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.
Grub Worm
A plump, C-shaped, creamy-white larva with a distinct brown head, living underground where it feeds on grass and plant roots before eventually maturing into a scarab beetle.
beetle
Blue-fronted Dancer
A bright blue head and thorax paired with a dark, blue-tipped abdomen give the Blue-fronted Dancer its name, as it hops and flutters along sunny riverbanks in loose groups.
other
Giant Centipede
A long, fast-moving, many-legged predator with a hardened segmented body and a pair of venom-injecting claws behind the head that it uses to overpower prey far larger than itself.
myriapod
Rhinoceros Beetle
A massive, heavily armored beetle whose males sport a single large, curved horn projecting forward from the head, used to shove and flip rival males in contests of strength.
beetle
American Carrion Beetle
A broad, flattened black beetle with a striking pale yellow shield behind its head, commonly found on and around small animal carcasses where it feeds alongside fly larvae.
beetle
Deathwatch Beetle
A small, mottled brown wood-boring beetle famous for the faint ticking sound it makes by tapping its head against wood, historically associated with old timber-framed buildings.
beetle
Skipper Butterfly
A stocky, fast-darting butterfly with a large head, hooked antennae tips, and thick furry body, intermediate in appearance between butterflies and moths, named for its quick, skipping flight.
butterfly
Slaty Skimmer
A mature male Slaty Skimmer is powder-blue-gray from head to tail with jet-black wing tips, giving it a slate-colored, almost monochrome look as it patrols pond edges.
dragonfly
Cricket
A dark, round-headed jumping insect best known for the rhythmic chirping song produced by males rubbing their forewings together, often heard rather than seen after dusk.
grasshopper-cricket
Tortoise Beetle
A small, flat, disc-shaped beetle whose expanded wing covers and pronotum hide its head and legs almost entirely, giving it the look of a miniature turtle shell crawling across a leaf.
beetle
Garden Orb Weaver Spider
The classic maker of the round, wheel-shaped web, the garden orb weaver hangs head-down at the center of its silken snare. Many sport a cross-like pattern of pale spots on a rounded abdomen.
spider
Atlas Moth
One of the largest moths in the world by wing surface area, the Atlas Moth is a giant reddish-brown silkmoth with striking triangular wingtip patches that resemble the heads of snakes.
moth
Golden Silk Orb-Weaver Spider
Famous for spinning enormous webs of shimmering golden silk, the golden silk orb-weaver is a large, long-legged spider of warm climates. Females dwarf the tiny males and hang head-down in their sprawling snares.
spider
Pine Processionary Moth
An unremarkable grey-brown moth known almost entirely through its larvae, which build large silken nests in pine trees and travel to feed in long, head-to-tail processions covered in fine defensive hairs.
moth
Bombardier Beetle
A dark, quick-moving ground beetle famous for firing a hot, audible chemical spray from its abdomen when disturbed, using two-tone coloring of a reddish head and thorax against blue-black wing covers as a warning signal.
beetle
Backswimmer
A boat-shaped aquatic true bug that swims upside down using oar-like hind legs, patrolling pond water in search of small prey.
aquatic-insect
Pill Millipede
A short, heavily armored millipede that rolls into a tight, perfect ball when disturbed, closely resembling a pill bug but built from far fewer, broader body segments.
myriapod
Snipe Fly
A slender, long-legged fly often seen perched head-down on a sunny tree trunk or fence post, patiently watching for smaller insects to ambush. Its tapered, wasp-like abdomen and habit of resting motionless with legs splayed give it a distinctive, almost sentry-like posture in woodland clearings.
fly
Lesser Water Boatman
A flat-backed, oar-legged true bug that rows through pond water with fringed hind legs, surfacing periodically to trap a silvery bubble of air against its body.
true-bug
Meadow Spittlebug
A small, mottled hopping true bug whose immature nymphs are far more often noticed than the adults, hidden inside frothy blobs of white foam known as cuckoo spit on plant stems.
true-bug
Bumblebee
A large, round, densely furry bee with bold black-and-yellow banding, known for its loud, low-pitched buzz and its ability to fly and forage in cooler temperatures than most other bees.
bee
Honeybee
A fuzzy, golden-brown and black social bee that lives in large colonies, builds wax honeycomb, and is the primary managed pollinator of crops and wildflowers worldwide.
bee
Robber Fly
A powerfully built, bristly-faced predatory fly that ambushes other flying insects in midair, piercing them with a stout beak-like proboscis.
fly
Yellowjacket
A boldly striped black-and-yellow social wasp with a smooth, shiny body and a fast, darting flight, often noticed hovering around food and sugary drinks in late summer.
wasp