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.
Lappet Moth
A large, richly textured moth with deeply scalloped, russet-brown wings that fold into an uncanny dead-leaf silhouette, one of the most convincing leaf mimics among European moths.
moth
Angle Shades Moth
A common night-flying moth whose forewings fold into a crumpled, tent-like shape that mimics a withered or damaged leaf, marked with bold olive-green and pinkish-brown zigzag bands.
moth
Bordered Plant Bug
A dark, oval-bodied true bug with a distinct pale margin around its wing edges, often mistaken for a large ant or beetle when its nymphs cluster together in tight groups.
true-bug
Daddy Longlegs (Harvestman)
A leggy, one-piece-bodied arachnid that scurries through leaf litter and garden beds on impossibly long, spindly legs, easily mistaken for a spider despite belonging to an entirely different arachnid order.
arachnid
Hag Moth Caterpillar (Monkey Slug)
One of the strangest caterpillars in North America, with curling, hair-covered arm-like projections that make it look uncannily like a tiny tuft of matted fur or a miniature spider monkey.
caterpillar-larva
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
Western Black Widow
A glossy, jet-black spider with a bold red hourglass mark on the underside of her round abdomen, the western black widow builds a tangled, irregular web in dark, undisturbed corners of the American West.
spider
Mud Wasp
A slender, thread-waisted solitary wasp famous for plastering rows of tube-shaped mud cells under eaves and porch ceilings, each one stocked with paralyzed spiders for its larva.
wasp
Mud Dauber Wasp
Slender, long-waisted wasps that build distinctive nests from mud, mud daubers stock their cells with paralyzed spiders. Their tube or urn-shaped mud nests are common under eaves and bridges.
wasp
Harvestman
An arachnid built almost entirely of legs, with a single compact, oval body segment and no waist separating it into two parts like a true spider. Common in gardens and forests worldwide, it scuttles along on impossibly long, thin legs scavenging for food after dark.
arachnid
Mexican Redknee Tarantula
One of the most recognizable tarantulas in the world, this heavy-bodied spider has jet-black legs banded with vivid orange-red at each joint, and defends itself by kicking a cloud of irritating hairs from its abdomen rather than attacking.
spider
Owlfly
An acrobatic, dragonfly-mimicking predator instantly given away by its long, clubbed antennae, a feature no true dragonfly ever has.
other
Pink Toe Tarantula
An agile, tree-dwelling tarantula with a dark velvety body and distinctive pale pink tips on its feet, the pink toe spends nearly its entire life above ground, spinning silk retreats among leaves and bark high in the rainforest canopy.
spider
Digger Bee
A robust, fast-flying, densely furry solitary bee that excavates tunnels in bare or sloped soil, often confused with bumble bees due to its bulky, hairy build and loud buzzing flight.
bee
Stag Beetle
A large, glossy beetle whose males wield oversized, antler-like mandibles resembling a stag's rack of horns, used for wrestling rival males rather than for feeding.
beetle
Indian Stick Insect
A slender, twig-mimicking insect so unremarkable in stillness that it disappears among the stems it feeds on, one of the most widely raised stick insects in the world.
mantis-stick
Bee Fly
A fuzzy, bee-mimicking fly with a long, forward-pointing proboscis that hovers motionless in front of spring flowers while sipping nectar.
fly
Squash Vine Borer
A day-flying, wasp-mimicking moth whose orange fuzzy hind legs and metallic wings make it easy to mistake for a wasp as it darts around squash vines.
moth
Inchworm
A slender, twig-mimicking caterpillar that travels by looping its body into an arch and releasing a strand of silk to drop and dangle at the slightest disturbance.
caterpillar-larva
Soldier Fly
A wasp-mimicking fly with a flattened, often metallic body that spends its larval life quietly breaking down decaying plant matter or aquatic debris.
fly
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
Hummingbird Hawk-Moth
A day-flying moth that hovers in front of flowers on blurring wings while unspooling a long proboscis to sip nectar, so closely mimicking a hummingbird in flight that it is frequently mistaken for one.
moth
Red-spotted Purple
A large, iridescent blue-black butterfly lacking tails, notable for closely mimicking the unpalatable Pipevine Swallowtail, with rows of red-orange spots visible along the underside wing margins.
butterfly
Katydid
A leaf-mimicking insect with broad, veined green wings shaped remarkably like foliage, best known for the loud, rhythmic 'katy-did, katy-didn't' chorus males produce on warm summer nights.
grasshopper-cricket