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.
Fruit Fly (Vinegar Fly)
A tiny tan fly with bright red eyes that seems to appear from nowhere the moment a piece of fruit begins to overripen or a splash of wine is left uncovered.
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Vinegar Fly
A tiny tan fly with bright red eyes that seems to appear out of nowhere the moment a banana starts to spoil, drawn in by the smell of fermentation rather than the fruit itself. Few insects have contributed more to the science of genetics, making this unassuming kitchen visitor one of the most studied animals on Earth.
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Fruit Fly
A tiny tan fly with prominent red eyes that swarms around overripe fruit, wine, and vinegar, appearing seemingly out of nowhere thanks to an extremely fast life cycle.
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Fruit Fly (Mediterranean)
A small but strikingly patterned fly with mottled, banded wings held out to the sides in a fan and a body dotted with silvery spots, best known for larvae that tunnel through ripening fruit. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, it has spread with human trade to become one of the most widely recognized fruit-infesting insects in the world.
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Cactus Fly
A slender, long-legged desert fly that specializes in breeding within the soft, fermenting tissue of decaying cactus, particularly saguaro and other columnar cacti.
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Stable Fly
A gray fly that looks almost identical to the common house fly, but carries a rigid, forward-pointing proboscis built for piercing skin rather than sponging up liquids.
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Drain Fly
A tiny, fuzzy gray-tan fly with broad, moth-like wings held tent-fashion over its body, often seen resting motionless on bathroom walls near drains.
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Sand Fly
A tiny, densely hairy fly that holds its wings erect in a distinctive V-shape and travels in short, silent hops rather than sustained flight.
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Phorid 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.
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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.
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Warble Fly
A furry, bee-mimicking fly that never lands on flowers or feeds as an adult, spending its brief life darting around grazing cattle to lay eggs on their legs and lower body. Herds sometimes react with sudden panicked runs, known as gadding, whenever a warble fly approaches.
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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.
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Face Fly
A house fly look-alike that clusters persistently around the eyes, muzzle, and face of grazing livestock to feed on moisture and secretions.
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Onion Fly
A slender gray fly closely related to houseflies whose white legless larvae bore into onion bulbs, feeding in clusters within a single rotting bulb.
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Horse 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.
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Blow Fly
A brilliant, metallic green fly that gleams like a jewel in sunlight, quickly locating decaying material with an acute sense of smell.
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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.
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House Fly
A gray, fuzzy-bodied fly with four dark stripes on its thorax and large reddish compound eyes, famous for its erratic buzzing flight and tendency to land repeatedly on food and surfaces.
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Bottle Fly
A stout fly with a shining, metallic blue body that produces a loud, deep buzz and is commonly seen darting around trash cans, compost, and outdoor gatherings.
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Crane Fly
A long-legged, mosquito-like fly with a slender tan or gray body and a single pair of narrow wings, often seen wobbling clumsily around outdoor lights on summer evenings.
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Greenhead Fly
A stout, strikingly green-eyed horse fly that emerges from Atlantic salt marshes in midsummer swarms, where the females bite to feed on blood.
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Marsh Fly
A slender, unassuming fly best known for larvae with a remarkable diet: nearly every species in the family feeds on aquatic or terrestrial snails and slugs, making marsh flies natural specialists in wetland food webs. Adults are often found resting quietly on sedges and other marsh vegetation near the water's edge.
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Tachinid Fly
A bristly, house-fly-like insect that looks unremarkable at a glance but hides one of the most important ecological roles among flies: its larvae develop as internal parasites of caterpillars, beetles, and other insects, quietly regulating populations across the landscape. Gardeners often welcome tachinid flies as natural allies against crop-damaging pests.
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March 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.
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