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.
Potato Bug
A rounded, boldly striped beetle in cream and black that feeds on potato and other nightshade foliage, easily recognized by the ten black stripes running down its wing covers.
beetleLace Bug
A tiny, flattened true bug with delicately sculpted, lace-like wings resembling fine netting, the lace bug feeds in colonies on the undersides of leaves, leaving a stippled, bleached pattern on foliage.
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Kissing Bug
A dark, elongated true bug with a narrow, cone-shaped head and distinctive orange or red markings along the edges of its abdomen, most active at night.
true-bugJune Bug
A chunky, reddish-brown to nearly black scarab beetle that bumbles noisily around porch lights on warm late-spring and early-summer evenings.
beetleDamsel 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-bugAmbush Bug
A chunky, irregularly shaped true bug with thickened, raptorial front legs, the ambush bug hides motionless on flowers, blending into the petals while waiting to seize visiting pollinators.
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Assassin Bug
A slender, long-legged predatory true bug with a curved, needle-like beak used to ambush and pierce other insects, often patterned in bold orange, black, or red warning colors.
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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.
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Pill Bug
A gray, segmented, armor-plated crustacean that curls into a tight ball when disturbed, commonly found under rocks, logs, and damp garden debris.
otherRipple Bug
A tiny, dark true bug that skates across the surface film of calm water, producing the faint ripples that give it its common name as it hunts for small prey trapped at the surface.
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Milkweed Bug
A bold orange-and-black true bug that clusters conspicuously on milkweed seed pods, its warning colours advertising the plant toxins it safely stores from its host.
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Chinch Bug
A tiny black-and-white true bug that feeds on grasses, often overlooked individually but capable of forming dense colonies in sunny, dry patches of lawn.
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Boxelder Bug
A slender black true bug marked with three bold red-orange stripes on its thorax and red wing veins, famous for massing by the hundreds on tree trunks and sun-warmed walls in autumn.
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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.
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Milkweed Bug (Large Milkweed Bug)
A boldly patterned orange-and-black true bug found clustering on milkweed seed pods, sporting an elongated body with a distinctive black band across the wings.
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Plant Bug (Tarnished Plant Bug)
A small, oval, mottled brownish true bug with a distinctive yellow triangular marking behind the head, the tarnished plant bug is a fast-moving plant feeder common across gardens, fields, and weedy edges.
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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.
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Great Blue Skimmer
One of North America's largest skimmers, the Great Blue Skimmer's powdery sky-blue body and pale green eyes make it stand out as it cruises woodland pond edges.
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Eastern Tailed-Blue
A tiny gossamer-wing butterfly with a delicate thread-like tail on each hindwing and a small orange spot near the tail base, common in open weedy habitats throughout the eastern half of North America.
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Blue-winged Grasshopper
A drab, camouflaged grasshopper that startles onlookers with a sudden flash of bright blue hindwings the instant it takes flight.
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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.
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Blue-fronted Dancer
A bright blue head and thorax paired with a dark, blue-tipped abdomen give the Blue-fronted Dancer its name, as it hops and flutters along sunny riverbanks in loose groups.
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Blue-eyed Darner
A large, fast-flying darner with brilliant sky-blue eyes that meet in a seam across the top of the head, patrolling ponds and open fields well into the evening.
dragonflyCreeping Water Bug
Broad, oval, and flattened like a tiny shield, the creeping water bug crawls methodically through submerged vegetation rather than swimming freely, using its stout, raptorial front legs to seize prey.
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