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.
Whip Scorpion
A flattened, spider-like arachnid with a pair of extraordinarily long, whip-thin front legs used to feel out its surroundings in the dark, and large spiny pedipalps held out front like a crab's claws. Despite the name and fearsome appearance, it has no stinger and no fangs.
arachnid
Bark Scorpion
A slender, pale tan scorpion best known for its unusual habit of climbing trees, walls, and rock faces rather than staying on the ground like most scorpions. Its thin build and long, narrow tail set it apart from the stockier, heavy-clawed scorpions found elsewhere.
arachnid
American Dagger Moth Caterpillar
A pale, sulfur-yellow to cream fuzzball bristling with dense tufts of hair and long black 'pencils' projecting from both ends, the American dagger moth caterpillar is one of the most recognizable hairy caterpillars on hardwood trees in fall.
caterpillar-larva
Southern Green Stink Bug
A large, shield-shaped, solid bright green true bug found on a wide variety of garden and crop plants across warm regions worldwide, recognizable by its broad body and, in some individuals, a row of small pale dots along the shoulders.
true-bug
Eastern Comma
A ragged-edged orange-and-brown woodland butterfly named for the small, silvery comma-shaped mark on the underside of its hindwing, with a cryptic dead-leaf pattern that camouflages it perfectly when its wings are closed.
butterfly
Great Purple Hairstreak
The largest and most iridescent hairstreak in North America, with brilliant blue-green upperwings, red-orange spots on the body and wing base, and long twin tails, its caterpillars feeding on parasitic mistletoe clumps in host trees.
butterfly
Pearl Crescent
A small, orange-and-black checkered butterfly that is one of the most abundant and widespread species in open fields across the continent, easily recognized by its crescent-shaped pale marking on the hindwing underside.
butterfly
Predatory Stink Bug
Unlike its plant-feeding relatives, the predatory stink bug is a hunter that spears caterpillars and beetle larvae with a stout beak. The spined soldier bug is a familiar shield-shaped garden ally.
true-bug
Fireflies Larvae Glowworm
The larval form of fireflies, often called glowworms, are flattened, segmented crawlers that glow with a steady greenish light. These little predators hunt slugs, snails, and worms in damp ground.
beetle
Hummingbird Moth
Hovering at flowers with a blur of wings and a long uncoiling tongue, the hummingbird moth is easily mistaken for a tiny hummingbird. These plump, fast-flying hawk moths feed on nectar in broad daylight.
moth
Flower Chafer Beetle
Often clad in brilliant metallic greens, golds, and bronzes, flower chafers are day-flying scarab beetles that feed on flowers. Many buzz loudly in flight and keep their wing covers closed as they take off.
beetle
Brown Widow Spider
Named for its mottled tan-and-brown coloring rather than glossy black, the brown widow is easily recognized by its distinctive spiky, off-white egg sacs and an orange hourglass on its underside.
spider
Soil 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
Jorō Spider
A large, strikingly colored East Asian orb weaver with yellow-and-blue-gray banding, now spreading rapidly across the southeastern United States and building enormous golden webs.
spider
Dragonhunter
North America's largest clubtail, the Dragonhunter is a powerful predator that lives up to its name by capturing and eating other dragonflies, including species nearly its own size.
dragonfly
Tarantula Hawk
One of the largest wasps in the world, with a glossy metallic blue-black body and vivid burnt-orange wings, famous for hunting tarantulas to provision a single underground burrow for its larva.
wasp
Common Wasp
A black-and-yellow social wasp with a distinct anchor-shaped mark on its face, common around gardens and picnics in late summer as its colony reaches peak size and workers seek out sugary food.
wasp
Emperor Moth
A striking silk moth with a large eyespot on each of its four wings, showing pronounced differences between the smaller, orange-brown, day-flying males and the larger, greyer, night-flying females.
moth
Marsh Treader
An extremely slender, thread-like true bug that walks slowly and deliberately across the water's surface on stilt-like legs, resembling a tiny floating twig as it hunts among marsh vegetation.
aquatic-insect
Salt Marsh Moth
A fluffy white tiger moth with black-speckled forewings and an orange-and-black abdomen, best known through its fast-moving, densely bristled caterpillar that wanders widely in late summer.
moth
Mediterranean Flour Moth
A small, pale grey moth with fine dark wavy lines on its forewings, whose larvae spin webbing through flour, grain, and other stored dry food products, making it a well-known pest of mills and pantries.
moth
Old Lady Moth
A large, dusky brown noctuid moth with an intricate, wood-grain-like pattern of dark streaks and pale flecks across broad wings, often found resting motionless in sheds and against tree bark by day.
moth
Ruby Tiger Moth
A small, warm reddish-brown tiger moth with plain rosy-tinted forewings and pink-flushed hindwings dotted with dark spots, often seen resting openly on vegetation in sunny, open habitats.
moth
Sowbug
A slate-gray, oval, armor-plated crustacean that shuffles through damp leaf litter on seven pairs of legs, recognizable by its overlapping segmented shell and pair of trailing tail-like appendages.
other