known chiefly from a small number of protected sandy-soil habitats in the Great Lakes and Northeast.
butterfly
Blue Dasher Dragonfly
A small, common dragonfly whose mature males combine a powdery blue abdomen with brilliant green eyes, often seen perched horizontally with its tail raised skyward.
dragonfly
Indian Meal Moth
A small, distinctively two-toned moth with pale grey-tan inner wings and coppery-reddish outer wings, widely recognized as the most common moth found infesting stored dry food products in homes.
mothTreehopper
A small, oddly shaped sap-feeding bug best known for an enlarged, often bizarre pronotum extending backward over its body, sometimes shaped like a thorn, leaf, or spike.
true-bug
Pearl Crescent
A small, orange-and-black checkered butterfly that is one of the most abundant and widespread species in open fields across the continent, easily recognized by its crescent-shaped pale marking on the hindwing underside.
butterfly
Brown-banded Cockroach
A small, glossy tan-brown cockroach marked with two light bands across its wings, often found tucked into furniture and warm upper rooms rather than kitchens and bathrooms.
otherBlister Beetle
An elongated, soft-bodied beetle with a distinctly narrow neck, often seen feeding in small groups on flowers, and known for releasing a defensive chemical from its leg joints when disturbed.
beetle
Blue Orchard Bee
A small, metallic blue-black solitary bee widely valued as an efficient early-spring pollinator of fruit trees, nesting in narrow tunnels and hollow stems rather than building hives.
bee
Vinegaroon
A robust, dark, scorpion-like arachnid whose long, thin whip for a tail gives it its name, and whose signature defense is spraying a concentrated mist of vinegar-scented fluid rather than stinging. Despite its intimidating look, it has no venom at all.
arachnid
Wandering Glider
One of the most widely traveled insects on Earth, this golden dragonfly rides high-altitude winds across oceans and continents, rarely landing as it forages endlessly on the wing.
dragonfly
American Carrion Beetle
A broad, flattened black beetle with a striking pale yellow shield behind its head, commonly found on and around small animal carcasses where it feeds alongside fly larvae.
beetle
Lantern Bug (Peanut-head Bug)
A bizarre rainforest planthopper whose head is drawn out into a huge, hollow, peanut-shaped snout, and whose hindwings flash a pair of large eyespots resembling the face of a small reptile.
true-bugBurying Beetle
A black beetle marked with bold orange-red bands, notable for locating small dead animals, burying them underground, and cooperatively raising larvae with a partner over the buried carcass.
beetle
Vapourer Moth
A small tussock moth with striking sexual dimorphism: rusty-orange, day-flying males with feathery antennae contrast with flightless, grub-like grey females that never leave their cocoon to lay eggs.
mothTortoise Beetle
A small, flat, disc-shaped beetle whose expanded wing covers and pronotum hide its head and legs almost entirely, giving it the look of a miniature turtle shell crawling across a leaf.
beetle
Luna Moth Caterpillar
A large, plump, apple-green caterpillar with faint yellow side stripes and rows of small red-orange tubercles, the larval form of one of North America's most beautiful giant silk moths.
caterpillar-larva
Case-bearing Clothes Moth
A tiny, drab tan moth whose larva constructs and carries a small portable silk case as it feeds on wool, fur, and other keratin-based fibers, making it a recognized fabric pest in homes.
mothWhip Scorpion
A flattened, spider-like arachnid with a pair of extraordinarily long, whip-thin front legs used to feel out its surroundings in the dark, and large spiny pedipalps held out front like a crab's claws. Despite the name and fearsome appearance, it has no stinger and no fangs.
arachnidSilverfish 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.
otherDamsel Bug
A slender, tan to brown true bug with a narrow head and elongated front legs adapted for grasping, the damsel bug is a common predator patrolling foliage for soft-bodied insects.
true-bug
American Lady
A boldly patterned orange-and-black brushfoot butterfly best identified by two large eyespots on its underside hindwing and a distinctive small white spot within the orange field of its forewing.
butterfly