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.
Digger Wasp
A solitary, ground-nesting wasp that excavates neat burrows in bare soil and provisions them with paralyzed prey for its young.
wasp
Cabbage Looper
A pale green caterpillar with thin white stripes that arches its back into a loop as it inches along cabbage and other garden leaves.
caterpillar-larva
Saddleback Caterpillar
An unmistakable stout caterpillar with a bright green saddle-shaped patch on a brown back, bristling with clusters of spines along its stocky body.
caterpillar-larvaPygmy Grasshopper
A tiny, ground-hugging grasshopper with an elongated pronotum extending back over its body, often found hopping along muddy pond edges.
grasshopper-cricketHarvester Ant
A large, industrious desert ant that clears a bare, sunburned disk of ground around its nest entrance while collecting and storing seeds by the thousands.
ant
Carpenter Bee
A large, robust bee closely resembling a bumblebee but with a shiny, mostly bald black abdomen, known for excavating tunnel nests into bare, untreated wood.
bee
Squash Bug
A flat-backed, brownish-gray true bug commonly found clustered on the leaves and stems of squash and pumpkin plants, where it feeds by piercing plant tissue.
true-bug
Scorpion
An ancient, armored arachnid with grasping pincers and a segmented tail carried curled over its back, tipped with a stinger used to subdue prey.
arachnid
Green Bottle Fly
A brilliantly iridescent, metallic green fly frequently seen basking on sunny surfaces outdoors, easily recognized by its shining emerald body and quick, buzzing flight.
fly
Cabbage Looper Moth
A drab mottled-brown moth best known for its pale green, looping caterpillar that arches its back like an inchworm while feeding on garden vegetables.
mothCabbage White Caterpillar
A velvety, bright green caterpillar with a faint yellow stripe down its back, the larval stage of the common white butterfly seen fluttering around vegetable gardens.
caterpillar-larva
Horn Fly
A tiny, dark fly that clusters in dense patches on the backs and shoulders of grazing cattle, using piercing mouthparts to take frequent small blood meals.
fly
Tick
A small, flattened, oval arachnid with a hard shield-like plate on its back that waits on vegetation and attaches to passing hosts to feed on blood, swelling considerably once fed.
arachnid
Carolina Grasshopper
Well camouflaged against dusty ground until it bursts into flight, the Carolina grasshopper flashes broad black hindwings edged in pale yellow before dropping back into invisibility.
grasshopper-cricket
Small Milkweed Bug
A red-and-black seed bug with a distinctive X-shaped pattern on its back, commonly found feeding on milkweed seeds and sap alongside monarch caterpillars.
true-bug
Snail
A shelled land mollusk that carries a coiled, calcium-carbonate shell on its back and glides slowly across damp gardens and vegetation on a slime-lubricated foot.
other
Prince Baskettail
One of the largest baskettail dragonflies, the Prince Baskettail is often seen tirelessly patrolling back and forth over water and open fields, rarely pausing to land.
dragonflyPhorid Fly
A tiny, hump-backed fly best known for scuttling erratically across countertops and floors rather than taking flight, drawn to anything rotting or moist.
fly
Bumblebee Carpenter Bee
A large, robust bee that closely resembles a bumblebee at a glance but has a smooth, shiny, hairless abdomen and a habit of boring round nesting tunnels into bare wood.
bee
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
Eastern Tent Caterpillar
A fuzzy, blue-flecked caterpillar with a pale stripe down its back, famous for spinning large communal silk tents in the forked branches of cherry and apple trees each spring.
caterpillar-larva
Autumn Meadowhawk
One of the last dragonflies still flying as autumn cools, this small pale-legged meadowhawk can be found sunning on trails and pond banks well into November in many areas.
dragonfly
Wolf Spiderling
A tiny, fast-moving juvenile wolf spider, often seen riding in dozens on its mother's back before dispersing to hunt on its own across open ground.
spiderMourning Cloak Caterpillar
A gregarious, velvety black caterpillar speckled with white dots and a striking row of brick-red spots down its back, often seen feeding in clusters on willow branches.
caterpillar-larva