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.
Gypsy Moth Caterpillar (Spongy Moth)
A bristly, blue-and-red-spotted caterpillar that can strip entire hardwood forests bare during major outbreak years.
caterpillar-larva
Asparagus Beetle
A small, boldly patterned blue-black beetle with cream and orange-red markings that clusters on emerging asparagus spears in spring.
beetle
Band-winged Grasshopper
A camouflaged grasshopper that flashes vivid yellow, red, or blue hindwings in flight before vanishing again into the dust the instant it lands.
grasshopper-cricket
Comet Moth (Madagascan Moon Moth)
One of the largest and most spectacular silk moths in the world, with pale yellow-to-red wings and extraordinarily long, ribbon-like tails on the hindwings.
moth
Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar
A jet-black, bristly caterpillar that curls into a tight ball to reveal bright red-orange bands between its segments when disturbed.
caterpillar-larva
Io Moth Caterpillar
A bright lime-green caterpillar bristling with clusters of branching, stinging spines and thin red and white racing stripes along its sides.
caterpillar-larva
Boxelder Bug (Eastern)
A flat, black true bug boldly trimmed in red-orange lines, famous for massing by the hundreds on sun-warmed walls and tree trunks each autumn.
true-bug
Seven-spotted Ladybird
A classic bright red ladybird with exactly seven black spots, one of the most iconic and widely recognized beetles in the world.
beetle
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
Asian Lady Beetle
A highly variable orange-to-red ladybird beetle, often bearing many black spots or none at all, famous for swarming into homes in large numbers during autumn.
beetle
Flame Skimmer
A blazing orange-red dragonfly of western waterways, the Flame Skimmer perches boldly on sunlit rocks and twigs, its amber-tinted wings glowing like embers in flight.
dragonfly
Poplar Hawk-Moth
A large, grayish-brown hawk-moth with an unusual resting posture in which the hindwings project forward past the forewings, revealing a hidden rust-red patch when disturbed.
moth
Fruit Fly
A tiny tan fly with prominent red eyes that swarms around overripe fruit, wine, and vinegar, appearing seemingly out of nowhere thanks to an extremely fast life cycle.
fly
Ladybug
A small, round, brightly colored beetle with a domed, shiny shell typically red or orange with black spots, one of the most recognizable and beloved beetles found in gardens worldwide.
beetle
Comet Darner
One of North America's largest and fastest dragonflies, blazing across open water with a fiery red abdomen that gives it its cometary name.
dragonfly
Gypsy Moth Caterpillar
A hairy, mottled gray caterpillar marked with rows of paired blue and red dots down its back, notorious for periodic outbreak years that can strip entire forests bare.
caterpillar-larva
Eastern Lubber Grasshopper
One of the largest grasshoppers in North America, the eastern lubber is a slow, flightless giant clad in bold black, yellow, and red that announces its presence rather than hiding from it.
grasshopper-cricket
Burying Beetle
A black beetle marked with bold orange-red bands, notable for locating small dead animals, burying them underground, and cooperatively raising larvae with a partner over the buried carcass.
beetle
Convergent Ladybird Beetle
A common orange-red ladybird with black spots and two distinctive converging white lines on its thorax, widely valued as a natural aphid predator.
beetle
Velvet Ant
A densely fuzzy, brightly colored insect that looks like an oversized ant but is actually a wingless female wasp, instantly recognizable by its thick coat of red, orange, black, or white hair.
wasp
Harlequin Bug
A shield-shaped stink bug painted in bold black-and-orange (or red-and-yellow) blotches, making it one of the most colorful and easily recognized true bugs on cabbage and other cole crops.
true-bug
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.
true-bug
Fruit Fly (Vinegar Fly)
A tiny tan fly with bright red eyes that seems to appear from nowhere the moment a piece of fruit begins to overripen or a splash of wine is left uncovered.
fly
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-bug