Bug Identifier

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.

Cutworm

Cutworm

A plump, dull gray-brown caterpillar that hides in soil by day and emerges at night to sever young seedlings at the base, curling tightly into a C-shape when disturbed.

caterpillar-larva
Caterpillar

Caterpillar

The soft-bodied, segmented larval stage of butterflies and moths, recognized by its worm-like shape, multiple pairs of stubby legs, and voracious appetite for leaves.

caterpillar-larva
Cabbage White Caterpillar

Cabbage 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
Fox Moth

Fox Moth

A stout, reddish-brown moth with a pale diagonal band across each forewing, closely resembling a fox in color, most often noticed as its large, densely furred dark caterpillar basking on open ground in spring.

moth
Regal Moth (Hickory Horned Devil)

Regal Moth (Hickory Horned Devil)

One of the largest moths in North America, with orange-red and gray-veined wings on the adult, best known for its enormous, formidable-looking caterpillar, the hickory horned devil, a blue-green giant bristling with long orange spines.

moth
Isabella Tiger Moth (Woolly Bear)

Isabella Tiger Moth (Woolly Bear)

Famous chiefly in its larval stage as the banded woolly bear caterpillar, this tiger moth's fuzzy black-and-rust-colored caterpillar is a familiar autumn sight, while the adult is a soft, tawny-orange moth with a stout, furry body.

moth
Tobacco Hornworm Moth (Carolina Sphinx)

Tobacco Hornworm Moth (Carolina Sphinx)

A large, streamlined gray-brown sphinx moth with six pairs of orange spots along its abdomen, best known as the adult stage of the tobacco hornworm caterpillar that feeds on tomato and tobacco plants.

moth