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.
Yellow Dung Fly
A golden, densely furred fly whose bright males cluster on fresh cow pats in pastures, competing for mates while ambushing smaller insects drawn to the same spot.
fly
Common Housefly
A dull gray fly with four dark stripes on its thorax and large reddish eyes, one of the most widespread insects on Earth thanks to its close association with human food and waste.
fly
Daddy Longlegs
A small, oval-bodied arachnid carried on extremely long, thread-like legs, distinct from true spiders in having a one-piece fused body and no silk glands or web.
arachnid
Yellow Jacket
A smooth-bodied, boldly banded black-and-yellow wasp with a narrow waist, often seen hovering aggressively around outdoor food and sugary drinks in late summer.
wasp
Rice Weevil
A tiny reddish-brown weevil with a long curved snout and four faint pale spots on its wing covers, commonly found infesting stored rice, wheat, and other grain products.
beetle
Mosquito Larva
A wriggling, comma-shaped aquatic larva that hangs from the water's surface to breathe before transforming into a flying adult mosquito.
aquatic-insect
Common Whitetail Dragonfly
A stocky pond-side dragonfly whose mature males sport a broad, chalky white abdomen that flashes conspicuously against boldly banded wings.
dragonfly
Blue-winged Grasshopper
A drab, camouflaged grasshopper that startles onlookers with a sudden flash of bright blue hindwings the instant it takes flight.
grasshopper-cricket
Common Sanddragon
A sand-colored clubtail dragonfly that perches flat on bare, sunlit riverbank sand, nearly vanishing against the grains around it.
dragonfly
Stonefly
A flattened, drab-winged insect whose nymphs are among the most reliable living indicators of pristine, well-oxygenated stream water.
aquatic-insect
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.
dragonfly
Greenhead Fly
A stout, strikingly green-eyed horse fly that emerges from Atlantic salt marshes in midsummer swarms, where the females bite to feed on blood.
fly
Pygmy Grasshopper
A tiny, ground-hugging grasshopper with an elongated pronotum extending back over its body, often found hopping along muddy pond edges.
grasshopper-cricket
Privet Hawk-Moth
The largest resident hawk-moth in much of northern Europe, with streaked brown forewings and a striking abdomen banded in pink and black stripes.
moth
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
Peck's Skipper
A tiny, tawny-orange and brown skipper with a bold, irregular yellow patch on the underside of the hindwing that looks almost like a splash of paint.
butterfly
Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillar
A striking green-and-black banded caterpillar dotted with yellow spots that flashes a bright orange forked horn when disturbed.
caterpillar-larva
Firebrat
A fast, wingless, mottled gray-brown insect with long antennae and tail bristles that thrives in the warm, humid corners near ovens, boilers, and pipes.
other
Root Maggot
A small, legless white grub that lives hidden in the soil, tunneling into the roots of cabbage-family vegetables where it feeds unseen.
fly
Casemaking Clothes Moth
A small mottled moth whose larva builds a tiny portable silk case, dragging its own protective shelter along as it grazes on wool and fur.
moth
Sac Spider
A pale, uniformly colored spider that spins a small silk sac retreat rather than a capture web, often found tucked into rolled leaves or corners of rooms.
spider
Mouse Spider
A stout, glossy burrowing spider named for its supposed mouse-like agility, with males often sporting a strikingly colored head and jaws.
spider
Bird-dropping Spider
A lumpy, white-and-brown orb-weaver that spends its days motionless on a leaf, looking uncannily like a fresh splash of bird droppings.
spider
Yellow Scorpion
A robust, sandy-yellow scorpion of arid regions that spends daylight hours buried or hidden beneath stones, emerging at dusk to hunt.
arachnid