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.
Elm Seed Bug
A slim, brownish-orange seed bug that develops on elm seeds and becomes a familiar autumn nuisance as it seeks shelter on sun-warmed walls and window frames.
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Western Conifer Seed Bug
A large brown true bug with flattened, leaf-shaped hind legs, native to conifer forests of the western United States but now widespread and notorious for gathering on and inside buildings as cooler weather approaches.
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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-bugShield Bug (Stink Bug)
A broad, shield-shaped true bug that releases a sharp, pungent odour from glands on its body when disturbed, a defence that gives the whole family its common name.
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Bed Bug (Bat Bug)
A small, flat, reddish-brown, wingless true bug that hides in tight seams and crevices by day and feeds on blood at night, closely related to the bat bug, which occupies a similar niche in bat roosts.
true-bugRipple Bug
A tiny, dark true bug that skates across the surface film of calm water, producing the faint ripples that give it its common name as it hunts for small prey trapped at the surface.
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Milkweed Bug
A bold orange-and-black true bug that clusters conspicuously on milkweed seed pods, its warning colours advertising the plant toxins it safely stores from its host.
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Toad Bug
A squat, warty-looking true bug with bulging eyes and a mottled brown pattern, so named for its uncanny resemblance to a tiny toad as it hops along muddy shorelines.
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Bed Bug
A small, flat, reddish-brown, wingless insect shaped like an apple seed that hides in mattress seams and bed frames by day and emerges at night to feed.
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Milkweed Bug (Large Milkweed Bug)
A boldly patterned orange-and-black true bug found clustering on milkweed seed pods, sporting an elongated body with a distinctive black band across the wings.
true-bugDamsel Bug
A slender, tan to brown true bug with a narrow head and elongated front legs adapted for grasping, the damsel bug is a common predator patrolling foliage for soft-bodied insects.
true-bugAmbush Bug
A chunky, irregularly shaped true bug with thickened, raptorial front legs, the ambush bug hides motionless on flowers, blending into the petals while waiting to seize visiting pollinators.
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Wheel Bug
A large, gray, armored-looking true bug named for the distinctive cog-like crest rising from its back, one of the biggest and most unmistakable assassin bugs in North America.
true-bugLace Bug
A tiny, flattened true bug with delicately sculpted, lace-like wings resembling fine netting, the lace bug feeds in colonies on the undersides of leaves, leaving a stippled, bleached pattern on foliage.
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Kissing Bug
A dark, elongated true bug with a narrow, cone-shaped head and distinctive orange or red markings along the edges of its abdomen, most active at night.
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Saucer Bug
Flattened and rounded like its namesake, the saucer bug is a stout, oval predator that lurks among pondweed, ambushing small invertebrates and other prey with a piercing beak.
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Cabbage Bug
A small, metallic shield bug patterned in contrasting patches of black with red, white, or yellow, closely tied to cabbage and other brassica crops across Europe and Asia.
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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.
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Chinch Bug
A tiny black-and-white true bug that feeds on grasses, often overlooked individually but capable of forming dense colonies in sunny, dry patches of lawn.
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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.
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Harlequin Bug
A shield-shaped stink bug painted in bold black-and-orange (or red-and-yellow) blotches, making it one of the most colorful and easily recognized true bugs on cabbage and other cole crops.
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Boxelder Bug
A slender black true bug marked with three bold red-orange stripes on its thorax and red wing veins, famous for massing by the hundreds on tree trunks and sun-warmed walls in autumn.
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Assassin Bug
A slender, long-legged predatory true bug with a curved, needle-like beak used to ambush and pierce other insects, often patterned in bold orange, black, or red warning colors.
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Bagrada Bug
A tiny, orange-and-black stink bug with an intricate mottled pattern, notable as a small-bodied specialist pest of cabbage-family plants in warm, dry climates.
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