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.
Carpenter Ant
A large, often shiny black ant that excavates smooth tunnels in dead or damp wood for nesting, recognizable by its size, evenly rounded thorax, and elbowed antennae.
ant
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
Ant
A small eusocial insect that lives in highly organized colonies, instantly recognizable by its narrow pinched waist, elbowed antennae, and single-file foraging trails.
ant
Regal Fritillary
A large, showy prairie butterfly with bright orange forewings and dramatically contrasting black hindwings dotted with rows of white and cream spots.
butterfly
Tarantula Hawk Wasp
A giant metallic-blue wasp with rust-orange wings, the tarantula hawk is one of the largest wasps in the world. Females hunt tarantulas as living food for their single offspring.
wasp
Painted Lady Caterpillar
A spiky, mottled caterpillar that spins loose silk webbing over thistle or mallow leaves and hides inside its own protective tent while feeding.
caterpillar-larva
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
Spiny Oak-slug Caterpillar
A tiny, flattened slug-shaped caterpillar in shades of green, orange, or purple, bristling with clusters of branched spines that can deliver a sting if handled.
caterpillar-larva
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
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
Tsetse Fly
A stout grayish-brown fly of African woodlands whose rigid, forward-jutting proboscis and scissor-folded wings set it apart from any ordinary house fly.
fly
Painted Lady Butterfly
A medium-sized orange-and-black butterfly with a mosaic of white-spotted black wingtips, famous as the most widely distributed butterfly on Earth and a long-distance migrant.
butterfly
Common Wood-Nymph
A large brown grassland butterfly with a bold yellow patch and one or two prominent black eyespots on the forewing, known for its bouncing, low-to-the-ground flight.
butterfly
Stink Bug
A broad, shield-shaped true bug that releases a pungent defensive odor when handled or crushed, commonly found on garden vegetables and fruit trees.
true-bug
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
Silver Y Moth
A fast-flying, day-active noctuid moth named for the metallic silver Y- or gamma-shaped mark on each mottled grey-brown forewing, famous for its long-distance migratory flights.
moth
House Cricket
A pale tan, dark-banded cricket originally from warm regions of Asia that has spread worldwide both as an occasional indoor nuisance and as a widely farmed feeder insect.
grasshopper-cricket
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
Screech Beetle
This small, oval water beetle earns its name from the loud squeak it produces when picked up, a sound made by rubbing internal body parts together rather than by any vocal organ.
beetle
Two-Spotted Stink Bug
A boldly patterned black-and-orange predatory stink bug named for the pair of dark spots on its back, best known for hunting Colorado potato beetle larvae in gardens and fields.
true-bug
Red-Shouldered Bug
A dark, flattened true bug with a bright red-orange collar across its shoulders, often seen clustering beneath goldenrain trees and other soapberry-family hosts.
true-bug
Deer Fly
A small but aggressive fly with strikingly patterned, dark-banded wings and bright green or gold eyes, often circling the head and shoulders while hunting for a blood meal.
fly
Gnat
A catch-all common name for a wide range of tiny, delicate flies, some no bigger than a grain of pepper, often seen hovering in small clouds near water, moist soil, or overripe produce.
fly
Gall Wasp
A minuscule, rarely seen wasp whose larvae trigger plants, especially oaks, to grow distinctive round or spiky growths called galls that serve as both shelter and food supply.
wasp