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.
Gall Midge
A delicate, mosquito-like fly whose larvae trigger plants to grow strange, often colorful swellings called galls, each species usually tied to one particular host plant.
flyLouse Fly
A flattened, leathery-bodied fly that clamps onto fur or feathers with stout claws and scuttles sideways like a tiny crab rather than taking flight when disturbed. Several species shed their wings for good once they settle on a permanent host, spending the rest of their lives buried in fleece or plumage.
fly
White Admiral
A large, dark butterfly crossed by a bold white band on both wings, the northern form of the same species that produces the iridescent blue Red-spotted Purple farther south.
butterfly
Armyworm
A striped, greenish-brown caterpillar that gets its name from its habit of migrating in dense, destructive groups across grass and grain fields.
caterpillar-larvaPlanthopper
A varied group of sap-feeding true bugs known for their sideways-held wings, jumping ability, and, in some tropical species, exaggerated head projections used for display.
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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
Orange Sulphur
A vivid orange-and-yellow butterfly with sharp black wing borders, one of the most common butterflies over open fields and alfalfa crops throughout North America.
butterfly
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.
dragonfly
Armyworm Moth
A plain tan to reddish-brown moth whose caterpillars are famous for marching in large groups across fields, stripping grasses and grain crops as they move.
moth
Four-spotted Skimmer
A brown, sturdily built dragonfly marked with a single dark spot on each wing, this holarctic species is famous for occasional mass emergences and long-distance swarming flights.
dragonfly
Checkered White
A white butterfly patterned with irregular gray-black checkered spots, commonly fluttering low over open, sunny, weedy fields across much of North America.
butterfly
Prince Baskettail
One of the largest baskettail dragonflies, the Prince Baskettail is often seen tirelessly patrolling back and forth over water and open fields, rarely pausing to land.
dragonfly
Little Yellow
A tiny, pale lemon-yellow butterfly with a thin, crisp black wing border, fluttering close to the ground in fields and roadsides across the southern and eastern United States.
butterfly
Clouded Sulphur
A medium-sized pale yellow butterfly with crisp black wing borders, commonly seen fluttering low over clover fields and roadside meadows across North America.
butterfly
Meadow Fritillary
A small, fast-flying orange-and-black fritillary of open grassy fields, easily told from its larger cousins by its lack of silvery spots on the underside of the hindwing.
butterfly
American Copper
A small, bright orange-and-black butterfly with fiery copper-colored forewings and dusky gray hindwings edged in orange, commonly seen darting low over weedy fields and vacant lots.
butterflySoil Mite
A microscopic, heavily armored mite found by the millions in a single handful of soil, quietly breaking down leaf litter and helping build the fertile ground beneath forests and fields.
arachnid
Great Southern White
A crisp white butterfly with contrasting black-and-white checkered wingtips, often seen in large numbers along coastal habitats and open fields of the southern United States.
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Two-Spotted Stink Bug
A boldly patterned black-and-orange predatory stink bug named for the pair of dark spots on its back, best known for hunting Colorado potato beetle larvae in gardens and fields.
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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.
butterflyIchneumon 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
Migratory Locust
A grasshopper with a split personality, the migratory locust can switch from a quiet, solitary green insect into a boldly marked swarming form that travels in enormous, crop-devouring bands.
grasshopper-cricket
Spined Soldier Bug
A predatory stink bug identified by the sharp, pointed spines projecting from its shoulders, valued in gardens and farm fields for hunting caterpillars, beetle larvae, and other pest insects.
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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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