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.
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.
spiderChigger
A nearly microscopic mite larva that waits in clusters on grass tips for a passing host, taking a single brief meal before dropping away unseen. Only this larval stage is parasitic; the free-living adult spends its life hunting tiny prey in the soil.
arachnid
Zebra Longwing
A slow-flying, long-winged black butterfly striped boldly with yellow, unusual among butterflies for feeding on pollen as an adult, which extends its lifespan to several months.
butterfly
Familiar Bluet
One of the most widespread and abundant damselflies in North America, the Familiar Bluet's slender sky-blue and black body is a near-constant sight over ponds and lakes in warm months.
otherSoldier 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.
flyWater Penny Beetle
A flattened, coin-shaped larva that clings almost invisibly to the surface of submerged stream rocks, named for its uncanny resemblance to a small penny.
aquatic-insect
Varied Carpet Beetle
A tiny beetle mottled with white, brown, and yellow scales that, as a fuzzy larva, quietly grazes on natural fibers tucked away in closets and attics.
beetle
Mealworm Beetle
A shiny, oval, dark reddish-brown to nearly black beetle whose larva, the familiar 'mealworm,' is a common sight in stored grain products.
beetleCabbage 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
Great Spangled Fritillary
A large, robust orange butterfly with bold black markings above and a striking array of large silvery spangles on a tawny-brown underside, closely tied to woodland violets.
butterflyHorse Fly
A stout, fast-flying fly with large iridescent eyes and a heavy, robust body, known for its persistent, buzzing pursuit of large mammals on warm summer days.
fly
Eastern Dobsonfly
The classic dobsonfly of eastern North America, famous for the male's outsized, tusk-like jaws and for its aquatic larva, the hellgrammite, a favorite live-bait fishing lure.
aquatic-insectGrub 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
Tarantula Hawk
One of the largest wasps in the world, with a glossy metallic blue-black body and vivid burnt-orange wings, famous for hunting tarantulas to provision a single underground burrow for its larva.
wasp
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.
waspLeaf Miner
Rather than chewing from the outside, a leaf miner larva tunnels between the upper and lower surfaces of a leaf, leaving behind pale, winding trails or blotches that trace its path as it feeds.
flyWhite Grub
A pale, C-shaped larva with a brown head capsule and six stubby legs, spending its entire early life hidden underground feeding on roots before emerging as a stout May or June beetle.
beetleGlowworm Beetle
A beetle whose females remain larva-like and glowing for their entire lives, producing rows of soft greenish light along their segmented, worm-like bodies, while males develop into small, feathery-antennaed flying beetles.
beetleCulex Mosquito
A large, worldwide genus of plain brown mosquitoes recognizable by their blunt abdomens and habit of resting flat against surfaces.
fly
Spotted Lanternfly
A large, strikingly patterned planthopper with gray spotted forewings that flash to reveal crimson hindwings when it leaps or takes flight.
true-bug
Elm Leaf Beetle
A yellow-green leaf beetle with dark side stripes that skeletonizes elm foliage and gathers in large numbers to overwinter in buildings.
beetleMarch Fly
A stout, all-black fly that emerges in sudden, dense swarms during the first warm days of spring, often dangling its long hind legs conspicuously in slow, low flight over grass. Its name comes from its habit of appearing reliably around the start of the month, sometimes on cue near a particular saint's feast day in the traditional European calendar.
fly
Regal Fritillary
A large, showy prairie butterfly with bright orange forewings and dramatically contrasting black hindwings dotted with rows of white and cream spots.
butterflySilver-spotted Skipper
A large, chunky brown skipper instantly identified by the bold, translucent silvery-white patch splashed across the underside of each hindwing.
butterfly