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.
Jewel Beetle
A sleek, bullet-shaped beetle wrapped in brilliant iridescent metallic colors — green, copper, blue, or gold — that seem to shift with the angle of light.
beetle
Regal Jumping Spider
One of the largest and most striking North American jumping spiders, with a velvety black body, bold markings, and huge iridescent green or blue-lined eyes.
spider
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.
fly
Aphid Midge
A delicate, long-legged midge whose orange larvae are voracious aphid hunters. The aphid midge is a prized natural enemy of aphids in gardens and greenhouses.
fly
Deer Fly
A small but aggressive fly with strikingly patterned, dark-banded wings and bright green or gold eyes, often circling the head and shoulders while hunting for a blood meal.
fly
Tobacco Hornworm
A large, chunky green caterpillar with diagonal white stripes and a curved red-orange horn at its tail end, often found stripping tomato and tobacco plants.
caterpillar-larva
Spiny Oak-slug Caterpillar
A tiny, flattened slug-shaped caterpillar in shades of green, orange, or purple, bristling with clusters of branched spines that can deliver a sting if handled.
caterpillar-larva
Marsh Fly
A slender, unassuming fly best known for larvae with a remarkable diet: nearly every species in the family feeds on aquatic or terrestrial snails and slugs, making marsh flies natural specialists in wetland food webs. Adults are often found resting quietly on sedges and other marsh vegetation near the water's edge.
fly
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
Parsley Worm
Banded in green, black, and yellow, the parsley worm rears up and flashes a bright orange, forked scent gland when disturbed, a signature defense of black swallowtail caterpillars.
caterpillar-larva
Cucumber Beetle
A small, brightly colored beetle patterned with black spots or stripes on a yellow-green background, commonly seen crawling on the flowers and leaves of cucumber and squash plants.
beetle
Tomato Hornworm Moth (Five-spotted Hawkmoth)
A large, robust grey-brown sphinx moth named for the five pairs of yellow-orange spots along its abdomen, best known as the adult form of the large green tomato hornworm caterpillar familiar to home gardeners.
moth
Pipevine Swallowtail
A striking black swallowtail with iridescent blue-green hindwings and a row of round orange spots beneath, whose toxin-sequestering caterpillars make it a model for several butterfly mimics.
butterfly
Blow Fly
A brilliant, metallic green fly that gleams like a jewel in sunlight, quickly locating decaying material with an acute sense of smell.
fly
Hercules Beetle
One of the largest beetles in the world, with males bearing dramatic, forceps-like horns nearly as long as the rest of their armored, olive-green body.
beetle
Regal Moth (Hickory Horned Devil)
One of the largest moths in North America, with orange-red and gray-veined wings on the adult, best known for its enormous, formidable-looking caterpillar, the hickory horned devil, a blue-green giant bristling with long orange spines.
moth
Elephant Hawk-Moth
A strikingly colored olive-green and bright pink hawk moth named for its caterpillar's trunk-like tapered front end and large false eyespots.
moth
Cabbage Looper Moth
A drab mottled-brown moth best known for its pale green, looping caterpillar that arches its back like an inchworm while feeding on garden vegetables.
moth
Green Stink Bug
A broad, shield-shaped bug in solid bright green with a shell-like appearance, easily disturbed off host plants and known for releasing a pungent odor when handled.
true-bug
Ebony Jewelwing
With entirely jet-black wings and a metallic emerald-green body, the Ebony Jewelwing flutters through streamside shade like a living jewel, its wings flashing in filtered sunlight.
other
Hickory Horned Devil
An enormous, blue-green caterpillar armed with long, curved orange-red horns tipped in black, giving it a fearsome dragon-like appearance despite being completely harmless.
caterpillar-larva
Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar
A bulging-eyed green caterpillar that lives folded inside its own silk-stitched leaf tent, looking every bit like a miniature snake peering out from cover.
caterpillar-larva
Malachite Butterfly
A large tropical butterfly named for the vivid green, mineral-like patches that break up its otherwise dark brown wings, giving it a translucent, stained-glass appearance in flight.
butterfly
Walking Stick
A remarkably twig-like insect with a long, slender, brown to green body and thin legs, so effective at mimicking a plant stem that it can be nearly invisible while motionless on vegetation.
mantis-stick