Comprehensive Guide to Insect Names A-Z

Did you know Arizona has 942 types of insects? This guide is your ticket to the world of bugs, from the common ant to the beautiful butterfly and dragonfly. Learn about moths, grasshoppers, ladybugs, mantises, and fireflies. Get ready to be wowed by the many kinds of insects out there.

Introduction to Insects

The insect kingdom is vast and captivating. It has an unmatched diversity. There are over 10 quintillion insects on our planet. They make up most known animal species. Insects are everywhere. They are in the hives of honeybees and the webs of spiders. They are crucial for our ecosystems to keep a delicate balance.

Diversity of Insects

Insects are part of the Arthropoda phylum. This also includes arachnids, crustaceans, and myriapods. In the class Insecta, there are over three-quarters of a million species known. Insects come in many shapes, sizes, and have different behaviors. From tiny mosquitoes to big stag beetles. They live in oceans and mountains, showing they are truly global creatures.

Classification of Insects

Insects have many orders based on how they look and evolve. Some big orders are Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Orthoptera. Each order has unique features. This makes it easier for scientists and bug lovers to find out about different insects.

Insect Order	Examples
Coleoptera (Beetles)	Ladybugs, Fireflies, Scarab beetles, Weevils
Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)	Monarch butterflies, Luna moths, Hawkmoths
Diptera (Flies)	House flies, Mosquitoes, Fruit flies
Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, and Ants)	Honeybees, Yellowjackets, Fire ants
Orthoptera (Grasshoppers and Crickets)	Katydids, Crickets, Locusts

It’s key to understand insects for science and nature lovers. The world of insects, from butterfly wings to ant societies, is full of wonder. It shows us the beauty and complexity of life.

Insect Names A-Z

Names with A:

Acrobat Ant
Allegheny Mound Ant
Ambush Bugs
American Carrion Beetle
American Cockroach
American Dagger Caterpillar
American Dog Tick
American Lady / American Painted Lady
American Serpentine Leafminer
Annual Cicada
Ants
Aphids
Apple Maggot
Armyworms
Ash Bark Beetles
Asian Longhorned Beetle
Asiatic Garden Beetle
Asparagus Beetles
Assassin Bugs
Aster Leafhopper
Azalea Lace Bug
Azalea Leafminer

Names with B:

Backswimmers (UWM)
Bald-faced Hornets
Banded Tussock Caterpillar
Banded Woollybear
Bark Beetles
Barklice
Bean Leaf Beetle
Bed Bugs
Bedstraw Sphinx (Galium Sphinx) Caterpillar
Bees
Beetle Grubs
Bella Moth / Beautiful Utetheisa
Bird Mites
Bird Tick
Black-legged Tick/Deer Tick
Black and Yellow Garden Spider
Black Blister Beetle
Black Carpet Beetle
Black Swallowtail / Eastern Black Swallowtail
Black Flies
Black Vine Weevil
Blister Beetles
Blood-colored Checkered Beetle
Blow Flies and Flesh Flies
Blueberry Insect Pests
Blueberry Flea Beetle
Blueberry Maggot
Blueberry Spanworm
Blueberry Thrips

Names With C:

Cabbage Looper
Cabbage Maggot
Cabbageworm/Imported Cabbageworm
Caddisflies
Camel Crickets
Candy-striped Leafhopper
Carpenter Ants
Carpenter Bees
Carpet Beetles
Carrion Beetles
American Carrion Beetle
Margined Carrion Beetle
Tomentose Burying Beetle
Caterpillars
Cecropia Moth
Cellar Spiders
Centipedes
Charadra deridens caterpillar
Chinch Bugs
Cicadas
Clavate Tortoise Beetle
Clay-colored Weevil
Click Beetles
Clothes Moths
Clouded Sulphur butterfly
Clover Mites
Cluster Flies
Cockroaches
Codling Moth
Coffin Flies
Collembola: Springtails / Snowfleas
Colorado Potato Beetle
Common Asparagus Beetle
Common Ringlet
Common Stalk Borer
Confused Flour Beetle
Corn Earworm
Corn Rootworm
Cornfield Ant
Cranberry Insect Pests
Blackheaded Fireworm
Cranberry Fruitworm
Cranberry Weevil
Cranberry Tipworm
False Armyworm
Redheaded Flea Beetle
Crane Flies
Crazy Ant
Crickets
Cucumber Beetle
Curve-toothed Geometer
Cutworms
Cyclamen Mites

Names With D:

Damselflies
Dark Fishing Spider
Dark-winged Fungus Gnats
Deer Flies
Deer Tick
Diamondback Moth
Diamondback Soil Centipede
Dobsonflies
Dogwood Sawfly
Dog Tick
Dragonflies
Drain Flies
Drone Fly/Dronefly
Drugstore Beetles
Dust Mites

Names With E:

Earwigs
Eastern Ash Bark Beetle
Eastern Black Swallowtail
Eastern Boxelder Bugs
Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp
Eastern Hemlock Looper
Eastern Parson Spider
Eastern Subterranean Termites
Eastern Tent Caterpillars
Elm Sawfly
Emerald Ash Borer
Euonymus Caterpillars
European Apple Sawfly
European Chafer
European Corn Borer
European Crane Fly
European Ground Beetle
European Hornet
European Pine Sawfly
European Red Ant / European Fire Ant
European Red Mite
Eyed Click Beetle

Names With F:

Fall Armyworm
Fall Webworm
False Black Widow Spider
False Honey Ant
Field Crickets
Filmy Dome Spider
Firebrats (and Silverfish)
Fishflies
Fishing Spiders
Flat Bark Beetle
Flea Beetles
Fleas
Flesh Flies and Blow Flies
Flour Beetles
Flour / Grain Mites
Flour Moth
Flower Flies
Forest Pests
Forest Tent Caterpillars
Four-lined Silverfish
Foxglove Aphids
Fruit Flies
Fuller Rose Beetle
Fungus Gnats
Fungus Moths

Names With G:

Galium Sphinx Moth
Galium Sphinx caterpillar
Galium Sphinx pupa
Garden Spider
Garden Tiger Moth
German Cockroach
Giant Water Bug
Golden Ground Beetle
Golden Paper Wasps
Grain Beetles
Grain / Flour Mites
Great Golden Digger Wasp
Great Tiger Moth
Green Peach Aphids
Ground Beetles
Bronze Carabid / Bronze Ground Beetle
Golden Ground Beetle
Ground and Tiger Beetles
Groundhog (Woodchuck) Tick
Ground-nesting Solitary Bees
Grubs (White Grubs)
G**** Moth — find it now by its new name of Spongy Moth

Names With H:

Half-Wing (geometer moth)
Half-Wing moth
Half-Wing
Head Lice
Hemlock Looper
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
Hickory Tussock Caterpillar
Honey bees
Hornets/Wasps/Yellowjackets
Horntails
Hornworms
Horse Flies
Horsehair Worm
House Centipede
House Crickets
House Dust Mites
House Flies
Hover Flies
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth
Humpbacked Flies

Names With I:

Ichneumonid wasps
Imported Cabbageworm
Inchworms
Indian Meal Moth
Introduced Pine Sawfly

Names With J:

Japanese Beetles
Jumping Spiders
Jumping Worms
Jumping/Snake (Amynthas) Worms in Maine
June Beetles

Names With K:

Katydids (also known as long-horned grasshoppers)
Kennel Tick

Names With L:

Lace Bugs
Lacewings
Ladybugs / Ladybird Beetles
Larder Beetles
Large Yellow Underwing
Larger Yellow Ants
Laugher caterpillar
Leafhoppers
Aster Leafhopper
Candy-striped Leafhopper
Potato Leafhopper
Leafminers
Birch Leafminers
Leafminers in Home Gardens
Leafminers of Vegetable Crops
Serpentine (American Serpentine) Leafminer
Vegetable Leafminer
Leatherjackets
Leek Moth
Leopard Slugs
Lesser Grain Borers
Lesser Mealworms
Lice / Booklice
Lice / Head Lice
Lily Leaf Beetle
Little Black Ant
Locust Borer
Lone Star Tick
Longhorned Beetles (and Roundheaded Borers)
Loopers
Lovebugs
Luna Moth
Lymantria dispar (Spongy Moth)

Names With M:

March Flies
Margined Carrion Beetle
Masked Hunter
May/June Beetles
Mayflies
Meal Moth
Mealworms
Mealybugs
Mealybugs (on house plants)
Mealybugs (greenhouse, nursery and landscape plants)
Merchant Grain Beetle
Metallic Wood-Boring Beetle
Mexican Bean Beetle
Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar
Millipedes
Mites
Bird Mites
Clover Mites
Dust Mites
Mold Mites / Tyroglyphid Mites
Grain / Flour Mites
Spider Mites
Parasitic Mites of Humans
Monarch Butterfly and Caterpillar
Moose Tick
Mosquitoes
Mosquito Biology
Mosquito Management
Insect Repellents
West Nile Virus
Preventing Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) Virus in Maine
Moth Flies
Moths (and Butterflies)
Mourning Cloak Butterfly
Mouse Tick
Mullein Plant Bug
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle

Names With N:

Non-biting Midges
Northeastern Pine Sawyer Beetle
Northern Corn Rootworm
Northern Pearly-eye Butterfly
Nursery Web Spider

Names With O:

Oblique-banded Leafroller
Odorous House Ants
Oil Beetles
One-eyed Sphinx Moth
Onion Maggots
Onion Thrips
Oriental Beetle

Names With P:

Painted Lady
Pantry pests
Flour Beetles
Pantry Moth
Rice Weevils
How to Deal with Pantry Pests
Paper Wasps/Yellowjackets/Hornets
Parson Spider
Parthenice Tiger Moth
Pavement Ants
Pennsylvania Wood Roach
Pharaoh Ant
Phorid Flies
Picnic Beetles
Pillbugs
Pine Needle Scale
Plant Diseases
Plum Curculio
Polyphemus Moth
Pond Skaters (Water Striders)
Potato (and other) Aphids
Potato Leafhopper
Powderpost Beetles
Praying Mantids
Predaceous Diving Beetles
Pseudoscorpions

Names With R:

Rabbit Tick
Raspberry Insect Pests
Raspberry Cane Borer
Raspberry Cane Maggot
Raspberry Crown Borer
Raspberry Fruitworm
Red-necked Cane Borer
Raspberry Weevil
Spotted-wing Drosophila
Red Admiral (butterfly)
Red-banded Leafroller
Red-headed Ash Borer
Redheaded Flea Beetle
Redhumped Caterpillars
Red-necked Cane Borer
Red Flat Bark Beetle
Red Flour Beetle
Rhododendron Pests
Azalea Leafminer
Black Vine Weevil and Raspberry Weevil
Lace Bugs
Mealybugs
Rhododendron Leafhopper
Rhododendron Whiteflies
Rice Weevil
Roaches / Cockroaches
Robber Flies
Rose Chafer
Rose Leafhopper
Rose Sawflies
Rose Slugs
Roundheaded Borers (and Longhorned Beetles)
Rusty Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Names With S:

Sawflies
European Pine Sawfly
Dogwood Sawfly
Elm Sawfly
Introduced Pine Sawfly
Introduced Pine Sawfly
Rose Sawflies
Variegated Golden Tortrix
Scale Insects
San Jose Scale
Japanese Wax Scale
Scorpionflies
Scorpions
Seed Corn Maggot
Seed Ticks
Short-lived Caddisfly
Silverfish
Simple Backyard Mosquito Traps
Six-spotted Fishing Spider
Skippers
Small Minnow Mayfly
Small Plant Bugs
Smoked Bloodwing
Snake Worms
Snowfleas
Sod Webworm
Soldier Beetles
Spined Soldier Bug
Soybean Aphid
Spider Mites
Spiders
Common House Spider
Hobo Spider
Jumping Spider
Nursery Web Spider
Sac Spiders
Wolf Spiders
Spongy Moth Caterpillar
Springtails
Spotted Apatelodes
Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Spotted-wing Drosophila
Squash Bugs
Stalk Borers
Stinging Rose Caterpillar
Stoneflies
Striped Earwig
Striped Garden Caterpillar
Striped Pine Scale
Sugarcane Beetle
Sugarcane Rootstock Weevil
Sulphur Butterfly
Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle
Swede Midge
Swirly-eyed Moth

Names With T:

Tabanid Flies
Tachinid Flies
Tarnished Plant Bug
Tent Caterpillars
Forest Tent Caterpillar
Eastern Tent Caterpillar
Tent Worms
Termites
Theba Pisana
Thorn Bugs
Thrips
Thrips (greenhouse, nursery and landscape plants)
Thrips (on houseplants)
Thysanoptera
Ticks
Bird Tick
Black-legged Tick
Deer Tick
Lone Star Tick
Moose Tick
Rabbit Tick
Seed Ticks
Tulip Tree Beauty

Names With U:

Underwing Moths
Unicorn Caterpillar
Universal Moth
Uroleucon aphids

Names With V:

Variegated Cutworm
Variegated Golden Tortrix
Varied Carpet Beetle
Velvet Ants
Velvet Mites
Viceroy Butterfly
Vinegar Flies
Vole Fleas

Names With W:

Walkingsticks
Wasps
Paper Wasps
Golden Paper Wasps
Water Boatman
Water Striders
Western Conifer Seed Bug
Western Flower Thrips
Western Yellowjacket
Weevils
Wheat Wireworms
White-fringed Beetle
White Grubs
White-lined Sphinx Moth
Whitefly
Willow Sawfly
Wireworms
Wood Ants
Woodlice
Woodlice (Sowbugs & Pillbugs)
Wood Mites
Wood Roaches
Woolly Bear Caterpillar
Woolly Leaf Aphids
Woolly Maple Aphid
Woolly-bear Caterpillar
Woolly Bear Caterpillar (Isabella tiger moth caterpillar)
Woolly Apple Aphid

Names With X:

Xerces Blue Butterfly
Xylophagous (wood-eating) Insects

Names With Y:

Yellow Mealworm
Yellow Bear Caterpillar
Yellow-jacket Wasps
Yellow-bordered Underwing
Yellow-necked Caterpillar
Yellowstriped Oakworm

Names With Z:

Zebra Caterpillar
Zebra Longwing Butterfly
Zigzag Herpetogramma

Our guide makes it simple to find and learn about insects. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to know more about these tiny creatures. Immerse yourself and discover the wonders of insect life.

This guide is a valuable source for learning about insects, from A to Z. It takes you on a journey through their unique world. You’ll be amazed by the variety and beauty of these creatures.

Common Insect Orders

Insect Name	Common Name	Scientific Name
Acrobat Ant	Crematogaster spp.	Crematogaster spp.
Admiral Butterfly	Limenitis arthemis	Limenitis arthemis
Allegheny Mound Ant	Formica exsectoides	Formica exsectoides
Ambush Bug	Phymata spp.	Phymata spp.
American Carrion Beetle	Necrophila americana	Necrophila americana

The world of insects is big and varied, filled with many different species. Some of the well-known insect groups are beetles, known as Coleoptera, and butterflies and moths, known as Lepidoptera.

Coleoptera: Beetles

Beetles, or Coleoptera, are the largest group of insects, with over 400,000 species. They have hard, shield-like front wings and strong jaws for chewing. You can find beetles almost everywhere, from forests to gardens. They help in pollination, break down dead plants, and control pests.

Lepidoptera: Butterflies and Moths

The Lepidoptera order includes butterflies and moths, known for their color and variety. Butterflies are seen during the day, with slim bodies and bright wings. Moths fly at night and are more plain. Both go through big changes from caterpillars to adults. They are key in pollination and show how healthy their environment is.

Insects are part of the animal kingdom and are split into groups that are alike. The Hexapoda class in Insecta has about 30 orders to study. Some of these orders are less important and are looked into just for science. Among these groups, there are different levels of families and species, each with its own scientific name style.

The insect orders with the most species are shown in bold. This shows how many types of insects there are. A work by Sasaki and others in 2013 looked at the classification of these orders. It was an up-to-date look at how insects are sorted. The document lists many details about insect orders, showing how they are organized and named.

Identifying Insect Characteristics

Being able to tell insects apart comes from looking closely at what makes each one special. This means checking out their wings, body shape, and color, and how their mouths are built. Each of these things help us know which type of insect we’re seeing. It’s like solving a puzzle, but with bugs.

One way we find out what insect we’re looking at is by looking at how their bodies are built. Insects have three main body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. These parts do different jobs and help the insect live its life.

The head is where you find the eyes, antennae, and mouth. Insects use these to see, smell, and eat, and talk to other bugs.
The thorax is in the middle and it supports the legs and wings. This part helps insects move and fly.
The abdomen holds the important organs like the stomach and parts for making babies.

But, we also look at the smaller stuff to figure out what insect is what. Insect structures and insect morphology mean we look at more detailed things. Like how many wings they have, what the wings look like, the body’s shape and color, and even the legs and mouthparts.

Insect Structure	Description
Wings	Different wings mean different kinds of insects. We can know who is who by their wings.
Body Shape and Color	How an insect’s body looks tells us a lot about it. The size, shape, and color are big clues.
Mouthparts	The mouth can show how an insect eats. Some chew, some suck, and some sip nectar.
Legs	Looking at legs can help tell insects apart. Special leg parts help some insects do special things.

Watching carefully, we can learn so much about insects. People who study them, like entomologists, can name any bug they see. They know the secrets hidden in those tiny bodies.

Insect Metamorphosis

Insects have a lot of species, showing off their many different types. They change a lot during their lives. There are two main ways this change happens: simple metamorphosis and complex metamorphosis.

Simple Metamorphosis

Insects like grasshoppers and cockroaches change slowly. They start as nymphs that look a lot like the adults. As they grow, they molt, or shed their skin, several times. This helps them grow and change into adults. The young and adults often live in the same places and eat the same food.

Complex Metamorphosis

Butterflies and beetles have a very different journey. Their young are larvae or caterpillars. They are very different from the adults. After growing, they enter a pupal stage. In this stage, they completely change their bodies. Then, they come out as the adult forms we know, in shapes like butterflies and beetles.

Metamorphosis Type	Characteristics	Examples
Simple Metamorphosis	Gradual transformation from immature to adult form Nymphs resemble adults and undergo molts Nymphs and adults share similar habitats and food sources	Grasshoppers, Cockroaches
Complex Metamorphosis	Dramatic transformation from immature to adult stage Larvae/caterpillars look different from adults and occupy different niches Undergo a pupal stage before emerging as adults	Butterflies, Beetles

Knowing how insects grow and change is key to understanding their world. We learn a lot by looking at simple versus complex transformation. This shows us how different and amazing insects really are.

Resources for Insect Identification

Being an insect lover or a researcher means needing good resources for identifying insects. Luckily, there are many guides, databases, and digital tools to help.

Field Guides

Books like “Simon & Schuster’s Guide to Insects” or the “Peterson Field Guide to Insects” are great. They give descriptions, photos, and drawings to help you know what insects you see. These guides are easy to use and full of helpful info, loved by many fans and scientists.

Online Databases

Online guides are also super useful for recognizing bugs. The Entomological Society of Canada’s “Insect Common Names” and other sites are there to help. They have lots of info and tools. It’s easy to look up different insects. Each site helps in its own way, for all kinds of needs, from pests to just learning about insects.

But, it can still be easy to make mistakes in identifying bugs. Yet, everyone is working together to fix this by offering many ways to learn about and identify insects. This team effort helps us all get better at spotting and identifying bugs.

There’s more online than just these websites. Social media groups, apps, and government groups also help with insect IDs. Places like the Facebook Entomology Group or the r/whatsthisbug subreddit are popular for discussing and identifying insects. For detailed help, you can also turn to apps like iNaturalist or Bug Identifier. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also does testing and identification for insect samples.

Overall, there’s a ton of ways to get help with identifying insects. With so many sources available online and in print, anyone can learn a lot about the bugs around them.

Fascinating Insect Facts

The bug world is full of amazing facts about the many creatures that live there. For example, did you know there are over 700,000 types of bugs? They make up 84% of the animal species we know about. The Giant Weta is the biggest bug, weighing as much as 70 grams. The Fairyflies are the tiniest, measuring just 0.5 to 1 mm long.

Insects come in many shapes and colors. From bugs that look like music instruments to those that shine, they’re all interesting. Exploring all these facts helps us see just how different and cool bugs are.

Insect Name	Adaptation	Location
Violin Beetle	Body shape resembling a guitar or violin, emits a strong-smelling liquid when disturbed	Indo-Malaya
Gould’s Jewel Beetle	Irregular red spots and red lateral margins on greenish or bluish forewings	Australia
Green Milkweed Grasshopper	Secretes a noxious fluid when alarmed, derived from the milkweed plants it feeds on	Southern Africa
Gray’s Leaf Insect	Extremely flattened, leaf-like wings and legs to blend with its environment	Southeast Asia and Indo-Malaya
Wax Tailed Bug	Produces waxy secretions from glands for protection	Mexico and Central America

Insects can be found all over, from Tropical South America to New Guinea. This shows how insects live in many places across the world.

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Mark Lewis

Mark Lewis, a seasoned pest control professional, is passionate about educating businesses and homes how to effectively avoid termites. With a commitment to providing valuable insights and practical solutions, Mark remains dedicated to safeguarding properties from the damaging impacts of pests.