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.
Bed Bug
A small, flat, reddish-brown, wingless insect shaped like an apple seed that hides in mattress seams and bed frames by day and emerges at night to feed.
true-bug
Mexican Bean Beetle
A copper-colored, spotted beetle resembling an overgrown ladybird that feeds on bean plant leaves along with its spiny yellow larvae.
beetle
Flour Beetle
A tiny, shiny reddish-brown beetle that infests flour, cereal, and other dry stored foods, often found in dense clustered populations.
beetle
Marbled White
A striking checkerboard butterfly with bold black-and-white wing patterning, despite its name it belongs to the brown butterfly family rather than the whites.
butterfly
Powderpost Beetle
A small, slender reddish-brown to dark brown beetle whose larvae tunnel through seasoned hardwood, reducing it internally to a fine, powdery frass.
beetle
Cabbage White
A common, small white butterfly with one or two black wing spots, whose green caterpillars are a familiar sight feeding on cabbage-family garden plants.
butterfly
Mud Dauber Wasp
Slender, long-waisted wasps that build distinctive nests from mud, mud daubers stock their cells with paralyzed spiders. Their tube or urn-shaped mud nests are common under eaves and bridges.
wasp
Blue Morpho Butterfly
A dazzling, hand-sized rainforest butterfly whose wings flash brilliant metallic blue in flight, an effect created not by pigment but by microscopic light-bending scales.
butterfly
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
Screech Beetle
This small, oval water beetle earns its name from the loud squeak it produces when picked up, a sound made by rubbing internal body parts together rather than by any vocal organ.
beetle
Calico Pennant
This small, boldly patterned skimmer flashes red or yellow wing patches and heart-shaped abdominal spots as it flutters low over pond vegetation like a tiny pennant flag.
dragonfly
Common Baskettail
One of the earliest dragonflies to appear each spring, this brown, green-eyed skimmer often swarms in numbers over sunny clearings before most other species have emerged.
dragonfly
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
March Brown Mayfly
A speckled, mottled-winged mayfly whose springtime hatch is prized by anglers, the March Brown emerges from clean, rocky streams and is one of the earlier large mayflies of the season.
aquatic-insect
Familiar Bluet
One of the most widespread and abundant damselflies in North America, the Familiar Bluet's slender sky-blue and black body is a near-constant sight over ponds and lakes in warm months.
other
Great Green Bush Cricket
Europe's largest bush cricket, this brilliant grass-green insect fills warm summer evenings with a loud, sustained buzzing call audible from a considerable distance.
grasshopper-cricket
Devil's Flower Mantis
One of the largest mantis species on Earth, this striking insect can suddenly rear up and fan out vividly colored wings and legs into a dramatic, flower-like threat display.
mantis-stick
Leaf Insect
A living illusion, this flattened green insect reproduces the veins, edges, and even blemishes of a real leaf so precisely that it can vanish while resting in plain sight.
mantis-stick
Camel Cricket
A wingless, humpbacked cricket with unusually long legs that gives it a spider-like appearance, often startling people when it turns up in damp basements or crawl spaces.
grasshopper-cricket
Madagascan Sunset Moth
A day-flying moth with iridescent wings that shimmer through bands of green, blue, red, and gold, so vividly colored that it is frequently mistaken for a butterfly despite being a true moth.
moth
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.
moth
Cricket
A dark, round-headed jumping insect best known for the rhythmic chirping song produced by males rubbing their forewings together, often heard rather than seen after dusk.
grasshopper-cricket
Cecropia Moth
North America's largest native moth, the Cecropia is a spectacular giant silkmoth with reddish-brown wings marked by crescent-shaped white spots and bold bands of red, white, and tan.
moth
Deathwatch Beetle
A small, mottled brown wood-boring beetle famous for the faint ticking sound it makes by tapping its head against wood, historically associated with old timber-framed buildings.
beetle