Herbivores

889 species with this diet

Hymenoptera

Acacia Ant

Pseudomyrmex ferruginea

A slender orange-brown ant that lives inside the swollen thorns of bullhorn acacia trees in a classic mutualistic relati...

Hemiptera

Acanaloniid Planthopper

Acanalonia conica

A small bright green planthopper with broad leaf-shaped wings that provide excellent camouflage among foliage. Its round...

Coleoptera

African Cassava Leaf Beetle

Mesoplatys ochroptera

A small, yellowish-brown beetle that is a significant pest of cassava in sub-Saharan Africa. Both adults and larvae feed...

Hemiptera

African Citrus Psyllid

Trioza erytreae

A small brownish psyllid that causes distinctive pit galls on citrus leaves. It vectors the African form of citrus green...

Coleoptera

African Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle

Oryctes monoceros

A robust, dark chestnut-brown beetle with a single curved horn on the male's head. It is a significant pest of coconut a...

Phasmatodea

African Giant Stick Insect

Palophus centaurus

One of the largest stick insects in East Africa, with females reaching over 20 cm in length. It has thorny legs and body...

Blattodea

African Harvester Termite

Microhodotermes viator

A harvester termite found in the fynbos and semi-arid regions of the Western Cape in South Africa. Workers have pigmente...

Coleoptera

African Leaf Beetle

Polyclada bohemani

A medium-sized, brightly metallic leaf beetle with iridescent green, blue, and copper hues. It feeds openly on foliage, ...

Lepidoptera

African Map Butterfly

Cyrestis camillus

A delicate white butterfly with fine dark lines across its wings resembling a map or circuit board. It rests with wings ...

Phasmatodea

African Twig Stick Insect

Clonopsis maroccana

A slender stick insect that mimics dry twigs with remarkable accuracy. It reproduces parthenogenetically, with females p...

Hymenoptera

African Weaver Ant

Oecophylla longinoda

An arboreal ant that constructs leaf nests by weaving living leaves together using larval silk. Colonies can span multip...

Lepidoptera

African Wild Silk Moth

Gonometa postica

A medium-sized brown moth whose caterpillars spin tough, golden silk cocoons on Acacia branches. It has been investigate...

Coleoptera

Agave Snout Weevil

Scyphophorus acupunctatus

A large, black weevil that attacks agave and yucca plants by boring into the base. It can destroy entire agave plantatio...

Coleoptera

Agonum Marsh Ground Beetle

Agonum marginatum

A medium-sized metallic green ground beetle with pale-margined elytra found exclusively in wetland habitats. It runs rap...

Coleoptera

Alder Leaf Beetle

Agelastica alni

A metallic dark violet-blue beetle that feeds on alder trees. Heavy infestations can completely defoliate alder trees al...

Hymenoptera

Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee

Megachile rotundata

A small solitary bee that cuts precise circular pieces from leaves to construct nest cells. It is the most important man...

Orthoptera

Alpine Dark Bush-cricket

Pholidoptera aptera

A large, dark bush-cricket found in alpine and subalpine scrublands. It is completely flightless with only vestigial win...

Orthoptera

Alpine Grasshopper

Kosciuscola tristis

A striking color-changing grasshopper found in the Australian Alps above the snowline. Males turn from dark black-brown ...

Coleoptera

Alpine Weevil

Otiorhynchus morio

A large, black flightless weevil of alpine and subalpine zones. It feeds on roots and leaves of low-growing mountain pla...

Phasmatodea

Amazonian Giant Stick Insect

Bacteria ferula

A very long stick insect reaching over 200 mm, with an extremely thin body that closely mimics dead twigs. Females are l...

Coleoptera

Amber Rove Beetle

Mycetoporus lepidus

A tiny, elongate rove beetle with an amber-brown coloration and fine pubescence. It lives in the humus layer of forests ...

Lepidoptera

Ambulyx Hawk Moth

Ambulyx substrigilis

A large tropical hawk moth with brown and buff-patterned forewings that resemble dead leaves. It is found in the forests...

Lepidoptera

American Moth-Butterfly

Macrosoma heliconiaria

Pale greenish-gray moth-like butterfly with rounded wings and nocturnal habits. Represents the evolutionary link between...

Phasmatodea

Anangu Leaf Insect

Pulchriphyllium anangu

A leaf insect from southwestern India, one of the few Phylliidae known from the Indian subcontinent. It has broad, leaf-...

Phasmatodea

Andropromachus Stick Insect

Andropromachus scutatus

A winged stick insect from Yunnan Province in China with a shield-like thoracic plate. Males are capable of sustained fl...

Lepidoptera

Angle Shades

Phlogophora meticulosa

A moth with uniquely crumpled wings in olive, pink, and brown that perfectly resemble a dead leaf. It can be found in ev...

Neuroptera

Angular Brown Lacewing

Wesmaelius nervosus

A widespread brown lacewing with strong wing venation patterns. Found across much of the Northern Hemisphere in varied h...

Lepidoptera

Apple Leaf Miner

Lyonetia clerkella

A tiny moth whose serpentine leaf mines are visible on apple and cherry leaves. The mine appears as a winding white trai...

Orthoptera

Aquatic Pygmy Grasshopper

Scelimena producta

A remarkable semi-aquatic pygmy grasshopper with paddle-like hind legs used for swimming. It dives and swims underwater ...

Coleoptera

Arabian Darkling Beetle

Trachyderma hispida

A hairy, broad-bodied darkling beetle found in Arabian and North African deserts. Fine hairs on its body help trap a lay...

Hemiptera

Arctic Aphid

Acyrthosiphon svalbardicum

A small, pale green aphid that is one of the most northerly herbivorous insects on Earth. It feeds on the sap of Dryas o...

Coleoptera

Arctic Click Beetle

Hypnoidus riparius

A small, brown click beetle with a distinctive snapping mechanism that allows it to flip itself upright when overturned....

Diptera

Arctic Flower Fly

Platycheirus melanopsis

A small hover fly with a dark body and distinctive pale facial markings. It is an important pollinator of Arctic wildflo...

Coleoptera

Arctic Ground Beetle

Amara alpina

A small, dark bronze ground beetle found on Arctic and alpine tundra. It has a broad, flattened body ideal for shelterin...

Hymenoptera

Arctic Parasitic Wasp

Hyposoter horticola

A slender parasitic wasp with a black body, orange legs, and long antennae. Females search for caterpillar hosts on tund...

Hymenoptera

Arctic Sawfly

Amauronematus abnormis

A small, dark sawfly associated with willows in Arctic and subarctic regions. Females use their saw-like ovipositor to c...

Lepidoptera

Arctic Tiger Moth

Grammia quenseli

A striking moth with black and cream striped forewings and orange-red hindwings with black spots. The hairy caterpillar ...

Lepidoptera

Arctic Woolly Bear Caterpillar Moth

Gynaephora rossii

A close relative of the Greenland woolly bear, this moth has pale gray wings and a densely furred body. The caterpillar ...

Lepidoptera

Argent and Sable Moth

Rheumaptera hastata

A strikingly patterned black and white day-flying moth. Found on moorland and in birch woodland. Has declined severely i...

Phasmatodea

Arizonan Walking Stick

Diapheromera arizonensis

A walkingstick found in the mountains and canyons of Arizona. It is typically brown or tan to blend with desert vegetati...

Lepidoptera

Asian Comma Butterfly

Polygonia c-aureum

Known as 'ki-tataha' in Japanese, this butterfly has distinctively jagged wing edges that provide excellent camouflage a...

Coleoptera

Asparagus Beetle

Crioceris asparagi

A colorful blue-black beetle with cream spots and a red thorax that feeds exclusively on asparagus. Both adults and larv...

Lepidoptera

Atlas Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus atlanticus

A small blue butterfly restricted to high-altitude cedar forests in Morocco....

Lepidoptera

Atlas Moth

Attacus atlas

One of the largest moths in the world by wing area. Adults have no mouths and do not eat, living only 1-2 weeks on store...

Lepidoptera

August Thorn

Ennomos quercinaria

A thorn moth flying in late summer with warm yellow-brown wings. Rests with wings spread flat. Larvae feed on oak and ot...

Dermaptera

Australian Giant Earwig

Titanolabis colossea

The largest living earwig species, reaching up to 50 mm long. It is a burrowing, wingless species found in eastern Austr...

Ephemeroptera

Australian Giant Mayfly

Atalophlebia australis

One of the largest Australian mayflies, found in clean streams of southeastern Australia. Nymphs have feathery gills alo...

Hemiptera

Australian Lace Bug

Froggattia olivinia

A small sap-sucking bug that infests eucalyptus trees, producing unsightly black sooty mould on leaves. It has intricate...

Diptera

Australian March Fly

Bibio imitator

A robust black bibionid fly that appears in large numbers during the Australian autumn. It has a hairy body and is a slu...

Orthoptera

Australian Plague Locust

Chortoicetes terminifera

Australia's most economically damaging locust species. It has a distinctive dark spot at the tip of each hindwing....

Hymenoptera

Australian Satin Sawfly

Perga lewisi

A large Australian sawfly with a satiny dark blue-black body. Larvae are robust and feed in clusters on eucalyptus folia...

Mecoptera

Australian Scorpionfly

Harpobittacus australis

An Australian hangingfly that suspends itself from vegetation and catches prey with its raptorial hind legs. Males prese...

Diptera

Australian Stiletto Fly

Anabarhynchus bilineatus

A slender gray stiletto fly with two pale longitudinal stripes on the thorax and a distinctly tapered abdomen. It is com...

Phasmatodea

Austrocarausius Stick Insect

Austrocarausius mercurius

A small, cryptic stick insect found in remnant rainforest patches of Queensland. It is part of a genus with several rece...

Lepidoptera

Autumnal Moth

Epirrita autumnata

A grayish-brown moth with faint wavy crosslines on the forewings. It flies in autumn in subarctic birch forests. Periodi...

Hemiptera

Azalea Lace Bug

Stephanitis pyrioides

A tiny lace bug with beautifully ornate, net-veined wings that is a major pest of azaleas and rhododendrons. Native to E...

Coleoptera

Balearic Green Lizard Beetle

Timarcha balearica

A large flightless leaf beetle endemic to the Balearic Islands. It is black with a bluish-purple sheen and exudes red he...

Coleoptera

Bamboo Longhorn

Chloridolum alcmene

A vivid metallic green longhorn beetle with a slender body and long antennae. It breeds exclusively in bamboo stems....

Coleoptera

Bamboo Powderpost Beetle

Dinoderus minutus

A pantropical beetle that bores into dried bamboo and other starchy materials. It is a major pest of bamboo products and...

Lepidoptera

Banana Moth

Opogona sacchari

A small tropical moth whose larvae bore into banana stems and stored tubers....

Coleoptera

Banded Alder Borer

Rosalia funebris

A striking longhorn beetle with bold black and white banding and long banded antennae. It breeds in dead alder and other...

Diptera

Banded Blackfly

Simulium ornatum

A widespread European black fly species complex found in diverse stream types. Larvae filter-feed from silken pads attac...

Thysanoptera

Banded Greenhouse Thrips

Hercinothrips femoralis

A large thrips species with banded wings that infests banana, avocado, and ornamental plants. Originally from Africa, it...

Lepidoptera

Banded Peacock

Papilio crino

A stunning swallowtail with emerald green bands on velvety black wings. The hindwings have red and blue markings near th...

Orthoptera

Banks Peninsula Tree Weta

Hemideina ricta

The rarest tree weta in New Zealand, restricted to Banks Peninsula near Christchurch. It was not described as a distinct...

Lepidoptera

Baronia Swallowtail

Baronia brevicornis

The most primitive living swallowtail butterfly, restricted to a small area of southwestern Mexico. A true living fossil...

Phasmatodea

Bartman's Timema

Timema bartmani

A small, green timema from the mountains of southern California. It was described relatively recently from a restricted ...

Diptera

Bearded Robber Fly

Machimus atricapillus

A common European robber fly with a prominent mystax (facial beard) of bristles that protect its face during prey captur...

Diptera

Bee Killer Robber Fly

Mallophora bomboides

A large fuzzy robber fly that closely resembles a bumble bee in both appearance and buzzing flight. It perches on vegeta...

Lepidoptera

Beet Armyworm

Spodoptera exigua

A small grayish-brown moth whose green caterpillars attack a wide range of vegetable and field crops. Larvae often skele...

Lepidoptera

Bella Moth

Utetheisa ornatrix

A brightly colored moth with pink-orange forewings covered in white and black spots. It sequesters toxic pyrrolizidine a...

Phasmatodea

Bhaskara's Leaf Insect

Pulchriphyllium bhaskarai

A leaf insect endemic to Java, Indonesia, recently separated from closely related species. It has distinctly rounded abd...

Diptera

Big-headed Fly

Pipunculus campestris

A small fly with an enormously enlarged, almost entirely eye-covered spherical head. It hovers in vegetation searching f...

Coleoptera

Birch Leaf Beetle

Chrysomela collaris

A handsome beetle with dark metallic blue-black elytra and a contrasting bright red pronotum. It is found on birch trees...

Hymenoptera

Birch Leaf-Roller Sawfly

Pamphilius betulae

A flat-bodied sawfly with long, thread-like antennae and a broad abdomen. Larvae roll birch leaves into tubes using silk...

Hymenoptera

Birch Leafminer

Fenusa pusilla

An invasive European sawfly that mines inside birch leaves in North America. Heavy infestations cause extensive browning...

Hymenoptera

Birch Sawfly

Cimbex femoratus

One of the largest European sawflies, with a stout body, clubbed antennae, and variable coloring from black to yellowish...

Trichoptera

Bizarre Caddisfly

Lepidostoma togatum

A North American case-building caddisfly with square-sectioned cases made of leaf bits. Adults have a distinctive hairy ...

Coleoptera

Black Alpine Weevil

Otiorhynchus niger

A robust, dark weevil commonly found under stones in alpine environments. Adults are nocturnal and feed on plant foliage...

Hymenoptera

Black Headed Birch Sawfly

Craesus alniastri

A medium-sized sawfly with a dark head and orange body. Larvae are greenish-blue with black heads and feed communally on...

Hymenoptera

Black Leafcutter Ant

Acromyrmex lobicornis

A cold-tolerant leafcutter ant that builds conspicuous mound nests from vegetation debris. Workers are dark brown to bla...

Blattodea

Black Periplaneta Cockroach

Periplaneta atra

A dark black cockroach from tropical Africa with a shiny exoskeleton. It is less commonly encountered than its cosmopoli...

Hymenoptera

Black-Headed Ash Sawfly

Tethida barda

A small sawfly whose larvae have distinctive black heads and whitish-green bodies. They feed on the underside of ash lea...

Lepidoptera

Black-waved Flannel Moth

Megalopyge crispata

A fluffy white to yellowish moth with wavy dark lines across the forewings. Like its relative the puss moth, its caterpi...

Hymenoptera

Blackberry Leaf Miner

Metallus pumilus

A tiny, dark metallic sawfly whose larvae create blotch mines in blackberry and raspberry leaves. Mined areas turn brown...

Orthoptera

Bladder Grasshopper

Bullacris membracioides

A grasshopper with an inflated balloon-like abdomen used as a resonating chamber....

Phasmatodea

Blatchley's Walkingstick

Manomera blatchleyi

A slender, brown walkingstick found in the southeastern United States. It is named after the American entomologist Willi...

Lepidoptera

Blue Doctor Butterfly

Rhetus periander

A large metalmark butterfly with brilliant metallic blue upperwings and distinctive red-spotted underwings with long tai...

Coleoptera

Blue Flea Beetle

Altica lythri

A small metallic blue-green flea beetle that feeds on willowherb and evening primrose. Has enlarged hind femora enabling...

Coleoptera

Blue Leaf Beetle

Colaspidema atrum

A small, oval, dark blue to black beetle with a slight metallic luster. It can be a pest of lucerne (alfalfa) and other ...

Coleoptera

Blue Milkweed Beetle

Chrysochus cobaltinus

A stunningly beautiful beetle with a deep cobalt blue metallic sheen across its rounded body. It feeds on milkweed and d...

Coleoptera

Blue Mint Beetle

Chrysolina coerulans

A small, deep metallic blue leaf beetle found exclusively on mint plants. Both adults and larvae feed on mint foliage....

Coleoptera

Blue Net-Winged Beetle

Metriorrhynchus rhipidius

An Australian net-winged beetle with dark blue-black elytra and elaborate feathery antennae in males. It is commonly fou...

Coleoptera

Blue Rove Beetle

Paederus fuscipes

A small, slender beetle with metallic blue elytra and an orange abdomen. It is an important biological control agent in ...

Hemiptera

Blue Shieldbug

Zicrona caerulea

A metallic blue-green predatory stink bug found across Europe and Asia. It specializes in hunting flea beetles and other...

Phasmatodea

Blue Stick Insect

Achrioptera manga

A spectacular stick insect where males are electric blue with bright orange wings. Females are much larger and brown wit...

Lepidoptera

Blue Striped Nettle Grub

Parasa lepida

A small moth with vivid green forewings edged in dark chocolate brown. The caterpillar is bright green with blue longitu...

Coleoptera

Blue Willow Beetle

Phratora vulgatissima

A small, metallic dark blue to blue-green beetle commonly found on willow trees. It can cause significant defoliation in...

Lepidoptera

Bogong Moth

Agrotis infusa

A migratory moth that aestivates in alpine caves in enormous aggregations....

Coleoptera

Boll Weevil

Anthonomus grandis

A small grayish-brown weevil with a long curved snout used to bore into cotton bolls. It devastated the American cotton ...

Hymenoptera

Bordered Rose Sawfly

Arge cyanocrocea

A compact sawfly with a striking combination of an orange body and metallic blue-black wings. Larvae are green with oran...

Orthoptera

Bornean Monkey Grasshopper

Erianthus versicolor

A vividly multicolored monkey grasshopper from Borneo's montane forests with blue, green, red, and yellow markings. It m...

Coleoptera

Bornean Peacock Beetle

Lamprosoma bicolor

A small, dome-shaped leaf beetle with spectacular iridescent elytra that shift from purple to green to gold. The body is...

Mantodea

Borneo Leaf Mantis

Amorphoscelis borneana

A small leaf-mimicking mantis from the forests of Borneo. It rests on dead leaves in the understory where its brown colo...

Mantodea

Borneo Stick Mantis

Toxodera integrifolia

A large stick mantis endemic to Borneo with leaf-like wing expansions. Its wings resemble dried leaves and add to its tw...

Hemiptera

Box Sucker

Psylla buxi

A tiny jumping plant louse that causes cupping and distortion of box leaves. Nymphs produce waxy secretions. Can cause s...

Hymenoptera

Brazilian Eucalyptus Sawfly

Deuteronomus amoenus

A medium-sized pergid sawfly that attacks eucalyptus plantations in South America. Larvae are gregarious and can cause s...

Coleoptera

Brazilian Jewel Scarab

Chrysina cupreomarginata

A dazzling scarab beetle with a brilliant golden-green metallic sheen. Its compact oval body reflects light like polishe...

Hymenoptera

Brazilian Pergid Sawfly

Perreyia flavipes

A medium-sized pergid sawfly with dark coloring and yellowish legs. Larvae are gregarious and feed on various plant spec...

Lepidoptera

Bright-line Brown-eye Moth

Lacanobia oleracea

A reddish-brown moth with a prominent white-edged kidney mark and bright white subterminal line. It is a common garden m...

Diptera

Brine Fly

Ephydra hians

A fly that thrives in the extremely alkaline waters of Mono Lake....

Orthoptera

Broad-backed Grouse Locust

Nomotettix cristatus

A pygmy grasshopper with a high crested pronotum that gives it a broad-backed appearance. It inhabits dry forest floors ...

Coleoptera

Broad-shouldered Leaf Beetle

Chrysomela tremula

A robust, convex beetle with dark metallic greenish-black to bronze elytra and irregular rows of punctures. It is closel...

Coleoptera

Bronze Flea Beetle

Altica ambiens

A metallic bronze to greenish flea beetle with prominent hind leg development. It feeds on alder leaves in wetland habit...

Coleoptera

Bronze Leaf Beetle

Colaphellus sophiae

A small, bronze to dark coppery beetle with a convex, oval body. It feeds on various cruciferous plants and can occasion...

Lepidoptera

Brown House Moth

Hofmannophila pseudospretella

A dull bronze-brown moth with darker flecks that is a widespread household pest. Unlike clothes moths, it feeds on a vas...

Coleoptera

Brown Leaf Weevil

Phyllobius oblongus

A brown-scaled weevil commonly found on hawthorn and other hedgerow shrubs. Less colorful than its green relatives but v...

Coleoptera

Brown Willow Beetle

Galerucella lineola

A small brown beetle that feeds on willow leaves and can cause significant defoliation. Has been used as a biological co...

Phasmatodea

Brunner Stick Insect

Bruneria borealis

A small thin brown stick insect and one of the few phasmids native to cold temperate North America. It is wingless and m...

Phasmatodea

Bud-wing Stick Insect

Phaenopharos khaoyaiensis

A medium-sized brown stick insect with tiny bud-like wings. It has knobby projections on its body mimicking tree buds. I...

Lepidoptera

Buff Ermine Moth

Spilosoma lutea

A creamy-buff moth with scattered dark spots and a distinctive dark streak along the forewing costa. It closely resemble...

Lepidoptera

Buff-tip

Phalera bucephala

A moth that mimics a broken birch twig with remarkable precision when at rest. Its silvery-grey wings end in a buff-colo...

Lepidoptera

Burnet Companion

Euclidia glyphica

A small day-flying brown and orange moth often seen flying alongside burnet moths on flower-rich grasslands....

Lepidoptera

Burnished Brass

Diachrysia chrysitis

A moth with brilliant metallic gold and bronze patches on its forewings that gleam like polished metal. It is a common v...

Lepidoptera

Cabbage Moth

Mamestra brassicae

A mottled grey-brown moth with kidney-shaped and circular stigmata on the forewings. Its caterpillar is a serious pest o...

Coleoptera

Cabbage Stem Weevil

Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus

A grey weevil that mines inside brassica stems. Larvae tunnel through stems causing weakening. One of several Ceutorhync...

Trichoptera

Caddisfly

Limnephilus rhombicus

Moth-like adults with hairy wings held tent-like over the body. Aquatic larvae are famous architects that build portable...

Lepidoptera

Cairns Birdwing

Ornithoptera euphorion

Australias largest endemic butterfly with males displaying vivid green and black wings. Females are larger and brown wit...

Odonata

Calico Pennant

Celithemis elisa

A small dragonfly with triangular red or yellow wing spots creating a calico pattern. Males have red body and wing marki...

Hemiptera

California Red Scale

Aonidiella aurantii

A circular reddish-brown armored scale insect that infests citrus bark, leaves, and fruit. Heavy infestations can kill b...

Phasmatodea

California Timema

Timema californicum

A small green walking stick endemic to California. It is one of the most widespread Timema species on the Pacific coast....

Phasmatodea

Cambridge's Striped Stick Insect

Pseudophasma cambridgei

A Brazilian stick insect only recently redescribed with its female and egg first identified. It has a slender, brown bod...

Lepidoptera

Canary Islands Blue Butterfly

Cyclyrius webbianus

A small endemic blue butterfly found on the Canary Islands. Males have bright violet-blue upperwings and females are bro...

Lepidoptera

Canary Islands Brimstone Butterfly

Gonepteryx cleobule

A bright yellow butterfly endemic to the Canary Islands, larger than its European relatives. It is found in laurel fores...

Lepidoptera

Canary Islands Large White Butterfly

Pieris cheiranthi

A large white butterfly endemic to the Canary Islands with prominent dark wing markings. It is found in laurel forests o...

Blattodea

Cape Mountain Cockroach

Aptera fusca

A large, wingless cockroach endemic to the mountains of South Africa. It lives in fynbos vegetation and rocky outcrops....

Coleoptera

Caribbean Calligrapha Beetle

Calligrapha cubana

A leaf beetle found in Cuba with intricate dark patterns on a pale background. Each individual has a unique pattern on i...

Phasmatodea

Carmelae's Thorny Stick Insect

Trachyaretaon carmelae

A robust, thorny stick insect from the Philippines reaching up to 13.5 cm. It has rough, bark-like texture on its body s...

Orthoptera

Carolina Grasshopper

Dissosteira carolina

A large band-winged grasshopper with black hindwings bordered by a pale yellow margin. It is commonly seen flying along ...

Phasmatodea

Carolina Walkingstick

Diapheromera carolina

A walkingstick found in the southeastern United States, closely related to the northern walkingstick. It prefers warmer,...

Coleoptera

Carpet Beetle

Attagenus pellio

A small dark beetle with a single white spot on each elytron. Larvae damage woolen textiles and natural fabrics....

Coleoptera

Case-bearing Leaf Beetle

Cryptocephalus sericeus

A brilliant metallic green to golden beetle with a cylindrical body shape typical of case-bearing chrysomelids. Adults a...

Lepidoptera

Cecropia Moth

Hyalophora cecropia

The largest native moth in North America with reddish-brown wings bearing white comma-shaped marks and crescent eyespots...

Phasmatodea

Celebes Leaf Insect

Phyllium celebicum

A leaf insect from Sulawesi with remarkably detailed leaf venation on its wings and body. Color ranges from bright green...

Mantodea

Central African Mantis

Sphodromantis centralis

A robust mantis native to Central African forests with green or brownish coloration. Females are noticeably bulkier than...

Orthoptera

Central American Locust

Schistocerca piceifrons

A significant agricultural pest locust in Mexico and Central America. It periodically swarms and can devastate corn, bea...

Hymenoptera

Cereal Leaf Miner Parasite

Dacnusa sibirica

A small dark braconid wasp used commercially to control leaf miner flies in greenhouses. It locates host larvae by detec...

Lepidoptera

Chalk Hill Blue

Polyommatus coridon

A large blue butterfly with silvery-blue males and brown females. Restricted to chalk and limestone grasslands....

Phasmatodea

Chans Megastick

Phobaeticus chani

The longest insect in the world at 567 mm (with legs extended). Discovered in Borneo in 1989. Only six specimens have ev...

Hymenoptera

Chestnut Gall Wasp

Dryocosmus kuriphilus

An invasive gall wasp from China that is the most damaging pest of chestnut trees worldwide. It induces galls on buds an...

Phasmatodea

Children's Stick Insect

Tropidoderus childrenii

A large Australian leaf insect with broad flattened body and legs. Females are vivid green and resemble eucalyptus leave...

Thysanoptera

Chilli Thrips

Scirtothrips dorsalis

A tiny pale yellow thrips that is an invasive pest of peppers, strawberries, and ornamental plants. It causes severe sca...

Coleoptera

Chinese Rose Beetle

Adoretus sinicus

A small nocturnal scarab that is a major agricultural pest in Hawaii. It skeletonizes the leaves of over 250 host plant ...

Phasmatodea

Chinese Stick Insect

Ramulus irregulariterdentatus

A long, slender stick insect with subtle irregular teeth along the edges of its body. It inhabits subtropical forests of...

Lepidoptera

Chinese Tussar Moth

Antheraea frithi

A large wild silk moth with rich brown wings bearing four prominent transparent eyespots. It produces durable wild silk ...

Lepidoptera

Chinese Windmill

Atrophaneura alcinous

A dark swallowtail butterfly with crimson patches on the hindwings and a slow fluttering flight. The body is red indicat...

Hemiptera

Chrysanthemum Lace Bug

Corythucha marmorata

A small lace bug with mottled brown and white lace-patterned wings that feeds on chrysanthemums, goldenrod, and asters. ...

Coleoptera

Chrysomelid Leaf Beetle

Chrysolina staphylaea

A small, strongly convex beetle with dark reddish-brown to almost black coloration and a smooth, shiny surface. It is on...

Lepidoptera

Cistus Forester

Adscita statices

A small, metallic green day-flying moth found on chalk grassland and damp meadows. Males have feathery antennae. Larvae ...

Hemiptera

Citrus Whitefly

Dialeurodes citri

A small white-winged whitefly that is a common pest of citrus trees. Adults gather on the undersides of leaves, and heav...

Hemiptera

Cixiid Planthopper

Cixius nervosus

A small brownish planthopper with prominently veined transparent wings. Nymphs develop underground feeding on roots, whi...

Lepidoptera

Clara's Satin Moth

Thalaina clara

An Australian moth with satiny white wings marked with orange bands. Found in eastern Australia and Tasmania. Caterpilla...

Lepidoptera

Cleopatra Butterfly

Gonepteryx cleopatra

A large butterfly with deep orange forewings in males and pale greenish wings in females. Common in Mediterranean areas....

Lepidoptera

Clifden Nonpareil Moth

Catocala fraxini

A large underwing moth with spectacular blue-black hindwings concealed at rest....

Orthoptera

Cloaked Groundhopper

Tetrix ceperoi

A small pygmy grasshopper of bare, damp ground on heathlands and coastal salt pans in western Europe. It is distinguishe...

Lepidoptera

Clouded Buff Moth

Diacrisia sannio

A medium-sized moth where males are golden-buff and females are pinkish with darker wing borders. Males fly actively in ...

Lepidoptera

Clouded Yellow

Colias croceus

A fast-flying bright orange-yellow butterfly with black wing borders. A pale female form called helice has greenish-whit...

Coleoptera

Cloudforest Jewel Scarab

Chrysina chrysargyrea

A stunning scarab beetle with a body that appears to be made of burnished silver and gold. It is found only in Central A...

Hymenoptera

Club-horned Sawfly

Abia sericea

A striking metallic green sawfly found across Europe. Adults visit flowers while larvae feed on honeysuckle and scabious...

Coleoptera

Cobalt Milkweed Beetle

Chrysochus cobaltinus auratus

A subspecies of the cobalt blue milkweed beetle with slightly more golden-green coloring....

Coleoptera

Coconut Hispine Beetle

Brontispa longissima

An elongate, flattened beetle with a dark head and thorax and paler brown elytra. It is a serious pest of coconut palms ...

Coleoptera

Colorado Leaf Beetle

Leptinotarsa juncta

A close relative of the Colorado potato beetle with similar striped elytra but alternating dark and light brown stripes ...

Coleoptera

Colorado Potato Beetle

Leptinotarsa decemlineata

A major agricultural pest with yellow-orange elytra bearing ten black longitudinal stripes. Has developed resistance to ...

Coleoptera

Colorado Three-lined Leaf Beetle

Lema trivittata

A small, elongated beetle with an orange-yellow body and three dark longitudinal stripes on the elytra. It feeds on toma...

Phasmatodea

Colorado Walking Stick

Parabacillus coloradus

A small, slender walkingstick found in arid regions of the western United States. It is well adapted to desert scrubland...

Phasmatodea

Colorful Stick Insect

Achrioptera maroloko

A newly described giant stick insect with brilliantly colored males showing iridescent blue bodies and orange-red limbs....

Hymenoptera

Columbine Sawfly

Pristiphora aquilegiae

A small, dark sawfly whose pale green larvae feed on the leaves of columbine plants. Larvae can cause significant damage...

Lepidoptera

Comet Moth

Argema mittrei

One of the worlds largest silk moths, with brilliant yellow wings and tail spans reaching 20 cm. Endemic to Madagascar. ...

Phasmatodea

Common American Walking Stick

Diapheromera femorata

The most common stick insect in North America, with a slender brown or green body. During outbreak years it can defoliat...

Lepidoptera

Common Birdwing

Troides helena

A large birdwing butterfly with velvety black forewings and bright golden-yellow hindwings in males. Females are larger ...

Odonata

Common Clubtail Dragonfly

Ictinogomphus ferox

A large, boldly marked black and yellow dragonfly with a distinctly clubbed abdomen tip. It is a powerful flier that per...

Orthoptera

Common Field Grasshopper

Chorthippus brunneus

An abundant European grasshopper with highly variable coloration ranging from green to brown. It produces a distinctive ...

Hemiptera

Common Green Capsid

Lygocoris pabulinus

A bright green mirid bug that is a common pest of fruit trees and currants in Europe. It causes russeting and distortion...

Lepidoptera

Common Nawab

Polyura athamas

A large butterfly with pale green-white wings edged in black with two prominent hindwing tails. It has a powerful fast f...

Lepidoptera

Common Quaker

Orthosia cerasi

A drab but very common spring moth attracted to sallow blossom. Variable brown coloring. Named 'quaker' for its plain, m...

Lepidoptera

Common Rustic

Mesapamea secalis

A highly variable common moth that forms a species complex with the Lesser Common Rustic. External appearance is unrelia...

Diptera

Common Stiletto Fly

Thereva nobilitata

A slender, densely hairy fly with a pointed abdomen and silvery-white body hairs. Adults bask on sunlit leaves and bare ...

Blattodea

Compass Termite

Amitermes laurensis

A termite that builds wedge-shaped mounds oriented east-west, exposing the broad face to the morning and evening sun. Th...

Orthoptera

Congo Basin Katydid

Enyaliopsis petersi

A large, armored katydid with a heavily spined pronotum and legs. It produces loud stridulating calls at night. Despite ...

Coleoptera

Congo Jewel Beetle

Sternocera castanea

A large, brilliantly metallic jewel beetle with copper and green iridescent elytra. Adults are found on trees where they...

Phasmatodea

Conle's Stick Insect

Conlephasma enigma

A rare and enigmatic stick insect from the Philippines, unusual for a typically neotropical family. Its discovery was ta...

Coleoptera

Corn Flea Beetle

Chaetocnema pulicaria

A very small, shiny black to bronze flea beetle with a compact, oval body. It vectors Stewart's wilt bacterium, making i...

Coleoptera

Crawling Water Beetle

Haliplus ruficollis

A tiny, oval water beetle with a yellowish body covered in rows of dark punctures. Unlike diving beetles, it crawls slow...

Lepidoptera

Cream Wave

Scopula floslactata

A delicate cream-white moth with subtle cross-lines. Found in deciduous woodland and hedgerows. Larvae feed on dead leav...

Lepidoptera

Cream-spot Tiger Moth

Arctia villica

A striking black moth with cream-white spots and orange hindwings with dark patches....

Hemiptera

Creosote Bush Grasshopper Bug

Bootettix argentatus

A tiny plant bug exclusively associated with creosote bush in North American deserts. Its silvery-green coloring blends ...

Phasmatodea

Creosote Bush Walkingstick

Diapheromera covilleae

A desert-adapted walkingstick that feeds on creosote bush in the American Southwest. It matches the gray-green color of ...

Hemiptera

Creosote Lace Bug

Corythucha morrilli

A tiny lace bug with delicate, ornately patterned wings found on creosote bushes. It feeds in groups on the underside of...

Phasmatodea

Creoxylus Stick Insect

Creoxylus spinosus

A spiny neotropical stick insect with bright warning coloration. It has short, colorful wings used for startle displays....

Lepidoptera

Cretan Tiger Moth

Euplagia quadripunctaria rhodosensis

A colorful tiger moth found on Mediterranean islands including Crete and Rhodes. It has black-and-white striped forewing...

Odonata

Crimson Marsh Glider

Trithemis aurora

A dazzling dragonfly where males are vivid crimson-pink with rose-tinted wing bases. Females are olive-brown. It perches...

Lepidoptera

Crimson Rose

Pachliopta hector

A striking black swallowtail with bright crimson patches on the hindwings and a red body. It is a model species for mimi...

Lepidoptera

Crimson Speckled Moth

Utetheisa pulchella

A small stunning moth with white forewings densely spotted with black and red marks. It is a strong migrant found across...

Phasmatodea

Cristina's Timema

Timema cristinae

A small, stout walking stick from California that comes in green, striped, and melanistic forms. It is a major model spe...

Coleoptera

Cromwell Chafer Beetle

Prodontria lewisii

A small chafer beetle endemic to a tiny area near Cromwell in Central Otago, New Zealand. Adults are nocturnal and feed ...

Phasmatodea

Crowned Stick Insect

Onchestus rentzi

An Australian stick insect with distinctive crown-like structures on its head. It inhabits rainforests in tropical Queen...

Coleoptera

Crucifer Flea Beetle

Phyllotreta cruciferae

A shiny black jumping beetle that causes shothole damage on canola and mustard seedlings. It is one of the most serious ...

Blattodea

Cuban Burrowing Cockroach

Byrsotria fumigata

A stocky burrowing cockroach native to Cuba. It spends most of its life underground in tropical soils....

Lepidoptera

Cuban Clear-winged Moth

Carmenta bassiformis

A wasp-mimicking moth found in Cuba with transparent wings. Its narrow body and buzzing flight closely resemble a small ...

Lepidoptera

Cuban Dagger Moth

Acronicta oblinita

A moth found in Cuba and North America whose caterpillars bear dense tufts of hair. Adults are grayish with subtle dagge...

Thysanoptera

Cuban Laurel Thrips

Gynaikothrips ficorum

A large dark thrips that causes leaf rolling on Ficus species. Colonies live inside the rolled leaves they create....

Hymenoptera

Cypress Sawfly

Monoctenus juniperi

A small sawfly with pectinate antennae in males whose green larvae feed on juniper and cypress foliage. Heavy infestatio...

Lepidoptera

Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet

Xanthorhoe ferrugata

A common but variable carpet moth found in gardens and hedgerows. Wing pattern ranges from pale to very dark. Larvae fee...

Lepidoptera

Death Head Hawk Moth

Acherontia lachesis

An Asian death head moth that squeaks loudly and raids bee hives for honey....

Lepidoptera

Death Head Hawkmoth

Acherontia atropos

Famous for the skull-like pattern on its thorax. Can emit a loud squeak when disturbed. Raids beehives by mimicking bee ...

Diptera

Delhi Sands Flower-loving Fly

Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis

A large flower fly endemic to the Delhi Sands area of San Bernardino County, California. It was the first fly to be list...

Phasmatodea

Delisle's Leaf Insect

Pulchriphyllium delislei

A leaf insect from Borneo described in recent taxonomic revisions. Females display rich green coloration with subtle bro...

Coleoptera

Desert Blister Beetle

Epicauta puncticollis

A soft-bodied beetle that produces cantharidin, a blistering toxin, in its hemolymph. It feeds on desert wildflowers aft...

Orthoptera

Desert Clicker Grasshopper

Ligurotettix coquilletti

A small, slender grasshopper found exclusively on creosote bushes in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. Males produce rapid...

Hymenoptera

Desert Leaf-Cutter Ant

Acromyrmex versicolor

The only leaf-cutter ant adapted to true desert habitats in North America. It harvests leaves and flower petals to grow ...

Orthoptera

Desert Locust

Schistocerca gregaria

Forms enormous swarms of billions that devastate crops across Africa and Asia. A single swarm can cover 1,200 square km ...

Mantodea

Desert Praying Mantis

Stagmomantis limbata

A medium-sized mantis common in desert and arid scrub habitats of western North America. Its coloring varies from green ...

Coleoptera

Desert Spider Beetle

Cysteodemus armatus

A bizarre inflated blister beetle with a bulbous, metallic blue-black abdomen. It waddles slowly through the Mojave and ...

Lepidoptera

Diamondback Moth

Plutella xylostella

A tiny grayish moth with a diamond-shaped pattern along its back when wings are folded. It is the most destructive pest ...

Orthoptera

Differential Grasshopper

Melanoplus differentialis

A large spur-throated grasshopper recognized by the herringbone pattern on its hind femora. It is a significant agricult...

Phasmatodea

Dobson's Stick Insect

Clitarchus hookeri

New Zealand's most common stick insect, found in gardens and native bush throughout the country. It ranges from bright g...

Hymenoptera

Dock Sawfly

Ametastegia glabrata

A small, shiny dark green to black sawfly with pale legs. Larvae are pale green caterpillar-like grubs that feed on dock...

Coleoptera

Dogbane Beetle

Chrysochus auratus

An iridescent beetle displaying blue, green, copper, and crimson colors. It feeds on toxic dogbane plants and sequesters...

Phasmatodea

Douglas-fir Timema

Timema douglasi

A parthenogenetic timema that feeds on old-growth Douglas fir. All-female populations can occasionally cause noticeable ...

Diptera

Downlooker Fly

Rhagio tringarius

A slender predatory fly with spotted wings that perches head-downward on vegetation waiting for prey....

Coleoptera

Downy Leatherwing

Podabrus tomentosus

A North American soldier beetle covered in fine pubescence, found on flowers and foliage in summer. It is an effective p...

Mantodea

Dragon Mantis

Toxodera denticulata

A rare and bizarre-looking mantis from pristine Southeast Asian rainforests. Its elongated body and twig-like limbs make...

Orthoptera

Dragon-Headed Katydid

Lesina intermedia

A Southeast Asian katydid with elaborate head projections resembling a dragon. Its bizarre head shape helps break up its...

Lepidoptera

Drinker Moth

Euthrix potatoria

A large golden-brown moth named because its caterpillar was observed drinking drops of dew from grass blades....

Lepidoptera

Duke of Burgundy

Hamearis lucina

A small, chequered brown and orange butterfly and Europe's only member of the metalmark family. It has declined signific...

Hymenoptera

Dusky Birch Sawfly

Croesus latitarsus

A medium-sized sawfly with an orange abdomen and black head and thorax. Larvae are yellowish-green with dark spots and f...

Blattodea

Dusky Cockroach

Periplaneta nigra

A dark-colored cockroach closely related to the American cockroach. It inhabits tropical forests across Africa....

Lepidoptera

Dusky-winged Fritillary

Boloria natazhati

A small fritillary butterfly with dark brown wings bearing orange spots and complex underside markings. It flies in remo...

Phasmatodea

Dwarf Thorny Stick Insect

Haaniella parva

The smallest member of the genus Haaniella, with males reaching only about 3 cm. Despite its small size, it retains the ...

Lepidoptera

Ear Moth

Amphipoea oculea

A small brown moth whose larvae bore inside grass and rush stems. Very variable in appearance. Part of a species complex...

Lepidoptera

Early Thorn

Selenia dentaria

A moth that resembles a dead leaf when at rest, with twig-like resting posture. The spring generation is larger and dark...

Coleoptera

East African Oil Beetle

Meloe angusticollis

A large, dark blue-black beetle with a soft, swollen abdomen and short wing covers. It oozes oily orange hemolymph conta...

Phasmatodea

East African Stick Insect

Clonaria conformans

A slender, elongated stick insect with smooth green or brown body perfectly mimicking a thin twig. It sways gently when ...

Mecoptera

Eastern Hanging Scorpionfly

Bittacus strigosus

A North American hangingfly that hunts small insects while dangling from vegetation. Females assess male quality based o...

Lepidoptera

Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth

Malacosoma americanum

A common moth whose caterpillars build conspicuous silk tents in the forks of cherry and apple trees. Colonies cooperate...

Coleoptera

Eggplant Flea Beetle

Epitrix fuscula

A small dark beetle that creates dense shothole feeding damage on eggplant and potato leaves. Heavy infestations can stu...

Blattodea

Egyptian Desert Cockroach

Polyphaga aegyptiaca

A round, heavily armored cockroach found in North African and Middle Eastern deserts. It rolls into a ball when threaten...

Orthoptera

Egyptian Grasshopper

Anacridium aegyptium

One of the largest European grasshoppers with distinctive striped eyes. It has grey-brown coloring with subtle patternin...

Lepidoptera

Eighty-eight Butterfly

Diaethria clymena

A small butterfly with striking black and white markings on its underwings that clearly spell out the number 88 or 89....

Orthoptera

Elegant Bush Cricket

Euconocephalus nasutus

A large cone-headed katydid with bright green coloring and a sharply pointed head. It is attracted to lights at night an...

Hymenoptera

Elm Cimbicid Sawfly

Cimbex luteus

A large, pale yellowish sawfly with conspicuous knobbed antennae. It is associated with elm trees where the large green ...

Coleoptera

Elm Leaf Beetle

Xanthogaleruca luteola

A yellowish-green beetle with dark stripes along its elytra. Both adults and larvae feed on elm leaves, sometimes causin...

Hymenoptera

Elm Leafminer

Fenusa ulmi

A sawfly whose larvae mine between the upper and lower surfaces of elm leaves. Mines appear as blotchy brown patches on ...

Hymenoptera

Elm Zigzag Sawfly

Aproceros leucopoda

A small, pale green sawfly of East Asian origin that has become invasive in Europe. Larvae create distinctive zigzag fee...

Coleoptera

Emerald Eupholus Weevil

Eupholus cuvieri

A spectacular weevil with brilliant turquoise and black bands across its elytra. It is found only in the rainforests of ...

Lepidoptera

Engrailed Moth

Ectropis crepuscularia

A cryptic grey-brown moth with jagged crosslines and excellent bark-mimicking camouflage. It rests flat against tree tru...

Lepidoptera

Eri Silk Moth

Samia ricini

A large domesticated silk moth with chocolate-brown wings bearing crescent-shaped eyespots. It produces a durable white ...

Phasmatodea

Ericoriai Leaf Insect

Phyllium ericoriai

A Philippine leaf insect described relatively recently from Mindanao. It has notably wide abdominal lobes for its size....

Hemiptera

Eucalyptus Psyllid

Blastopsylla occidentalis

An Australian psyllid that has become invasive in eucalyptus plantations worldwide. Nymphs produce distinctive white ler...

Coleoptera

Eucalyptus Tortoise Beetle

Paropsis charybdis

A pale yellowish-brown beetle with dark spots on the elytra and a characteristic domed tortoise-like shape. It is a majo...

Lepidoptera

European Corn Borer

Ostrinia nubilalis

A small yellowish-brown moth that is one of the most destructive crop pests in the world. Larvae bore into corn stalks, ...

Hymenoptera

European Corn Borer Egg Parasitoid

Trichogramma ostriniae

A tiny egg parasitoid wasp native to Asia and introduced to North America for corn borer control. It searches corn leave...

Hymenoptera

European Pine Sawfly

Neodiprion sertifer

A common defoliator of pines in Europe and an invasive pest in North America. Larvae feed gregariously on older needles ...

Coleoptera

European Seedcorn Ground Beetle

Zabrus tenebrioides

An unusual ground beetle that is herbivorous as an adult, feeding on cereal crops. Larvae are predatory and live in soil...

Lepidoptera

Evergreen Bagworm Moth

Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis

A North American bagworm whose larvae construct spindle-shaped bags covered in bits of leaves and twigs. Heavy infestati...

Coleoptera

Excavated Rove Beetle

Omalium excavatum

A small, brownish omaline rove beetle with distinctive excavations on the pronotum. It frequents decaying vegetation and...

Lepidoptera

Fall Webworm

Hyphantria cunea

A native North American moth whose caterpillars build communal silk webs on tree branches. It has become invasive in Eur...

Lepidoptera

Fan-foot Moth

Zanclognatha tarsipennalis

A subtle brown moth with fan-shaped palps and delicate wing markings. Found in woodland where dead leaves accumulate. La...

Lepidoptera

Feathered Thorn

Colotois pennaria

An autumn-flying moth with warm orange-brown wings and males bearing dramatically feathered antennae. It flies late in t...

Phasmatodea

Fenshuiling Stick Insect

Neohirasea fenshuilingensis

A recently described stick insect from the Fenshuiling Nature Reserve in China. It has dark brown coloring and a slender...

Blattodea

Field Cockroach

Blattella vaga

A small cockroach similar to the German cockroach but with a dark face. It lives outdoors in irrigated areas of the sout...

Hymenoptera

Fig Wasp

Ceratosolen fusciceps

A tiny wasp that pollinates a single species of fig in an obligate mutualism....

Coleoptera

Figwort Weevil

Cionus scrophulariae

A globular weevil with checkerboard black and white patterning found on figwort and mullein. Larvae feed externally on l...

Lepidoptera

Fiji Swallowtail

Papilio schmeltzi

A swallowtail butterfly endemic to the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific. It inhabits native forest edges and clearings ...

Lepidoptera

Firethorn Leaf Miner

Phyllonorycter leucographella

A tiny moth whose larvae create blister mines on pyracantha leaves. Originally from southern Europe, it has spread rapid...

Lepidoptera

Five-spotted Burnet

Zygaena trifolii

A small day-flying moth with glossy blue-black forewings bearing five red spots and entirely red hindwings. It is found ...

Lepidoptera

Flame Carpet Moth

Xanthorhoe designata

A small, attractive geometer moth with pinkish-brown and dark banding creating a flame-like pattern. Associated with cru...

Ephemeroptera

Flat-headed Mayfly

Epeorus assimilis

A stream-dwelling mayfly nymph with a flattened body for clinging to rocks in rapids....

Hymenoptera

Flat-tailed Leaf-cutter Bee

Megachile mendica

A medium-sized leaf-cutter bee with pale abdominal hair bands. It provisions its nest cells with carefully cut pieces of...

Coleoptera

Flea Beetle

Altica oleracea

Tiny jumping beetles with enlarged hind femora for leaping. Named for their flea-like jumping ability. Many species are ...

Coleoptera

Fleabane Tortoise Beetle

Cassida murraea

A striking red-brown and black tortoise beetle associated with fleabane plants. Has characteristic dark markings on the ...

Orthoptera

Foam Grasshopper

Dictyophorus spumans

A large black and red grasshopper that produces a foul-smelling toxic foam when disturbed. It is one of Africa's most re...

Psocoptera

Forest Barklouse

Caecilius fuscopterus

A common bark louse found on the bark and foliage of trees across Europe. It has distinctive dark-bordered wings....

Lepidoptera

Forest Tent Caterpillar Moth

Malacosoma disstria

A widespread North American moth whose caterpillars defoliate vast areas of hardwood forest. Despite the name, they form...

Neuroptera

Formosan Green Lacewing

Chrysopa formosa

A widespread Asian lacewing often found in lowland habitats. Recognized by dark markings on the face and vertex....

Lepidoptera

Fox Moth

Macrothylacia rubi

A richly colored russet-brown moth. The large hairy black caterpillar is commonly seen crossing paths in autumn....

Lepidoptera

Foxglove Pug

Eupithecia pulchellata

A small moth whose larvae feed exclusively inside foxglove flowers. Well-camouflaged with subtle brown markings. Found w...

Mantodea

Freyi Dead Leaf Mantis

Brancsikia freyi

A recently described dead leaf mantis closely related to B. aeroplana but distinguished by subtle differences in wing ve...

Diptera

Frit Fly

Oscinella frit

A tiny fly that is a major pest of oat crops and ryegrass. Larvae bore into plant stems causing 'dead heart'. Named from...

Odonata

Fulvous Forest Skimmer

Neurothemis fulvia

A beautiful dragonfly showing dramatic sexual dimorphism. Males have rich amber-orange wings with dark tips, while femal...

Blattodea

Fulvous Wood Cockroach

Parcoblatta fulvescens

A small tawny-colored wood cockroach from the southeastern United States. It is typically found in pine forests and sand...

Diptera

Fuscipes Tsetse Fly

Glossina fuscipes

A small riverine tsetse fly that is the major vector of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in Central and East Africa. It inha...

Orthoptera

Galapagos Flightless Katydid

Nesoecia cooksoni

A large flightless katydid endemic to the Galapagos Islands. Part of the archipelagos remarkable pattern where 74% of en...

Hymenoptera

Garden Bumblebee

Bombus hortorum

A long-tongued bumblebee with three yellow bands and a white tail. Specializes in deep tubular flowers....

Lepidoptera

Garden Carpet

Xanthorhoe fluctuata

A very common garden moth with variable grey and white patterning. Double-brooded with adults flying from April to Octob...

Lepidoptera

Garden Tiger Moth

Arctia caja

A boldly patterned moth with chocolate-and-white forewings and red-spotted hindwings....

Orthoptera

Giant Amazonian Katydid

Stilpnochlora couloniana

A very large bright green katydid with wings shaped like a broad tropical leaf. It is one of the largest katydids in Sou...

Phasmatodea

Giant Bornean Walking Stick

Tirachoidea jianfenglingensis

A very large, robust stick insect with a heavily textured green or brown body covered in small tubercles. Females are bu...

Blattodea

Giant Burrowing Cockroach

Macropanesthia rhinoceros

The worlds heaviest cockroach species at up to 35 grams and 80 mm long. Native to Australia, it digs permanent burrows u...

Trichoptera

Giant Caddisfly

Phryganea grandis

The largest European caddisfly with mottled brown-and-cream wings spanning up to 60 mm. Its larvae build portable cases ...

Orthoptera

Giant Grasshopper

Valanga irregularis

The largest grasshopper in Australia, with females reaching impressive sizes. It is a strong flier that sometimes causes...

Phasmatodea

Giant Leaf Insect

Phyllium giganteum

One of the largest leaf insects in the world, with a spectacularly flattened body that perfectly mimics a green leaf com...

Orthoptera

Giant Long-Legged Katydid

Macrolyristes corporalis

One of the largest katydids in the world with a leg span exceeding 25 cm. Found in the rainforests of Malaysia, it is no...

Phasmatodea

Giant Prickly Stick Insect

Extatosoma tiaratum

Large Australian stick insect with lobed legs resembling leaves. Females drop eggs that mimic seeds — ants carry them un...

Orthoptera

Giant Red-winged Grasshopper

Tropidacris cristata

One of the largest grasshoppers in the world, with a wingspan exceeding 20 cm. Its hindwings are vivid red with a dark b...

Phasmatodea

Giant Spiny Stick Insect

Haaniella dehaanii

A massive dark brown stick insect with prominent spines and a thick cylindrical body. Females are exceptionally heavy-bo...

Coleoptera

Giant Stag Beetle of Chile

Chiasognathus grantii

A spectacular stag beetle with enormous mandibles found in temperate Valdivian forests. Males use their long jaws to wre...

Phasmatodea

Giant Stick Insect

Phobaeticus kirbyi

A very large stick insect from Borneo with extremely elongated legs. Males are slender and capable of flight with their ...

Plecoptera

Giant Stonefly

Pteronarcys californica

Large aquatic insects whose nymphs require pristine, cold, oxygen-rich streams. Adults are poor fliers and stay near wat...

Coleoptera

Giant Swamp Leaf Beetle

Donacia provostii

One of the larger species of reed beetle, with a metallic golden-green to coppery body and distinctive long antennae. Ad...

Phasmatodea

Giant Walkingstick

Megaphasma denticrus

The longest insect native to North America at up to 180 mm. Completely wingless and nocturnal. Named for small spines un...

Coleoptera

Gila Monster Beetle

Cysteodemus wislizeni

A round, metallic purple-blue blister beetle of the Chihuahuan Desert. It produces cantharidin as a powerful chemical de...

Coleoptera

Giraffe Weevil

Trachelophorus giraffa

Named for its extraordinary elongated neck, which is 2-3 times longer in males. Found only in Madagascar. Males use thei...

Thysanoptera

Gladiolus Thrips

Thrips simplex

A specialist pest of gladiolus and related plants, causing silvery streaking on leaves and flower damage. It can survive...

Lepidoptera

Glanville Fritillary

Melitaea cinxia

An orange and black chequered butterfly confined in Britain to the Isle of Wight's coastal cliffs. It was named after La...

Collembola

Globular Springtail

Sminthurus viridis

A round-bodied green springtail found in grasslands and agricultural fields. It can become a pest of clover and alfalfa ...

Coleoptera

Glorious Beetle

Chrysina gloriosa

A spectacular scarab beetle with brilliant metallic green body and silver stripes on the elytra. It is found in juniper ...

Hymenoptera

Golden Carpenter Ant

Camponotus sericeiventris

A striking large ant with dense golden or silvery pubescence covering its gaster, giving it a metallic sheen. Workers ar...

Coleoptera

Golden Christmas Beetle

Anoplognathus aureus

A brilliant golden-coloured scarab beetle that emerges in large numbers during the Australian summer. Adults feed on euc...

Lepidoptera

Golden Emperor

Loepa megacore

A bright golden-yellow silk moth with maroon eyespots ringed in black on each wing. It has a fluffy golden body and feat...

Hymenoptera

Golden Pergid Sawfly

Perga gravenhorstii

A large Australian sawfly with distinctive golden-orange coloring and dark wing venation. Larvae are gregarious spitfire...

Coleoptera

Golden Reed Beetle

Donacia vulgaris

A slender, metallic beetle with golden to coppery-green coloration and elongated antennae. It is commonly found resting ...

Coleoptera

Golden Target Tortoise Beetle

Aspidomorpha miliaris

A beautiful golden tortoise beetle with concentric dark markings on the elytra resembling a target or bullseye pattern. ...

Coleoptera

Golden Tortoise Beetle

Charidotella sexpunctata

Looks like a tiny golden jewel. Can change color from gold to reddish-brown by controlling moisture in microscopic layer...

Diptera

Golden-backed Snipe Fly

Chrysopilus thoracicus

A striking fly with golden thoracic hairs and dark wings that rests head-down on foliage. Larvae are predators in soil a...

Phasmatodea

Goliath Stick Insect

Eurycnema goliath

Australias largest stick insect at up to 250 mm. Females are vivid green with small red wings they flash in threat displ...

Hymenoptera

Gooseberry Sawfly

Nematus ribesii

The most destructive insect pest of gooseberry and red currant bushes in Europe. Larvae can strip bushes completely of l...

Lepidoptera

Gothic Moth

Naenia typica

A dark brown moth with intricate pale crosslines and markings resembling Gothic architecture. It is increasingly scarce ...

Hemiptera

Grain Aphid

Sitobion avenae

A major pest of cereal crops in Europe and other temperate regions. It feeds on ears and leaves, reducing grain quality ...

Thysanoptera

Grain Thrips

Limothrips cerealium

A widespread pest of cereal crops including wheat, barley, and oats. Adults are dark brown and migrate in swarms during ...

Orthoptera

Granulated Pygmy Grasshopper

Tetrix arenosa

A granular-textured pygmy grasshopper found on sandy and gravelly substrates in North America. Its rough body surface en...

Coleoptera

Grape Flea Beetle

Altica chalybea

A small, metallic dark blue beetle with enlarged jumping legs that feeds on grape buds and young foliage. It can cause s...

Coleoptera

Grapevine Beetle

Pelidnota punctata

A handsome tan-colored scarab with dark spots on its elytra, found in eastern North America. Adults feed on grapevine fo...

Hymenoptera

Grass Sawfly

Pachynematus clitellatus

A small, inconspicuous greenish sawfly associated with grasses. Larvae are smooth, pale green and feed on various meadow...

Orthoptera

Gray Bird Grasshopper

Schistocerca nitens

A large, strong-flying grasshopper of arid western North America. It is closely related to the desert locust but does no...

Phasmatodea

Gray's Thorny Stick Insect

Haaniella grayii

A large thorny stick insect named after the zoologist John Edward Gray. It inhabits the dense rainforests of Borneo....

Lepidoptera

Great Eggfly

Hypolimnas bolina

A striking tropical butterfly in which males are jet black with large iridescent white-blue spots. Females are variable ...

Lepidoptera

Great Mormon

Papilio memnon

A large swallowtail butterfly where females come in multiple dramatically different forms mimicking various toxic butter...

Coleoptera

Great Mullein Weevil

Cionus thapsus

A small rounded weevil found exclusively on great mullein plants. Similar to the figwort weevil but associated with diff...

Lepidoptera

Great Orange Tip

Hebomoia glaucippe

The largest pierid butterfly in the world with white wings bearing brilliant orange tips. It has a fast powerful flight....

Trichoptera

Great Red Sedge

Phryganea striata

A large cinnamon-colored caddisfly with distinctive striped wings, well known to European anglers. It hatches in early s...

Hymenoptera

Great Yellow Bumblebee

Bombus distinguendus

A large strikingly yellow bumblebee with a band of darker hair. One of the rarest bumblebees in Britain....

Hymenoptera

Green Alder Sawfly

Monsoma pulveratum

A pale green sawfly that blends well with alder foliage. Larvae are translucent green and feed on the undersides of alde...

Phasmatodea

Green Bean Stick Insect

Diapherodes gigantea

A large, thick-bodied bright green stick insect from the Caribbean. Females are heavy and wingless while males are slend...

Blattodea

Green Cockroach

Panchlora viridis

A small, bright green cockroach found in tropical forests of northern Australia and the Pacific. Its vivid coloring prov...

Coleoptera

Green Dock Beetle

Gastrophysa viridula

A small, brilliant metallic green beetle that feeds on dock and sorrel plants. Gravid females have enormously swollen ab...

Hemiptera

Green Flatid Planthopper

Flatormenis proxima

A delicate bright green planthopper with broad, leaf-like wings held tent-like over the body. When grouped on a stem, mu...

Lepidoptera

Green Hairstreak

Callophrys rubi

A small butterfly with plain brown uppersides but stunning iridescent green undersides. It always rests with wings close...

Coleoptera

Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil

Polydrusus formosus

A small, brilliant metallic green beetle covered in tiny iridescent scales that produce its striking coloration. It is n...

Coleoptera

Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle

Labidomera clivicollis

A large, handsome beetle with blue-black elytra marked with orange to cream-colored spots and a blue-black pronotum. It ...

Coleoptera

Green Nettle Weevil

Phyllobius pomaceus

A bright metallic green weevil covered in iridescent scales, commonly found on nettles. The green scales wear off with a...

Lepidoptera

Green Oak Tortrix

Tortrix viridana

A small bright green moth with pale hindwings that is the most important oak defoliator in Europe. Outbreak years can tu...

Coleoptera

Green Tortoise Beetle

Cassida viridis

A broadly oval, flattened beetle that is bright green in life, with transparent margins around the pronotum and elytra. ...

Hymenoptera

Green-legged Sawfly

Perga dorsalis

An Australian pergid whose larvae feed gregariously on eucalyptus foliage. Heavy defoliation can stress and weaken young...

Thysanoptera

Greenhouse Thrips

Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis

A dark-bodied thrips that feeds on a wide range of ornamental and subtropical fruit plants. It produces distinctive dark...

Lepidoptera

Gum Leaf Skeletoniser

Uraba lugens

A small moth whose caterpillars are known for retaining their shed head capsules stacked on top of each other, forming a...

Hymenoptera

Gum-Tree Pergid Sawfly

Perga polita

A robust Australian sawfly with a dark, polished body. Its gregarious larvae cluster on eucalyptus branches and produce ...

Orthoptera

Gumleaf Grasshopper

Goniaea australasiae

A well-camouflaged grasshopper whose flattened body and brown coloring perfectly mimic a dead eucalyptus leaf. It remain...

Lepidoptera

Gypsy Moth

Lymantria dispar

A sexually dimorphic moth where males are brown and can fly, while females are white with dark markings and are flightle...

Coleoptera

Hadda Beetle

Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata

A herbivorous ladybug with a pale orange body bearing 28 black spots, unlike most ladybugs which are predatory. It is a ...

Phasmatodea

Hainan Stick Insect

Ramulus hainanense

A slender green stick insect found on Hainan Island in southern China. It feeds on tropical broadleaf vegetation....

Hymenoptera

Hairy Panther Ant

Neoponera obscuricornis

A medium-sized ponerine ant with dense body pubescence and a powerful sting. Workers are solitary predators that hunt on...

Odonata

Halloween Pennant

Celithemis eponina

A distinctive dragonfly with boldly patterned orange and brown bands across its wings. It perches at the tips of vegetat...

Diptera

Hanging Thief Robber Fly

Diogmites platypterus

A slender, elongate robber fly that hangs from vegetation by its front legs while feeding. It has long dangling legs and...

Coleoptera

Harlequin Bug Leaf Beetle

Platyphora ligata

A striking Neotropical leaf beetle with metallic blue-black elytra bordered with bright orange-red markings. It is found...

Blattodea

Hastatus Mound Termite

Tumulitermes hastilis

An Australian nasute termite that builds small, spire-shaped mounds in northern tropical regions. Colonies are moderate-...

Phasmatodea

Hausleitner's Leaf Insect

Cryptophyllium limogesi

A recently described leaf insect from Vietnam placed in the new genus Cryptophyllium. It has a distinctly angular thorax...

Coleoptera

Hawaiian Tree Snail Predator Beetle

Oodemas laysanensis

A small leaf beetle endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It feeds on native vegetation in dry shrubland habitats....

Coleoptera

Hazel Leaf-Roller Weevil

Apoderus coryli

A small red and black weevil that rolls hazel leaves into neat cigar-shaped tubes for its eggs. The rolled leaf provides...

Hymenoptera

Hazel Sawfly

Croesus septentrionalis

A medium-sized sawfly with an orange abdomen and dark thorax. The bluish-green larvae with black heads feed gregariously...

Orthoptera

Heath Grasshopper

Chorthippus vagans

A small brown grasshopper confined to heathland. One of the rarest grasshoppers in Britain....

Lepidoptera

Hebrew Character

Orthosia gothica

A spring-flying moth with a distinctive black C-shaped marking on each forewing that resembles a Hebrew letter. It is on...

Lepidoptera

Helena Gum Moth

Opodiphthera helena

A beautiful saturniid moth with pinkish-brown wings marked with bold eyespots. It is found in eucalyptus forests of sout...

Orthoptera

Hemiandrus Ground Weta

Hemiandrus maculifrons

A New Zealand ground weta that is one of the very few orthopterans showing maternal care. Females guard their eggs and n...

Phasmatodea

Heracles Leaf Insect

Pulchriphyllium heracles

A recently described leaf insect from Vietnam named for the Greek hero Heracles. It is a large species with striking ven...

Lepidoptera

Herald Moth

Scoliopteryx libatrix

A distinctive moth with scalloped wing edges and orange patches that hibernates in caves, cellars, and outbuildings. One...

Lepidoptera

Hercules Moth of South America

Copaxa multifenestrata

A large silk moth with brown wings bearing multiple translucent windows that give it its species name. The wing margins ...

Lepidoptera

Hickory Horned Devil

Citheronia regalis

The largest caterpillar in North America at up to 150 mm, with dramatic curved horns and fearsome appearance. Despite lo...

Coleoptera

Hispine Rolled-leaf Beetle

Cephaloleia vagelineata

A flattened, elongate beetle adapted to living inside rolled-up young leaves of Heliconia plants. Its body is dorsoventr...

Hymenoptera

Honeysuckle Sawfly

Zaraea fasciata

A moderately large sawfly with clubbed antennae and a dark body with pale markings. It is closely associated with honeys...

Orthoptera

Hooded Leaf Katydid

Phyllophorella queenslandica

An Australian katydid with a dramatically expanded pronotum that covers its head like a hood. The entire body mimics a c...

Coleoptera

Hop Flea Beetle

Psylliodes attenuata

A small bronze flea beetle that feeds on hops and hemp. Can cause economic damage to hop gardens. Adults create characte...

Hemiptera

Horned Treehopper

Centrotus cornutus

A European treehopper with two prominent lateral horns projecting from the pronotum. Its dark brown body and horn-like p...

Lepidoptera

Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner

Cameraria ohridella

A tiny moth that has devastated horse chestnut trees across Europe since its discovery in 1985. Larvae mine inside leave...

Orthoptera

Horse-head Grasshopper

Pseudoproscopia scabra

An extremely elongated grasshopper with a head shaped like a miniature horse head....

Phasmatodea

Hujiayao's Stick Insect

Neohirasea hujiayaoi

A small stick insect from the subtropical forests of China. It is distinguished from related species by subtle differenc...

Lepidoptera

Ilex Hairstreak

Satyrium ilicis

A small dark brown butterfly with an orange band on the underside of its hindwings and a tiny tail projection. It is str...

Lepidoptera

Indian Moon Moth

Actias selene

A large, elegant moth with pale green wings, long hindwing tails, and maroon-bordered eyespots. It is closely related to...

Phasmatodea

Indian Stick Insect

Carausius morosus

One of the most commonly kept stick insects in the world, originating from southern India. It reproduces almost entirely...

Lepidoptera

Indian Tussock Moth

Euproctis lunata

A yellow-brown moth with a distinctive dark crescent marking on the forewings. Its brightly colored, hairy caterpillars ...

Phasmatodea

Indian Walking Leaf

Pulchriphyllium bioculatum

An extraordinary leaf-mimicking insect with a broad, flattened green body that closely resembles a leaf complete with ve...

Hymenoptera

Iris Sawfly

Rhadinoceraea micans

A small, metallic blue-black sawfly whose grayish larvae with dark heads feed along the edges of iris leaves, producing ...

Coleoptera

Irregular Weevil

Otiorhynchus sensitivus

A flightless alpine weevil found on exposed mountain slopes. Adults emerge in summer to feed on low-growing alpine cushi...

Lepidoptera

Isabella Tiger Moth

Pyrrharctia isabella

A plain orange-yellow moth with scattered black spots. Its caterpillar is the famous woolly bear a fuzzy black and brown...

Lepidoptera

Island Marble Butterfly

Euchloe ausonides insulanus

A small white butterfly with green marbled undersides found only on San Juan Island, Washington. It was presumed extinct...

Orthoptera

Italian Locust

Calliptamus italicus

A medium-sized locust with pink hindwings found across southern Europe and Central Asia. It favors dry, warm habitats an...

Phasmatodea

Italian Stick Insect

Bacillus atticus

A small Mediterranean stick insect found in southern Europe. It is notable for its complex reproductive biology involvin...

Lepidoptera

Japanese Bagworm Moth

Eumeta variegata

Known as 'minomushi' in Japanese, the caterpillar builds a distinctive portable case from silk, twigs, and leaves. Adult...

Coleoptera

Japanese Beetle

Popillia japonica

An iridescent green and copper beetle that skeletonizes leaves of over 300 plant species. Larvae are white grubs that da...

Orthoptera

Japanese Bell Cricket

Meloimorpha japonica

A small brown cricket revered in Japanese culture for its beautiful tinkling bell-like song. It has been bred and sold a...

Dermaptera

Japanese Earwig

Anechura harmandi

A montane earwig found in the mountains of Japan, known for extreme maternal care. Females guard eggs and first-instar n...

Coleoptera

Japanese Leaf Beetle

Lilioceris merdigera

A small, bright red beetle similar in appearance to the scarlet lily beetle but with red legs instead of black. It is co...

Lepidoptera

Japanese Luehdorfia

Luehdorfia japonica

A rare spring-flying swallowtail butterfly endemic to Japan. Named 'spring goddess' in Japanese. Has declined severely d...

Lepidoptera

Japanese Luna Moth

Actias gnoma

A smaller Japanese moon moth known as 'o-mizuao-ga,' with elegant pale green wings and long tail streamers. Found in mou...

Lepidoptera

Japanese Lunar Moth

Actias aliena

A beautiful pale green moon moth found in Japan, known as 'o-mizuao.' Features long, elegant tail streamers on the hindw...

Hymenoptera

Japanese Maple Sawfly

Megalodontes cephalotes

A colorful web-spinning sawfly with a large head, bright orange body, and distinctive long antennae. It is associated wi...

Lepidoptera

Japanese Moon Moth

Actias artemis

A delicate pale green moon moth with elegant hindwing tails found only in Japan. It flies during the brief early summer ...

Orthoptera

Japanese Pine Cricket

Xenogryllus marmoratus

Known as 'matsumushi' in Japanese, this cricket produces a distinctive high-pitched chirp. Along with the bell cricket, ...

Lepidoptera

Japanese Silk Moth

Antheraea yamamai

A large wild silk moth native to Japan with striking yellow-brown wings bearing prominent eyespots. Its silk was histori...

Phasmatodea

Japanese Stick Insect

Ramulus mikado

Known as 'nanafushi' in Japanese, meaning 'seven-jointed.' An elongated, twig-mimicking insect that is nearly invisible ...

Phasmatodea

Javanese Leaf Insect

Phyllium bioculatum

A remarkable leaf mimic with a broad, flat green body, complete with realistic leaf veins, midrib, and even fake bite ma...

Lepidoptera

Jersey Tiger

Euplagia quadripunctaria

A day-flying moth with striking black and white striped forewings and bright orange hindwings. It gathers in massive agg...

Coleoptera

Jewel Frog Beetle

Sagra longicollis

A spectacular metallic beetle with colors ranging from deep red to purple and green. Males have greatly enlarged hind fe...

Coleoptera

Jewelled Frog Beetle

Sagra buqueti

A brilliantly metallic leaf beetle with enlarged hind legs resembling a frog's. Males use their powerful legs in combat ...

Phasmatodea

Jungle Nymph

Heteropteryx dilatata

One of the heaviest stick insects, with females weighing up to 65 grams. Females are bright green with small wings; male...

Lepidoptera

Juniper Hairstreak

Callophrys gryneus

A small green hairstreak butterfly with intricate white line patterns on its hindwing underside. Its bright green unders...

Orthoptera

Kaikoura Giant Weta

Deinacrida parva

One of the smaller species of giant weta, endemic to the Seaward Kaikoura Range in the South Island of New Zealand. Desp...

Orthoptera

Katanga Squeaker

Brachytrupes membranaceus

A very large burrowing cricket with a broad head and powerful jaws. It digs deep vertical burrows up to 50cm deep. Males...

Coleoptera

Kauai Flightless Stag Beetle

Apterocyclus honoluluensis

A flightless stag beetle endemic to the island of Kauai in Hawaii. Larvae develop in rotting logs of native trees....

Lepidoptera

Kentish Glory Moth

Endromis versicolora

A day-flying moth once widespread in England but now extinct there....

Phasmatodea

Kenyan Stick Insect

Bactrododema tiaratum

A large, robust stick insect with a spiny, bark-like body and short wings. Males are much smaller and more slender than ...

Coleoptera

Klamath Weed Beetle

Chrysolina quadrigemina

A dark bronze to coppery-brown beetle with a convex, heavily punctured body. It was introduced to control the invasive K...

Coleoptera

Knotgrass Leaf Beetle

Chrysolina hyperici

A rounded, metallic bronze to coppery-green beetle that was introduced to control St. John's wort. It has a smooth, conv...

Hemiptera

Lace Bug

Corythucha ciliata

A tiny bug with extraordinary lace-like transparent wing covers that resemble intricate stained glass windows. It feeds ...

Lepidoptera

Lackey Moth

Malacosoma neustria

A pale tawny moth whose colorful striped caterpillars spin communal silk tents on trees....

Lepidoptera

Lana'i Sandalwood Moth

Iliahia pahulu

A critically endangered moth discovered in 2026, known only from a small grove of roughly 30 sandalwood trees on the isl...

Lepidoptera

Lange's Metalmark Butterfly

Apodemia mormo langei

A small metalmark butterfly found only at Antioch Dunes in California. Its larvae feed exclusively on naked-stemmed buck...

Lepidoptera

Lappet Moth

Gastropacha quercifolia

A moth that rests with wings layered to perfectly resemble a cluster of dead leaves....

Megaloptera

Large Alderfly

Sialis nigripes

A relatively large alderfly with dark wings and black legs found near rivers in eastern North America. Adults rest on st...

Hymenoptera

Large Birch Cimbicid

Cimbex connatus

A very large sawfly, closely related to C. femoratus, with a massive body and distinctly clubbed antennae. Adults vary i...

Coleoptera

Large Bloody-nosed Beetle

Timarcha goettingensis

A somewhat smaller relative of Timarcha tenebricosa, with a similarly rounded, convex, black body and fused wing cases. ...

Lepidoptera

Large Case Moth

Metura elongatus

A bagworm moth whose larva builds a distinctive silk case covered in sticks and leaves. The wingless female never leaves...

Lepidoptera

Large Emerald

Geometra papilionaria

A beautiful bright green moth with delicate white wavy lines across both wings. Its green color fades to whitish after d...

Lepidoptera

Large Fruit-tree Tortrix

Archips podana

A relatively large tortricid with reddish-brown males and paler females. It is a common pest in orchards where larvae we...

Hymenoptera

Large Oak Cynipid

Cynips quercusfolii

A gall wasp that induces cherry-sized galls on the undersides of oak leaves. The galls turn from green to red as they ma...

Hymenoptera

Large Rose Sawfly

Arge pagana

A conspicuous sawfly whose larvae skeletonize rose leaves in gardens and parks. Adults are stout and black with an orang...

Coleoptera

Larger Elm Leaf Beetle

Monocesta coryli

A robust, bright yellowish-orange beetle with darker wing tips that feeds on a variety of deciduous trees. When handled,...

Orthoptera

Leaf-rolling Cricket

Gryllacris sigillata

A large nocturnal cricket that silks together leaves to create a daytime retreat....

Hymenoptera

Leaf-Rolling Rose Sawfly

Blennocampa phyllocolpa

A tiny black sawfly that causes rose leaflets to roll downward into tight cylinders. The larva feeds inside the rolled l...

Coleoptera

Leaf-rolling Weevil

Attelabus nitens

A small bright red weevil that cuts and rolls oak leaves into barrel-shaped cradles for its eggs with geometric precisio...

Trichoptera

Lepidostoma Leaf Caddis

Lepidostoma quercinum

A caddisfly named for its association with oak-leaf-rich streams. Larvae build tidy rectangular cases from leaf squares....

Lepidoptera

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Noctua comes

Similar to the Large Yellow Underwing but smaller with more orange-yellow hindwings. Very common in gardens and attracte...

Phasmatodea

Letiranti's Leaf Insect

Phyllium letiranti

A leaf insect found in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It has subtly serrated leaf margins on its abdominal lobes....

Orthoptera

Lichen Katydid

Dysonia sp. (Dysonia magdalenae)

A Central American katydid with a mottled gray-green body that perfectly mimics lichen on bark. It is nearly invisible w...

Lepidoptera

Lichen Moth of New Zealand

Declana floccosa

A beautifully camouflaged moth endemic to New Zealand that resembles a patch of lichen when resting on bark. Both the wi...

Orthoptera

Lichen-Bark Katydid

Markia hystrix

A Neotropical katydid covered in spine-like projections that mimic lichen or moss. Its body is green with textured growt...

Phasmatodea

Lichen-mimicking Stick Insect

Pseudodiacantha macklottii

A large stick insect with a rough textured body covered in small outgrowths that mimic lichen. Its greenish-gray colorin...

Lepidoptera

Light Brown Apple Moth

Epiphyas postvittana

A small variable brown moth native to Australia that has invaded several continents. It feeds on over 500 plant species,...

Coleoptera

Lily Beetle

Lilioceris lilii

A bright scarlet beetle that is a destructive pest of lilies and fritillaries. Larvae camouflage themselves by covering ...

Lepidoptera

Lime Hawk-moth

Mimas tiliae

A beautifully scalloped hawk-moth with variable pink-green to brown colouration and dark central wing bands. Adults do n...

Lepidoptera

Lime-speck Pug

Eupithecia centaureata

A small whitish moth with a distinctive dark spot on each forewing. One of the most widespread pug moths. Larvae feed on...

Lepidoptera

Lined Tiger Moth

Grammia virgo

A boldly patterned moth with black forewings bearing thin cream stripes and bright pinkish-red hindwings with black patc...

Collembola

Lipothrix Springtail

Lipothrix lubbocki

A tiny globular springtail found on vegetation and leaf litter surfaces. It has a compact round body typical of the fami...

Lepidoptera

Lobster Moth

Stauropus fagi

A moth whose young caterpillar mimics an ant and mature caterpillar resembles a lobster....

Diptera

Long-legged Fly

Dolichopus ungulatus

A small, slender fly with a brilliant metallic green body and long, thin legs. Males have modified leg structures used i...

Psocoptera

Long-winged Barklouse

Ectopsocus briggsi

A widespread bark louse found on tree trunks and dead leaves across Europe and introduced to other continents. It has lo...

Blattodea

Longipes Termite

Longipeditermes longipes

A Southeast Asian soil-feeding termite notable for its exceptionally long legs relative to body size. Workers forage in ...

Phasmatodea

Lopaphus Stick Insect

Lopaphus sphalerus

A medium-sized stick insect from Southeast Asia with small wings. It has a smooth body and relatively long antennae....

Coleoptera

Lord Howe Island Beetle

Anoplognathus macleayi

A scarab beetle endemic to Lord Howe Island with metallic green coloring. It has suffered severe decline due to introduc...

Phasmatodea

Lord Howe Island Stick Insect

Dryococelus australis

Once thought extinct after rats were introduced in 1918, a tiny population was rediscovered in 2001 on Balls Pyramid, a ...

Lepidoptera

Lotis Blue Butterfly

Lycaeides argyrognomon lotis

A small blue butterfly historically found in sphagnum bog habitats in coastal Mendocino County, California. It has not b...

Coleoptera

Luminous Click Beetle

Pyrearinus candelarius

A bioluminescent click beetle from South American tropical forests. Its larvae often inhabit termite mounds where their ...

Lepidoptera

Macedonian Grayling

Pseudochazara cingovskii

A rare grayling butterfly found only on a few limestone hillsides in North Macedonia. It flies low over rocky ground in ...

Phasmatodea

Macleay's Spectre

Extatosoma popa

A large, leaf-mimicking phasmid closely related to the giant prickly stick insect. Its body is covered in lobed projecti...

Lepidoptera

Macrosoma conifera

Macrosoma conifera

Small grayish-white moth-butterfly with narrow pointed wings. Inhabits forest understory and is active only at night....

Lepidoptera

Macrosoma hyacinthina

Macrosoma hyacinthina

Small moth-butterfly with a subtle blue-violet sheen on fresh specimens. Named for the hyacinth-like coloring visible in...

Mantodea

Madagascan Bent-toed Gecko Mantis

Brancsikia aeroplana

A rare and unusual mantis endemic to Madagascar with flattened lobes on its legs. It closely mimics dried leaves on the ...

Sphaerotheriida

Madagascan Giant Pill Bug

Zoosphaerium blandum

A giant pill millipede from Madagascar that rolls into a smooth, hard ball when disturbed. They play an important role i...

Coleoptera

Madagascan Green Lynx Spider Beetle

Trachelophorus cornutus

A close relative of the giraffe weevil found in Madagascar with a shorter neck. Males use their elongated necks in comba...

Mantodea

Madagascan Marbled Mantis

Polyspilota griffinii

A large mantis with marbled green and brown wing covers. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its mottled coloring provides exce...

Lepidoptera

Madagascan Moon Moth

Argema mittrei male form

The male form has exceptionally long tail streamers that can exceed 15 cm. These tails spin in flight, confusing bat ech...

Lepidoptera

Madagascan Tiger Moth

Radiarctia rhodesiana

A colorful tiger moth found in Madagascar with orange and black wing patterns. It advertises its toxicity through bright...

Coleoptera

Madagascar Tortoise Beetle

Aspidimorpha furcata

A rounded, dome-shaped beetle with transparent margins around the elytra that make it look like a tiny tortoise shell. T...

Lepidoptera

Madeiran Large White

Pieris brassicae wollastoni

A subspecies of the large white butterfly that was endemic to Madeira. It has not been reliably recorded since the 1970s...

Orthoptera

Mahoenui Giant Weta

Deinacrida mahoenui

A critically threatened giant weta originally surviving in a single patch of introduced gorse scrub. It is brown with li...

Lepidoptera

Malabar Large White

Pieris brassicae mahometana

A rare subspecies of the Large White butterfly endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Found only in high-altitude forest...

Orthoptera

Malabar Monkey Grasshopper

Eumastax nalandensis

A small, colorful grasshopper found in the Western Ghats of India, associated with monsoon forest habitats. It has chara...

Lepidoptera

Malachite Butterfly

Siproeta stelenes

A large butterfly with striking black and brilliant malachite green patterning on both wing surfaces. It has a slow grac...

Phasmatodea

Malacomorpha Walkingstick

Malacomorpha cylindrica

A cylindrical, smooth-bodied walkingstick from the Caribbean and Central America. It has a distinctive elongated shape w...

Lepidoptera

Malagasy Atlas Moth

Epiphora bauhiniae

A large silk moth with rich chestnut and cream wings bearing translucent triangular windows. The wings have scalloped ma...

Mantodea

Malagasy Ghost Mantis

Phyllocrania illudens

A small mantis with elaborate leaf-like extensions on its head, thorax, and legs that make it nearly invisible among dea...

Coleoptera

Malagasy Leaf Beetle

Chrysomela madagascariensis

A small, rounded beetle with a brilliant metallic green to golden body. It feeds on foliage and can be found in aggregat...

Orthoptera

Malagasy Litterhopper

Valalyllum folium

A recently described pygmy grasshopper from Madagascar known only from the Belanono forest. Its flattened body perfectly...

Hymenoptera

Malagasy Paper Wasp

Polistes olivaceus

A slender wasp with an olive-brown body, long dangling legs, and narrow waist. It builds small, exposed paper nests from...

Phasmatodea

Malagasy Praying Stick Insect

Achrioptera punctipes

A large stick insect with spotted legs and a green to brown body covered in small spiny tubercles. Females are considera...

Lepidoptera

Malagasy Processionary Moth

Anaphe madagascariensis

A pale silky white moth whose caterpillars march in long head-to-tail processions through the forest. The larvae are cov...

Phasmatodea

Malagasy Spiny Leaf Insect

Phyllium malagassum

A remarkable leaf insect with a broad, flat green body that exactly mimics a living leaf, complete with mid-ribs, veins,...

Phasmatodea

Malagasy Walking Stick

Achrioptera impennis

A large, wingless stick insect with a robust green body covered in small tubercles and spiny projections. Females can re...

Phasmatodea

Malayan Stick Insect

Phobaeticus serratipes

An extremely long stick insect with serrated legs that was once the longest known insect. Females can reach over 300 mm ...

Orthoptera

Malaysian Katydid

Ancylecha fenestrata

A large bright green katydid with a distinctive transparent window in each forewing. It is commonly found in tropical ga...

Lepidoptera

Malaysian Moon Moth

Actias maenas

A large, pale green silk moth with long, twisted tails on the hindwings. The wings are adorned with translucent eyespots...

Mantodea

Malaysian Orchid Mantis

Helvia cardinalis

A vividly colored mantis found in Malaysian rainforests with red and green coloration. It blends in among tropical flowe...

Lepidoptera

Maldives Coconut Moth

Opisina arenosella

A small moth whose larvae feed on coconut palm leaves across the Indian Ocean. It is a significant pest in the Maldives ...

Coleoptera

Maltese Freshwater Crab Spider Beetle

Akis spinosa

A spiny darkling beetle found on Malta and other Mediterranean islands. It has prominent ridges and spines along its ely...

Neuroptera

Mantidfly

Mantispa styriaca

A remarkable insect with raptorial forelegs strikingly similar to a praying mantis, a textbook example of convergent evo...

Lepidoptera

Mariana Eight-spot Butterfly

Hypolimnas octocula marianensis

A butterfly subspecies endemic to the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific. It has suffered from habitat destruction a...

Hemiptera

Marsh Damsel Bug

Nabis limbatus

A small, slender predatory bug found in damp grassland and marshy areas. Ambushes prey on vegetation. Both nymphs and ad...

Hemiptera

Marsh Treader

Hydrometra stagnorum

An extremely slender, stick-like bug with a greatly elongated head. It walks slowly across floating vegetation and water...

Odonata

Mascarene Spreadwing

Lestes auripennis

A rare damselfly endemic to Mauritius and Reunion in the Mascarene Islands. It breeds in slow-flowing streams with overh...

Orthoptera

Matchstick Grasshopper

Eumastax vittata

A tiny colorful grasshopper with an extremely slender body resembling a matchstick....

Coleoptera

Mauritius Blue Pigeon Beetle

Cratopus sumptuosus

A colorful weevil endemic to Mauritius covered in metallic green and blue scales. It feeds on the leaves of native and i...

Coleoptera

Mauritius Fody Beetle

Cratopus exquisitus

An ornately scaled weevil endemic to Mauritius with iridescent green and copper markings. It is found primarily in uplan...

Lepidoptera

Mauritius Lowland Forest Day Moth

Agarista agricola

A day-flying moth with black wings marked by white and orange patches. Found on Mauritius and neighboring Indian Ocean i...

Lepidoptera

Meadow Brown

Maniola jurtina

The most abundant butterfly in Britain, a brown species with a single eyespot on each forewing....

Coleoptera

Meadow Quedius

Quedius curtipennis

A common rove beetle of grasslands and meadows with shortened wing cases exposing the flexible abdomen. Found in grass t...

Phasmatodea

Mediterranean Stick Insect

Bacillus rossius

A slender brown or green stick insect common around the Mediterranean. It is one of the few stick insects native to Euro...

Embioptera

Mediterranean Webspinner

Haploembia solieri

A small, brown webspinner native to the Mediterranean region. It constructs silk tunnels on rocks and walls, and reprodu...

Thysanoptera

Melon Thrips

Thrips palmi

A pale yellow thrips and serious pest of cucurbits and solanaceous crops. It is a quarantine pest in many countries....

Lepidoptera

Merveille du Jour

Griposia aprilina

A strikingly camouflaged moth with green and black lichen-like patterning on its forewings. It rests on oak bark where i...

Coleoptera

Metallic Eumolpine Beetle

Chrysochus asclepiadeus

A brilliant metallic dark blue to violet beetle closely related to the North American dogbane beetles. It is found on vi...

Coleoptera

Metallic Green Leaf Beetle

Plagiodera versicolora

A small, rounded beetle with shiny metallic blue-green to dark green elytra. It is one of the most common willow-feeding...

Coleoptera

Metallic Leaf Beetle

Chrysolina polita

A medium-sized beetle with richly burnished copper-red to bronze elytra and a metallic green to blue pronotum. The contr...

Phasmatodea

Metriophasma Stick Insect

Metriophasma diocles

A medium-sized neotropical stick insect studied for its neural locomotion systems. It has been a model organism in neuro...

Coleoptera

Mexican Bean Beetle

Epilachna varivestis

One of the few plant-feeding ladybird beetles, recognized by its copper color and eight black spots per wing cover. Both...

Phasmatodea

Mexican Striped Walkingstick

Anisomorpha paromalus

A striped walkingstick native to Mexico, closely related to the North American Anisomorpha species. It has faint longitu...

Phasmatodea

Mexican Walkingstick

Pseudosermyle straminea

A straw-colored walkingstick found across Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is commonly encountered on mesqu...

Lepidoptera

Miami Blue

Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri

A small blue butterfly once common throughout coastal South Florida. It is now restricted to a few islands in the Florid...

Trichoptera

Micro Caddisfly

Lepidostoma pluviale

A small western caddisfly that builds neat cases from leaf discs in rain-fed headwater streams. Larvae are significant l...

Orthoptera

Migratory Locust

Locusta migratoria

The most widespread locust species in the world, found across Africa, Asia, and Oceania. It exhibits dramatic phase poly...

Phasmatodea

Mindanao Broken Stick Insect

Baculofractum philippinicum

A stick insect from the Philippines with a distinctive bent or 'broken' appearance. It was the first record of the genus...

Phasmatodea

Mindoro Leaf Insect

Phyllium iyadaon

A leaf insect endemic to Mindoro Island in the Philippines. Its name comes from a local word meaning 'leaf.'...

Coleoptera

Mint Leaf Beetle

Chrysolina herbacea

A brilliant metallic green beetle that feeds exclusively on mint plants. Its coppery-green sheen makes it one of the mos...

Blattodea

Mitchell's Diurnal Cockroach

Polyzosteria mitchelli

A large, flightless cockroach with a shiny dark blue-black body found in arid Australia. Unlike most cockroaches, it is ...

Lepidoptera

Mitchell's Satyr Butterfly

Neonympha mitchellii mitchellii

A small brown butterfly with distinctive eyespots found in calcareous fens of the Great Lakes region. Fewer than 20 popu...

Orthoptera

Monkey Grasshopper

Paramastax nigra

A miniature grasshopper with bright metallic blue and orange coloration....

Diptera

Montane Crane Fly

Tipula montana

A common crane fly in mountain forests and adjacent meadows. Larvae develop in damp forest soils rich in decaying leaves...

Phasmatodea

Montieth's Leaf Insect

Phyllium monteithi

A leaf insect from the tropical forests of Queensland, Australia. It is one of only a few Phylliidae species found on th...

Lepidoptera

Mopane Worm

Gonimbrasia belina

The most economically important edible insect in southern Africa. The caterpillar of an emperor moth, harvested, dried, ...

Orthoptera

Moss Katydid

Haemodiasma tessellata

A katydid with a body covered in textured bumps and green-brown coloring that mimics moss and bark. It is virtually invi...

Phasmatodea

Moss Mimic Stick Insect

Trychopeplus laciniatus

A stick insect covered in elaborate green lobed projections that make it look like a piece of moss-covered twig. Its cam...

Lepidoptera

Mother of Pearl Moth

Patania ruralis

A large crambid moth with translucent pearlescent wings bearing subtle brown markings. It is one of the larger and more ...

Trichoptera

Mother-of-Pearl Caddis

Glyphotaelius pellucidus

A large European caddisfly with translucent wings that shimmer with iridescence. Larvae construct flat cases from pieces...

Orthoptera

Mottled Grasshopper

Myrmeleotettix maculatus

A small variable grasshopper with distinctively clubbed antennae in males. Colors range from green to brown to purple....

Coleoptera

Mottled Tortoise Beetle

Deloyala guttata

A small tortoise beetle with variable coloration, often gold with irregular black spots on the elytra. Like its relative...

Lepidoptera

Mottled Umber Moth

Erannis defoliaria

A variably patterned brown moth where males range from pale to almost black. Females are completely wingless and resembl...

Orthoptera

Mount Cook Giant Weta

Deinacrida pluvialis

A rare alpine giant weta restricted to high-altitude zones in the western ranges of the South Island. It inhabits subalp...

Coleoptera

Mount Hermon June Beetle

Polyphylla barbata

A scarab beetle endemic to sandhills in Santa Cruz County, California. Adults emerge in summer and are attracted to ligh...

Orthoptera

Mount Kosciuszko Grasshopper

Kosciuscola cognatus

A small alpine grasshopper found only in the highest parts of the Australian Alps. It is closely related to the color-ch...

Hymenoptera

Mountain Ash Sawfly

Pristiphora geniculata

A small blackish sawfly with pale legs whose green larvae can completely defoliate mountain ash (rowan) trees. Larvae ha...

Diptera

Mountain Midge

Deuterophlebia coloradensis

A tiny midge whose larvae cling to rocks in fast-flowing alpine streams with suction discs....

Orthoptera

Mountain Stone Weta

Hemideina maori

A freeze-tolerant weta found in alpine regions of New Zealand. It shelters under rocks and can survive being frozen soli...

Plecoptera

Mountain Stonefly

Protonemura montana

A small brown stonefly common along mountain brooks and streams. Nymphs feed on fallen leaves in cold, well-oxygenated w...

Phasmatodea

Mueller's Thorny Stick Insect

Haaniella muelleri

A robust Bornean thorny stick insect with strong sexual dimorphism. It is one of five recently revised Haaniella species...

Lepidoptera

Muga Silk Moth

Antheraea assamensis

A semi-domesticated wild silk moth producing a naturally golden silk unique to Assam, India. Its shimmering golden threa...

Lepidoptera

Muslin Moth

Diaphora mendica

A sexually dimorphic moth where males are dark smoky grey and females are pure white with black spots. The contrast betw...

Coleoptera

Mustard Beetle

Phaedon cochleariae

A small metallic blue-black beetle that feeds on watercress, mustard and other crucifers. Both adults and larvae damage ...

Phasmatodea

Nanling Stick Insect

Neohirasea nanlingensis

A stick insect recently described from the Nanling Mountains of Guangdong, China. It is closely related to other Chinese...

Lepidoptera

Natterer's Longhorn Beetle

Heliconius nattereri

A rare heliconiine butterfly endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. One of the most threatened butterflies in the Ame...

Diptera

Neavei Black Fly

Simulium neavei

A small black fly whose larvae uniquely attach to freshwater crabs rather than rocks or vegetation. It is a vector of ri...

Plecoptera

Needle Stonefly

Leuctra fusca

A small slender stonefly that rolls its wings tightly around its body at rest, giving it a needle-like appearance. Commo...

Orthoptera

Nelson Alpine Weta

Deinacrida tibiospina

An alpine weta endemic to the mountains of the Nelson/Marlborough region in New Zealand's South Island. It shelters unde...

Phasmatodea

Neohirasea Stick Insect

Neohirasea maerens

A small to medium winged stick insect commonly found across Vietnam. It has dark coloring with contrasting pale leg band...

Hymenoptera

Neotropical Pergid Sawfly

Acordulecera dorsalis

A small, dark pergid sawfly found across Central and South America. Adults have compact bodies with relatively short ant...

Coleoptera

Nettle Root Weevil

Phyllobius virideaeris

A bright green-scaled weevil found on nettles and other vegetation in spring. Extremely common but the scales wear off w...

Lepidoptera

Nettle-tree Butterfly

Libythea celtis

A medium butterfly with angular wings and an extremely long snout formed by elongated palps. Its wings are dark brown wi...

Coleoptera

New Caledonian Giant Gecko Weevil

Cyphus norfolcensis

A distinctive weevil from the New Caledonia region with a textured, knobby exoskeleton. New Caledonia is a global hotspo...

Phasmatodea

New Caledonian Giant Stick Insect

Clitarchus hookeri caledonicus

A large stick insect found in New Caledonia that mimics twigs and branches. Females can reproduce parthenogenetically wi...

Phasmatodea

New Guinea Spiny Stick Insect

Eurycantha horrida

A robust, dark-colored stick insect densely covered in sharp tubercles and spines. It is nocturnal and hides in communal...

Plecoptera

New Zealand Stonefly

Zelandoperla decorata

An endemic New Zealand stonefly found in clean, fast-flowing streams. The aquatic nymphs are important indicators of wat...

Neuroptera

Nippon Green Lacewing

Chrysoperla nipponensis

An East Asian member of the carnea species group found in Japan and Korea. Studied extensively for rice paddy pest manag...

Coleoptera

Nisotra Flea Beetle

Nisotra uniformis

A small, yellowish-brown flea beetle that is the most important pest of jute in South Asia. Adults create shot-holes in ...

Diptera

Noisy Tachinid

Tachina fera

A large tawny-orange tachinid fly commonly found basking on vegetation in late summer. It parasitizes noctuid moth cater...

Neuroptera

North American Brown Lacewing

Hemerobius ovalis

A common brown lacewing of North American deciduous forests. Frequently encountered on foliage in eastern woodlands duri...

Orthoptera

North American Pygmy Mole Cricket

Neotridactylus apicialis

A minute mole cricket found on sandy shores of rivers and ponds in North America. It burrows just beneath the wet sand s...

Hemiptera

North American Water Scorpion

Ranatra fusca

A stick-like aquatic predator found in ponds and marshes across eastern North America. It walks slowly on submerged vege...

Coleoptera

Northern Ladybird

Coccinella trifasciata

A small ladybird with orange-red elytra bearing three distinct black crossbands. It is cold-adapted and found further no...

Plecoptera

Northern Stonefly

Nemoura arctica

A small, dark brown stonefly with two long cerci at the tip of the abdomen. Adults hold their wings flat over the body. ...

Coleoptera

Nuttall Blister Beetle

Lytta nuttalli

A brilliant metallic purple-blue blister beetle found in the prairies and grasslands of western North America. Adults co...

Lepidoptera

Oak Leaf Roller Moth

Archips xylosteana

A medium-sized tortrix with brown patterned forewings showing darker oblique bands. Larvae roll oak leaves into tight tu...

Lepidoptera

Oak Processionary Moth

Thaumetopoea processionea

A moth whose caterpillars march nose-to-tail in long processions along tree branches....

Hymenoptera

Oak Slug Sawfly

Caliroa quercuscoccineae

A slug-like sawfly larva that skeletonizes oak leaves in North America. Severe infestations cause browning of the canopy...

Phasmatodea

Ocnophiloidea Walking Stick

Ocnophiloidea regularis

A small, robust walkingstick from Central and South America. It has a slightly roughened body surface for bark mimicry....

Trichoptera

October Caddis

Dicosmoecus gilvipes

A large orange-bodied caddisfly that hatches in autumn on western North American rivers. It is one of the most important...

Phasmatodea

Okinawa Rail Stick Insect

Phraortes illepidus

A slender stick insect endemic to the subtropical forests of Okinawa, Japan. It feeds on native broadleaf trees in the Y...

Lepidoptera

Oleander Hawkmoth

Daphnis nerii

A large hawkmoth with beautiful camouflage patterns in shades of green and pink that perfectly match oleander leaves. It...

Phasmatodea

Oncotophasma Stick Insect

Oncotophasma martini

A medium-sized stick insect with distinctive tubercles along its thorax. It is found in montane forests of Central Ameri...

Thysanoptera

Onion Thrips

Thrips tabaci

A cosmopolitan pest of onions, garlic, and many other crops. It can reproduce both sexually and parthenogenetically and ...

Lepidoptera

Orange-barred Sulphur

Phoebis philea

A large bright yellow butterfly with orange bar markings on the upper forewings. Females are more muted with reddish mar...

Lepidoptera

Oregon Silverspot Butterfly

Speyeria zerene hippolyta

A medium-sized fritillary butterfly with bright silver spots on its hindwing undersides. It inhabits coastal grasslands ...

Diptera

Ornate Soldier Fly

Odontomyia ornata

A medium-sized soldier fly with a green and black patterned abdomen and a somewhat flattened body. Adults are sluggish f...

Phasmatodea

Ortiz's Leaf Insect

Phyllium ortizi

A recently described leaf insect from Mindanao in the southern Philippines. It is distinguished by the shape of its thor...

Lepidoptera

Owl Butterfly

Caligo memnon

A very large tropical butterfly with enormous owl-eye patterns on the underside of its hindwings. The uppersides are dee...

Lepidoptera

Owl Moth

Brahmaea wallichii

A large moth with intricate swirling wing patterns resembling owl feathers....

Diptera

Painted Soldier Fly

Sargus cuprarius

A brilliantly metallic coppery-green soldier fly with a slender body and clear wings. It basks on sunlit vegetation and ...

Mantodea

Pale Dead Leaf Mantis

Acanthops paraensis

A light-colored dead leaf mantis from the Para state of Brazil. Its paler coloring mimics sun-bleached dry leaves on the...

Blattodea

Pale-bordered Field Cockroach

Pseudomops septentrionalis

A small outdoor cockroach with a distinctive pale border around its dark pronotum. It is an active daytime flier unlike ...

Hymenoptera

Pale-Footed Birch Sawfly

Profenusa thomsoni

A tiny black sawfly whose larvae create distinctive blotch mines within birch leaves. Mined leaves develop brown, papery...

Lepidoptera

Pallid Emperor Moth

Cirina forda

A medium-sized saturniid moth with pale brownish-grey wings. The caterpillars, known as shea worms, feed on shea butter ...

Orthoptera

Pallid-Winged Grasshopper

Trimerotropis pallidipennis

A well-camouflaged band-winged grasshopper with pale translucent hindwings. It is one of the most common grasshoppers in...

Coleoptera

Palmetto Leaf Beetle

Colaspis calosa

A small, oblong beetle with a bronze to golden-green metallic sheen and regular rows of punctures on the elytra. It feed...

Coleoptera

Palmetto Tortoise Beetle

Hemisphaerota cyanea

A round, blue-black tortoise beetle found on palm fronds in the southeastern United States. It can grip surfaces with ex...

Lepidoptera

Palos Verdes Blue

Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis

A tiny blue butterfly endemic to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County. It was thought extinct in 1983 before...

Coleoptera

Papuan Firefly

Luciola papuana

A tropical firefly found in New Guinea's lowland forests and coastal areas. It produces rapid green flashes in dense tro...

Coleoptera

Papuan Synchronous Firefly

Pteroptyx cribellata

A tropical firefly with a soft brownish body and prominent light organs. Found in New Guinea, it forms large synchronous...

Phasmatodea

Parabacillus Walking Stick

Parabacillus hesperus

A western North American walkingstick found in California's chaparral regions. It is a small species well camouflaged am...

Phasmatodea

Parasipyloidea Stick Insect

Parasipyloidea sipylus

A slender winged stick insect closely related to Sipyloidea. It has translucent wings with faintly pink or yellowish tin...

Hymenoptera

Parasitic Acacia Ant

Pseudomyrmex nigropilosus

A cheater species that occupies acacia thorns but provides little defensive benefit to the host tree. Unlike mutualist a...

Lepidoptera

Paris Peacock

Papilio paris

A magnificent large swallowtail with velvety black wings bearing a large iridescent blue-green patch on each hindwing th...

Coleoptera

Paropsine Leaf Beetle

Paropsis atomaria

A moderately large, dome-shaped beetle with pale brown elytra covered with small dark spots. It is one of the most impor...

Hymenoptera

Patchwork Leafcutter Bee

Megachile centuncularis

A solitary bee that neatly cuts oval pieces from rose and other leaves to line its nest cells. The characteristic semici...

Lepidoptera

Pea Moth

Cydia nigricana

A small tortrix moth whose larvae feed inside pea pods. A significant pest of commercial and garden peas. Adults fly in ...

Orthoptera

Peacock Katydid

Pterochroza ocellata

A large katydid that mimics dead leaves at rest but reveals huge eyespots on its hind wings when threatened. The eyespot...

Diptera

Pear Leaf-curling Midge

Dasineura pyri

A minute gall midge whose larvae cause pear leaves to roll tightly inward along their margins. Multiple generations can ...

Hymenoptera

Pear Slug Sawfly

Caliroa cerasi

A cosmopolitan sawfly whose slimy, slug-like larvae skeletonize leaves of cherry, pear, and plum. Heavy infestations cau...

Thysanoptera

Pear Thrips

Taeniothrips inconsequens

A dark brown thrips that damages pear and cherry blossoms in spring. Adults emerge from the soil to feed on opening buds...

Diptera

Pedician Crane Fly

Pedicia rivosa

A large, mottled-winged crane fly whose predatory larvae hunt invertebrates in wet mud and stream margins. Adults are of...

Lepidoptera

Pepe Tuna (Bag Moth)

Liothula omnivora

A native New Zealand bag moth whose caterpillars construct elaborate portable cases covered with twigs and leaf fragment...

Lepidoptera

Peppered Moth

Biston betularia

The classic textbook example of natural selection in action. During the Industrial Revolution, dark (melanic) forms beca...

Lepidoptera

Peppered Moth Dark Form

Biston betularia f. carbonaria

The dark melanic form of the famous peppered moth, a textbook example of natural selection. Became dominant during indus...

Lepidoptera

Peppered Moth of New Zealand

Cleora scriptaria

An endemic New Zealand geometrid moth known as the kawakawa looper, whose caterpillars feed on kawakawa and other native...

Hymenoptera

Pergid Leaf Miner

Phylacteophaga froggatti

A small sawfly whose larvae create blister-like mines in eucalyptus leaves. Adults are small and brownish with clear win...

Hymenoptera

Pergid Sawfly

Perga affinis

An Australian sawfly whose larvae form dense defensive clusters called spitfires on eucalyptus trees. When threatened, l...

Phasmatodea

Peruphasma Stick Insect

Peruphasma marmoratum

A marbled-looking stick insect from the high montane forests of the Venezuelan Andes. Its mottled coloring camouflages i...

Phasmatodea

Peruvian Fern Stick Insect

Oreophoetes peruana

A striking stick insect with a black body and contrasting red or orange wings. Males are more brightly colored than fema...

Mantodea

Peruvian Leaf Mantis

Pseudacanthops lobipes

A mantis that perfectly mimics a green leaf complete with a leaf-shaped abdomen and wing covers with vein patterns. Its ...

Lepidoptera

Philippine Atlas Moth

Attacus lemairei

A giant silk moth endemic to the Philippines with rich chestnut-brown wings and large transparent triangular windows nea...

Mantodea

Philippine Flower Mantis

Creobroter nebulosa

A small, cloudy-winged flower mantis native to the Philippines and nearby islands. Its mottled wings provide camouflage ...

Diptera

Picture-Winged Fly

Delphinia picta

A small fly with beautifully patterned wings that it waves in display like tiny semaphore flags. The wing patterns may s...

Coleoptera

Pindarus Christmas Beetle

Anoplognathus pindarus

A medium-sized brown Christmas beetle with a distinctly punctured thorax. It is found in coastal and hinterland forests ...

Lepidoptera

Pine-tree Lappet

Dendrolimus pini

A large moth that can be a devastating forest pest, with caterpillars capable of completely defoliating pine forests acr...

Orthoptera

Pink Underwing Katydid

Amblycorypha oblongifolia

A North American katydid with bright green leaf-like forewings. Rare pink morphs occur naturally and are highly sought b...

Hemiptera

Pink Wax Scale Whitefly

Aleurocanthus woglumi

Known as the citrus blackfly, this whitefly has dark sooty-colored pupae that distinguish it from other whitefly species...

Phasmatodea

Pink-Winged Flying Stick Insect

Marmessoidea rosea

A slender winged stick insect with vivid pink hindwings used in flight. Males are strong fliers while females are heavie...

Phasmatodea

Pink-Winged Stick Insect

Sipyloidea sipylus

A slender stick insect with small pink hindwings that are flashed when threatened. It reproduces readily by parthenogene...

Coleoptera

Pitted Darkling Beetle

Adesmia cancellata

A large darkling beetle with deeply pitted elytra found in North African deserts. It is primarily nocturnal, sheltering ...

Lepidoptera

Plain Tiger

Danaus chrysippus

An orange butterfly with black borders and white spots that is extremely widespread across Africa and Asia. It is toxic ...

Hemiptera

Planthopper

Flatida rosea

A delicate, pinkish-white planthopper that closely resembles a flower petal when resting on vegetation. Nymphs produce w...

Hymenoptera

Platter Ant

Cataulacus intrudens

An arboreal African ant with a heavily armored, flattened body and sculptured cuticle. Workers have a broad, shield-like...

Orthoptera

PNG Giant Katydid

Siliquofera grandis

A very large katydid found in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, with a body resembling a green leaf. Its leaf mimicry...

Thysanoptera

Poinsettia Thrips

Echinothrips americanus

A dark brown thrips originally from eastern North America now invasive in European greenhouses. It feeds on a wide range...

Coleoptera

Polar Rove Beetle

Atheta graminicola

A tiny, elongate rove beetle with short wing covers and a flexible abdomen. It is dark brown to black and very agile. It...

Coleoptera

Polydrusus Weevil

Polydrusus sericeus

A small weevil covered in brilliant green scales that sparkle in sunlight. It is commonly found on birch and hazel trees...

Lepidoptera

Polyphemus Moth

Antheraea polyphemus

A large tan moth with prominent purple-ringed eyespots on its hindwings. It is named after the cyclops Polyphemus from G...

Lepidoptera

Poplar Kitten Moth

Furcula bifida

A small relative of the puss moth with a caterpillar that also has tail whips....

Hymenoptera

Poplar Sawfly

Trichiocampus viminalis

A small sawfly with a yellow-orange body and black head. Its brightly colored yellow-and-black larvae feed on poplar and...

Lepidoptera

Postman Butterfly

Heliconius melpomene

A slender long-winged butterfly with black wings and a bold red band across the forewings. It is a classic example of Mu...

Hemiptera

Potato Leafhopper

Empoasca fabae

A small bright green leafhopper that causes hopperburn on potato, bean, and alfalfa leaves. It migrates northward each s...

Phasmatodea

Prairie Walkingstick

Diapheromera velii

A grassland-dwelling walkingstick found in the central United States. Unlike forest species, it lives among grasses and ...

Thysanoptera

Privet Thrips

Dendrothrips ornatus

A small pale thrips that feeds on privet hedges causing silvery leaf damage. It has an unusual jumping ability for a thr...

Lepidoptera

Processionary Caterpillar Moth

Ochrogaster lunifer

A moth whose caterpillars are famous for travelling in long, nose-to-tail processions through the Australian bush. The l...

Lepidoptera

Promethea Moth

Callosamia promethea

A large silk moth with strong sexual dimorphism. Males are dark with tan margins while females are reddish-brown with li...

Orthoptera

Proscopiid Stick Grasshopper

Proscopia scabra

An extremely elongated, wingless grasshopper that closely resembles a stick insect. Its thread-thin body and swaying wal...

Lepidoptera

Provencal Burnet

Zygaena occitanica

A small day-flying moth with dark blue-green metallic forewings bearing red spots and bright red hindwings. It contains ...

Phasmatodea

Pseudoparamenexenus Stick Insect

Pseudoparamenexenus guangxiensis

A small stick insect from Guangxi Province in China. It belongs to a genus whose phylogenetic relationships were recentl...

Lepidoptera

Puerto Rican Harlequin Butterfly

Atlantea tulita

A small endangered butterfly endemic to Puerto Rico with orange and black checkered wings. It inhabits moist limestone f...

Ephemeroptera

Purple Dun

Paraleptophlebia adoptiva

A small dark mayfly with purplish-gray wings found in eastern streams. Nymphs crawl among submerged leaf packs in modera...

Coleoptera

Purple Loosestrife Beetle

Galerucella calmariensis

A small, yellowish-brown beetle deliberately introduced as a biocontrol agent against invasive purple loosestrife. Adult...

Lepidoptera

Puss Moth

Cerura vinula

A furry white moth whose caterpillar has whip-like tail filaments and sprays formic acid....

Lepidoptera

Queen Butterfly

Danaus gilippus

A close relative of the Monarch butterfly with similar orange coloring but darker. Found across the Americas. Like the M...

Coleoptera

Ragweed Leaf Beetle

Zygogramma suturalis

A brown beetle with dark longitudinal stripes on the elytra, introduced to several countries as a biocontrol agent again...

Orthoptera

Rainbow Grasshopper

Dactylotum variegatum

A small short-winged grasshopper brightly patterned in red, orange, blue, and black. Despite its vivid warning colors, i...

Coleoptera

Rainbow Leaf Beetle

Chrysolina fastuosa

A metallic multicolored beetle with iridescent green, blue, and purple stripes....

Lepidoptera

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing

Trogonoptera brookiana

A striking birdwing butterfly with jet black wings crossed by brilliant electric green tooth-shaped markings. It is the ...

Phasmatodea

Raphael s Stick Insect

Achrioptera fallax

A large stick insect from Madagascar where males have brilliant blue and orange coloring with small spiny wings. Females...

Orthoptera

Raspy Cricket

Cooraboorama canberrae

A nocturnal wingless cricket that builds silk-lined shelters from folded leaves....

Hemiptera

Red Assassin Bug

Rhynocoris iracundus

A striking red and black assassin bug common in European meadows and grasslands. It is a generalist predator that hunts ...

Hymenoptera

Red Harvester Ant

Pogonomyrmex barbatus

A large red ant that builds conspicuous mound nests cleared of vegetation in arid terrain. Workers collect seeds and sto...

Phasmatodea

Red Leaf Insect

Phyllium rubrum

A stunning leaf insect that can display deep red, orange, or pink coloring. It is found in Borneo and is highly sought a...

Coleoptera

Red Mushroom Beetle

Oxyporus rufus

A striking red and black rove beetle that lives in and feeds on fresh mushroom caps. Has large, powerful mandibles for c...

Coleoptera

Red Palm Weevil

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus

A large rusty-red weevil with a long curved rostrum and dark spots on the thorax. Its larvae bore deep into the trunks o...

Coleoptera

Red Poplar Leaf Beetle

Chrysomela populi

A shiny red-orange beetle with a black head, commonly found on poplar and willow trees. Larvae release a pungent salicyl...

Lepidoptera

Red Underwing

Catocala nupta

A large moth with bark-like grey forewings and vivid red and black banded hindwings flashed as a startle defense....

Odonata

Red-eyed Damselfly

Erythromma najas

A stocky blue damselfly with distinctive dark red eyes. It spends most of its time perched on floating lily pads rather ...

Diptera

Red-footed Robber Fly

Dioctria rufipes

A slender, metallic-dark robber fly with conspicuous orange-red legs found in European woodlands. It specializes in ambu...

Dermaptera

Red-Legged Earwig

Euborellia stali

A dark wingless earwig with distinctly reddish legs, native to tropical Asia. It is commonly found in gardens, nurseries...

Hymenoptera

Redheaded Pine Sawfly

Neodiprion lecontei

The most widely distributed pine sawfly in eastern North America. Larvae can completely defoliate young pines, sometimes...

Phasmatodea

Rentz's Stick Insect

Ctenomorpha marginipennis

An extremely long Australian stick insect that can reach over 20cm in body length. It is bright green with a smooth cyli...

Coleoptera

Reunion Day Gecko Beetle

Cratopus murinus

A drab brownish weevil endemic to Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. It is a common herbivore found on both native and ...

Coleoptera

Reunion Flightless Weevil

Cratopus ovalis

A flightless weevil with fused elytra endemic to the island of Reunion. Its inability to fly has made it vulnerable to h...

Hemiptera

Rhododendron Lace Bug

Stephanitis rhododendri

A tiny lace bug with transparent, reticulate wings that infests rhododendron leaves. Native to North America, it causes ...

Lepidoptera

Riband Wave Moth

Idaea aversata

A small greyish moth occurring in both banded and plain forms. The banded form has a conspicuous dark central band acros...

Coleoptera

Rice Water Weevil

Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus

A small, grey-brown weevil that feeds on rice roots as a larva and on rice leaves as an adult. Adults create distinctive...

Dermaptera

Ring-Legged Earwig

Euborellia annulipes

A wingless earwig identified by the pale bands on its dark legs. It is a cosmopolitan species often found in greenhouses...

Lepidoptera

Ringed China-mark Moth

Parapoynx stratiotata

A pretty white moth with brown ringed markings, closely associated with aquatic habitats. Its caterpillars are fully aqu...

Lepidoptera

Ringlet

Aphantopus hyperantus

A dark chocolate-brown butterfly with small ringed eyespots on the underwings. Flies in shady grasslands....

Coleoptera

Rodrigues Giant Weevil

Cratopus adspersus

A large weevil endemic to Rodrigues Island in the Mascarene archipelago. It is one of the most threatened beetles in the...

Plecoptera

Rolled-Wing Stonefly

Leuctra geniculata

A small autumn-emerging stonefly with wings rolled around the body. It is one of the few stoneflies that hatches in late...

Hemiptera

Rose Leafhopper

Edwardsiana rosae

A tiny pale leafhopper that feeds on rose leaves, causing characteristic pale stippling. One of the most common leafhopp...

Hymenoptera

Rose Sawfly

Arge ochropus

A yellow and black sawfly whose larvae skeletonize rose leaves. Adults are commonly found on rose bushes in gardens thro...

Hymenoptera

Rose Slug Sawfly

Endelomyia aethiops

A small, dark sawfly whose slug-like larvae skeletonize rose leaves by feeding on the upper leaf surface. Larvae are pal...

Coleoptera

Rosemary Beetle

Chrysolina americana

A small oval beetle with metallic green and purple stripes on its elytra. Despite its name, it originates from southern ...

Orthoptera

Rossi's Alpine Grasshopper

Podisma pedestris

A flightless brown grasshopper of alpine and subalpine meadows across Europe. It walks rather than flies through dense m...

Lepidoptera

Rosy Maple Moth

Dryocampa rubicunda

A small fluffy moth with striking pink and yellow coloring that resembles cotton candy. Adults emerge in spring and are ...

Lepidoptera

Rothschild's Silkmoth

Rothschildia jacobaeae

A large silkmoth with reddish-brown wings featuring bold triangular translucent patches. Each wing also bears a crescent...

Hymenoptera

Rough Leafcutter Ant

Acromyrmex rugosus

A medium-sized leafcutter ant with a distinctly rugose (wrinkled) exoskeleton covered in short spines. It builds relativ...

Lepidoptera

Ruby Tiger Moth

Phragmatobia fuliginosa

A small tiger moth with dark brownish-red forewings and rosy-red hindwings spotted with black. It is common across the n...

Orthoptera

Rufous Grasshopper

Gomphocerippus rufus

A medium-sized grasshopper with distinctive white-tipped, club-shaped antennae. Males have reddish-brown coloring while ...

Coleoptera

Rugged Oil Beetle

Meloe rugosus

A rare, dark and heavily wrinkled oil beetle that appears in autumn unlike its spring-emerging relatives. It is one of B...

Lepidoptera

Rush Veneer Moth

Nomophila noctuella

A migratory snout moth with warm brown forewings and pale hindwings. It is a strong flier that regularly migrates northw...

Phasmatodea

Sabah Stick Insect

Aschiphasma annulipes

A unique stick insect that mimics a centipede rather than a twig. Its body is segmented and flattened with banded legs. ...

Phasmatodea

Sabah Thorny Stick Insect

Haaniella echinata

A stocky Bornean phasmid densely covered in sharp spines. Its dark coloration and spiny texture make it resemble a piece...

Hemiptera

Sage Leafhopper

Eupteryx melissae

A small, attractively marked leafhopper found on sage and other labiates in gardens. Feeding causes pale stippling on le...

Blattodea

Saharan Harvester Termite

Anacanthotermes ochraceus

A desert-adapted harvester termite found across the Saharan and Arabian desert margins. Workers forage at the surface fo...

Lepidoptera

Sallow

Xanthia icteritia

A pretty golden-yellow moth found in autumn, associated with sallow trees. Adults can be attracted to sugar or wine rope...

Lepidoptera

Sallow Kitten

Furcula furcula

A small, fluffy white moth with delicate grey markings. Named for its resemblance to a small cat. Larvae have tail filam...

Phasmatodea

Samar Leaf Insect

Phyllium samarense

A leaf insect found on Samar Island in the eastern Philippines. It was described as part of ongoing surveys of Philippin...

Orthoptera

Sand Treader Cricket

Ammobaenetes phrixocnemoides

A pale, wingless cricket highly adapted to life on desert sand dunes. Its oversized hind legs have paddle-like spines fo...

Trichoptera

Sand-Case Caddisfly

Sericostoma personatum

A caddisfly whose larvae build smooth, curved cases entirely from fine sand grains cemented with silk. Adults are dark w...

Hemiptera

Sandstone Squeaker Cicada

Pauropsalta annulata

A small Australian cicada that produces a high-pitched squeaking call. It is commonly found on sandstone rock faces and ...

Coleoptera

Sart's Ground Longhorn

Dorcadion sartum

A flightless ground-dwelling cerambycid from the steppes of Central Asia. Its elytra are fused and covered in dense brow...

Lepidoptera

Saunders' Case Moth

Metura saundersi

A smaller relative of the large case moth that constructs a tapering case of silk and plant debris. Males are dark, shor...

Orthoptera

Saw-backed Grouse Locust

Acridopeza reticulata

An Australian pygmy grasshopper with a distinctly serrated or saw-toothed pronotal keel. It is found in moist forest flo...

Odonata

Scarce Chaser

Libellula fulva

A medium-sized dragonfly where mature males develop a powdery blue abdomen. It is associated with clean, slow-flowing ri...

Lepidoptera

Scarce Swallowtail

Iphiclides podalirius

A pale yellow swallowtail butterfly with bold black tiger stripes and long tailed hindwings tipped with blue. It soars e...

Lepidoptera

Scarce Umber Moth

Agriopis aurantiaria

An autumn-flying moth with warm orange-brown wings marked with darker speckles. Females are wingless and crawl up tree t...

Hymenoptera

Scarlet Pergid Sawfly

Pergagrapta polita

A brightly colored Australian sawfly with a polished dark body and reddish highlights. Larvae feed on eucalyptus and are...

Hymenoptera

Scarlet-Bodied Pergid Sawfly

Perga kirbyi

A large, robustly built Australian sawfly with a bright scarlet to red-orange abdomen and dark head and thorax. Its spit...

Orthoptera

Scree Weta

Deinacrida connectens

An alpine giant weta that lives among rocky scree fields at elevations above 1200 meters. It is remarkably cold-tolerant...

Odonata

Selika Dropwing

Trithemis selika

A robust dragonfly with crimson to dark red coloration in mature males and brown in females. It perches conspicuously on...

Phasmatodea

Sermyle Walkingstick

Sermyle mexicana

A medium-sized walkingstick native to Mexico and Central America. It is found in tropical dry forests and woodland habit...

Lepidoptera

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Xestia c-nigrum

A grey-brown moth with a dark mark on the forewing resembling a Hebrew letter. It is a migratory species that regularly ...

Coleoptera

Shining Flea Beetle

Asphaera lustrans

A relatively large, metallic blue-green flea beetle with reddish-orange femora. It is one of the larger and more colorfu...

Orthoptera

Short-horned Grasshopper

Phymateus morbillosus

A toxic foam grasshopper that sequesters milkweed poisons and displays bright warning colors....

Coleoptera

Short-Winged Blister Beetle

Meloe violaceus

A blue-violet oil beetle found across Europe, often seen walking on paths and open ground in spring. Like other oil beet...

Coleoptera

Short-winged Firefly

Lucidota atra

A dark-bodied, day-active firefly that has lost the ability to produce light as an adult. It has a black body with a red...

Phasmatodea

Short-winged Green Stick Insect

Acanthoxyla inermis

A smooth bright green stick insect native to New Zealand. All known individuals are female. It has tiny vestigial wings ...

Lepidoptera

Siam Crown Moth

Attacus taprobanis

A large silk moth closely related to the Atlas moth with warm cinnamon-brown wings and distinctive angular wing tips. Th...

Grylloblattodea

Siberian Ice Crawler

Grylloblattina djakonovi

A rare ice crawler found in the Russian Far East. It inhabits mossy rock fields and emerges at night during near-freezin...

Grylloblattodea

Siberian Rock Crawler

Grylloblatta djakonovi

A rare rock crawler discovered in the mountains of Siberia. It inhabits deep rock crevices and is active on the surface ...

Coleoptera

Sidewalk Darkling Beetle

Eleodes hispilabris

A common flightless darkling beetle seen walking desert trails at dusk. Its smooth black exoskeleton helps minimize wate...

Lepidoptera

Silk Moth

Bombyx mori

The fully domesticated moth used in sericulture for over 5,000 years. Completely dependent on humans — adults cannot fly...

Hymenoptera

Silver Birch Web-Spinning Sawfly

Pamphilius sylvaticus

A flat-bodied sawfly with long filiform antennae and a broad head. Larvae roll or fold birch leaves with silk and feed w...

Coleoptera

Silver-green Leaf Weevil

Phyllobius argentatus

A beautiful green and gold weevil found on the foliage of deciduous trees and shrubs. Covered in round iridescent scales...

Lepidoptera

Silver-ground Carpet

Xanthorhoe montanata

A common and attractive geometer moth frequently disturbed from vegetation during daytime walks. White with grey-brown c...

Lepidoptera

Sinai Baton Blue

Pseudophilotes sinaicus

The smallest butterfly in the world by wingspan, found only in the Sinai Peninsula. It depends on a single plant species...

Phasmatodea

Sipyloidea Tuberculata Stick Insect

Sipyloidea tuberculata

A winged stick insect from southern China with small tubercles along its thorax. It was recently described from specimen...

Orthoptera

Slant-faced Grasshopper

Acrida ungarica

A striking grasshopper with an elongated, cone-shaped head and long antennae. It can be green or brown depending on habi...

Neuroptera

Small Brown Lacewing

Micromus angulatus

A tiny brown lacewing native to southern Europe and North Africa. Found in low herbaceous vegetation and grassy areas....

Plecoptera

Small Brown Stonefly

Nemoura cinerea

A very common small brown stonefly found in a wide range of freshwater habitats across Europe. It is one of the most tol...

Lepidoptera

Small Fan-footed Wave

Idaea biselata

A small, delicate moth with pale buff wings and fine dark cross-lines. Common in deciduous woodland. Larvae feed on dead...

Lepidoptera

Small Magpie Moth

Anania hortulata

A pretty white moth with black spots and a yellow head. Despite its name, it is a crambid rather than a geometrid like t...

Lepidoptera

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Boloria selene

A small orange fritillary with silver and rufous pearl spots on the hindwing underside....

Odonata

Small Red Damselfly

Ceriagrion tenellum

A delicate damselfly where males are almost entirely red, a rare color for damselflies. Females come in several color fo...

Lepidoptera

Small Rivulet

Perizoma alchemillata

A delicate small moth found in damp habitats where hemp agrimony grows. The larvae feed inside the flowers. Has subtle g...

Lepidoptera

Small Tortoiseshell

Aglais urticae

A familiar orange butterfly with black and yellow markings and a row of blue crescents along the wing margins. It hibern...

Lepidoptera

Smoky Wainscot

Mythimna impura

A dull brownish wainscot moth extremely common in grasslands. Larvae feed on various grass species. Often confused with ...

Lepidoptera

Snout Moth

Vitessa suradeva

A large pyralid moth from Southeast Asia and New Guinea whose caterpillars spin webs on young leaves of poisonous shrubs...

Blattodea

Snouted Harvester Termite

Trinervitermes geminatus

A nasute termite common in West African savannas that harvests dry grass in large foraging columns. Soldiers defend the ...

Lepidoptera

Socotra Island Blue Butterfly

Azanus socotranus

A small blue butterfly endemic to Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean. Males have bright blue upperwings while females ar...

Hymenoptera

Solomon's Seal Sawfly

Phymatocera aterrima

A small, entirely black sawfly whose grayish-white larvae with black heads are highly destructive to Solomon's seal plan...

Hymenoptera

South African Argid Sawfly

Arge capensis

A medium-sized dark sawfly found in the fynbos and bushveld regions of South Africa. Adults have robust bodies and simpl...

Hymenoptera

South American Eucalyptus Sawfly

Lophyrotoma zonalis

A dark-bodied pergid sawfly that has become a significant pest of eucalyptus plantations in South America. Larvae are gr...

Coleoptera

South American Leaf Beetle

Doryphora reticulata

A colorful leaf beetle with a reticulated pattern of black lines over yellow-orange elytra. It feeds on nightshade famil...

Orthoptera

South American Locust

Schistocerca cancellata

A major swarming locust of South America closely related to the desert locust. It periodically forms devastating swarms ...

Lepidoptera

South American Luna Moth

Copaxa lavendera

A silkmoth with soft lavender-brown wings and prominent rounded eyespots. Its feathery antennae can detect female pherom...

Coleoptera

South American Tortoise Beetle

Stolas coalita

A moderately large tortoise beetle with a distinctive pattern of dark markings on a lighter background, with broadly exp...

Phasmatodea

South American Walking Stick

Ctenomorpha gargantua

An extremely long stick insect that can reach over 250 mm in body length, making it one of the longest insects in South ...

Phasmatodea

South American Walkingstick

Ocnophiloidea longipes

A long-legged tropical walkingstick from the forests of South America. Its elongated legs help it bridge gaps between br...

Hymenoptera

South American Wattle Sawfly

Arge pullata

A shiny black argid sawfly that feeds on wattle (Acacia) trees. Larvae are green with dark dorsal markings and can cause...

Lepidoptera

Southern Festoon

Zerynthia polyxena

A strikingly patterned butterfly with yellow wings marked with black zigzags and red spots. It is one of Europe's earlie...

Diptera

Southern Long-legged Fly

Chrysotus gramineus

A tiny, brilliantly metallic green long-legged fly commonly found on vegetation near water. It runs rapidly across leaf ...

Orthoptera

Southern Oak Bush-Cricket

Meconema meridionale

A small, wingless relative of the oak bush-cricket that has rapidly spread northward across Europe, likely aided by acci...

Lepidoptera

Southern Snout Butterfly

Libytheana carinenta

A medium-sized butterfly with an extremely elongated snout formed by its labial palps, giving it a unique beak-like prof...

Lepidoptera

Southwestern Corn Borer

Diatraea grandiosella

A pale moth whose larvae bore into corn stalks and girdle stems from the inside, causing extensive lodging. It is a majo...

Hymenoptera

Spangle Gall Wasp

Neuroterus quercusbaccarum

A tiny gall wasp that produces flat, disc-shaped spangle galls on the undersides of oak leaves. It alternates between tw...

Coleoptera

Spanish Fly

Lytta vesicatoria

A slender, metallic green blister beetle with soft elytra. It produces cantharidin, a potent blistering agent, as a chem...

Coleoptera

Spanish Fly Beetle

Berberomeloe majalis

A huge wingless blister beetle with a massively swollen red and black banded abdomen. The largest European meloid....

Lepidoptera

Spanish Moon Moth

Graellsia isabellae

A striking green moth with long hindwing tails found only in Spain and France....

Phasmatodea

Spanish Stick Insect

Leptynia hispanica

A small, slender European stick insect found across the Iberian Peninsula. It is one of the few phasmids native to Europ...

Coleoptera

Specious Leaf Beetle

Oreina speciosa

A metallic green or coppery leaf beetle of mountain pastures. It feeds on various alpine composites and is common in the...

Orthoptera

Speckled Bush-Cricket

Leptophyes punctatissima

A small, bright green bush-cricket covered in tiny dark speckles found across Europe. Its song is almost entirely inaudi...

Lepidoptera

Spicebush Swallowtail

Papilio troilus

A dark swallowtail butterfly with blue-green hindwing scaling and orange spots. Its caterpillar has large false eyespots...

Dermaptera

Spine-Tailed Earwig

Doru aculeatum

A slender earwig found in cornfields and grassy habitats across eastern North America. It shelters in the leaf whorls of...

Blattodea

Spinifex Termite

Nasutitermes longipennis

A mound-building termite common across the dry interior of Australia. Its hard earthen mounds dot the landscape of arid ...

Phasmatodea

Spiny Leaf Insect

Phyllium westwoodii

A large leaf insect with a bright green flat body edged with small teeth-like spines. The female body is virtually ident...

Lepidoptera

Splendid Ochre

Trapezites petalia

A moderately large skipper butterfly with bright orange uppersides and mottled brown undersides. Males perch conspicuous...

Coleoptera

Spotted Asparagus Beetle

Crioceris duodecimpunctata

A reddish-orange beetle with twelve black spots on its elytra. It is a pest of asparagus, with larvae feeding inside the...

Lepidoptera

Spotted Stem Borer

Chilo partellus

A straw-colored moth whose larvae bore into stems of maize and sorghum in Africa and Asia. It can cause total crop failu...

Coleoptera

Spotted Willow Leaf Beetle

Chrysomela knabi

A dark metallic blue-black beetle with an oval body found on willows in western North America. Adults and larvae feed on...

Coleoptera

Spring Click Beetle

Denticollis linearis

A bicoloured click beetle with tawny-brown elytra and a dark thorax, common in spring. It is frequently found on flowers...

Coleoptera

Stag Beetle of Rhodes

Dorcus rhodensis

A stag beetle endemic to the Greek island of Rhodes. Males have large mandibles used in combat over mates....

Coleoptera

Steelblue Jewel Leaf Beetle

Lamprolina aeneipennis

A large, robust Australian leaf beetle with brilliant metallic steely-blue to purple elytra and a dark green pronotum. I...

Coleoptera

Stinking Longhorn

Aromia moschata ambrosiaca

A subspecies of the musk beetle with even more intense metallic coloring and a slightly different fragrance....

Orthoptera

Stone Grasshopper

Prionotropis hystrix

A heavy-bodied flightless grasshopper that resembles a lichen-covered pebble....

Phasmatodea

Stratocles Walkingstick

Stratocles multilineatus

A multi-lined walkingstick from South America with several faint longitudinal stripes. It is found in tropical forests o...

Orthoptera

Stripe-winged Grasshopper

Stenobothrus lineatus

A colorful grasshopper with a distinctive white stripe along its forewing. Males perform elaborate courtship dances invo...

Hymenoptera

Striped Alder Sawfly

Hemichroa crocea

A brightly colored sawfly with an orange body and black markings on the thorax. Larvae are pale yellowish-green with dar...

Blattodea

Striped Cockroach

Blatta lateralis

A medium-sized cockroach with distinct lateral stripes along its body. Males have wings while females are wingless with ...

Coleoptera

Striped Crawling Water Beetle

Haliplus lineaticollis

A small yellowish-brown beetle with distinctive dark longitudinal stripes on the pronotum. It is commonly found in weedy...

Coleoptera

Striped Flea Beetle

Phyllotreta striolata

A tiny jumping beetle that riddles cruciferous crop leaves with small round holes. Adults overwinter in soil and leaf li...

Lepidoptera

Striped Hawkmoth

Hyles livornica

A streamlined hawk-moth with olive-brown forewings crossed by pale veins and pink-banded hindwings. It is a strong migra...

Coleoptera

Striped Turnip Flea Beetle

Phyllotreta undulata

A tiny flea beetle with sinuous yellow stripes that is a significant pest of brassica seedlings. Shothole damage to leav...

Phasmatodea

Strong Stick Insect

Anchiale briareus

One of the longest insects in Australia, with a slender body that can exceed 270 mm. Females are significantly larger th...

Diptera

Subarctic Crane Fly

Prionocera turcica

A medium-sized crane fly with distinctive patterned wings and long, slender legs. Larvae develop in wet peatland soils. ...

Lepidoptera

Subarctic Dart Moth

Agrotis gelida

A medium-sized moth with dark grayish-brown forewings marked with kidney and orbicular spots. It flies in midsummer acro...

Hemiptera

Sugarcane Woolly Aphid

Ceratovacuna lanigera

A small aphid covered in white woolly wax secretions that forms dense colonies on the undersides of sugarcane leaves. He...

Coleoptera

Sumac Flea Beetle

Blepharida rhois

A relatively large flea beetle with a mottled brown and tan pattern providing excellent camouflage on sumac bark. Despit...

Phasmatodea

Sun Moth Stick Insect

Epidares nolimetangere

A chunky dark brown stick insect covered in dense spines and thorns from Borneo. Females are wingless while males have s...

Phasmatodea

Sunda Colugo Stick Insect

Asceles tanarata

A very slender, elongated stick insect found in the highlands of Southeast Asia. It is bright green with extremely long ...

Coleoptera

Sunflower Leaf Beetle

Zygogramma exclamationis

A pale yellowish-brown beetle with dark brown elytral stripes that curve to form an exclamation-mark-like pattern. It fe...

Phasmatodea

Sunny Stick Insect

Sungaya inexpectata

A small, chunky stick insect covered in short spines and tubercles, native to the Philippines. It is popular in captivit...

Lepidoptera

Swallow Prominent

Pheosia tremula

A pale grey-white moth with a distinctive dark wedge-shaped mark along the inner edge of each forewing. It has a deeply ...

Coleoptera

Sweet Potato Flea Beetle

Chaetocnema confinis

A minute, shiny bronze-black flea beetle with enlarged hind legs for jumping. It creates linear feeding tracks in sweet ...

Lepidoptera

Sycamore Moth

Acronicta aceris

A plain grey moth whose caterpillar is spectacular with white tufts and bright orange and yellow hair patches....

Hemiptera

Table Mountain Ghost Frog Assassin Bug

Reduvius tabulensis

A rare assassin bug found only on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. It preys on small invertebrates among the f...

Phasmatodea

Tahoe Timema

Timema tahoe

A small timema found near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains. It inhabits coniferous forests at moderate to high ...

Lepidoptera

Tailed Jay

Graphium agamemnon

A fast-flying black swallowtail butterfly covered with spots of green or blue-green. It rarely settles and is constantly...

Coleoptera

Tansy Beetle

Chrysolina graminis

A stunning metallic green and copper beetle covered in tiny pits. It is one of the rarest beetles in Britain....

Mantodea

Tanzanian Ground Mantis

Galepsus sp.

A small, dark-colored ground-dwelling mantis found in East African grasslands. It hunts by running along the ground rath...

Lepidoptera

Tau Emperor Moth

Aglia tau

A day-flying silk moth with a distinctive T-shaped mark on each wing....

Coleoptera

Taveuni Beetle

Mausoleopsis amicta

An impressive flightless weevil endemic to the island of Taveuni in Fiji. It is one of the larger weevils in the Pacific...

Blattodea

Tawny Cockroach

Ectobius pallidus

A small outdoor cockroach native to Europe that lives in leaf litter and low vegetation. It is harmless and does not inf...

Dermaptera

Tawny Earwig

Labidura truncata

A large Australian earwig with a tawny coloration and powerful forceps. It is a common garden species across much of Aus...

Phasmatodea

Tessellated Stick Insect

Tessulata tessulata

A brown patterned stick insect covered in tessellated scale-like markings that resemble rough bark. Its legs are flatten...

Phasmatodea

Tethered Walkingstick

Manomera tenuescens

A very thin, elongated walkingstick from the eastern United States. It is among the most slender of all North American p...

Phasmatodea

Texan Walkingstick

Diapheromera texana

A walkingstick found in sandy habitats of western Texas and New Mexico. It is well adapted to arid, open environments....

Hemiptera

Thistle Lace Bug

Tingis cardui

A small, beautifully structured lace bug found on creeping thistle. Wings have an intricate latticed pattern. Causes yel...

Coleoptera

Thistle Tortoise Beetle

Cassida rubiginosa

A pale green to yellowish-brown tortoise beetle with a somewhat flattened, circular body. It has been used as a biocontr...

Phasmatodea

Thorn-legged Stick Insect

Aretaon asperrimus

A heavily armored stick insect covered in sharp thorns and spines across its entire body. Its brown coloring and spiny t...

Phasmatodea

Thorny Devil Stick Insect

Eurycantha calcarata

A massive, heavily armored stick insect from New Guinea with powerful spiny hind legs. Males have a large curved spine o...

Coleoptera

Three-Lined Potato Beetle

Lema daturaphila

A yellow-orange leaf beetle with three black stripes, resembling a smaller Colorado potato beetle. It feeds on tomatillo...

Diptera

Tiger Crane Fly

Nephrotoma flavescens

A striking yellow crane fly with bold black stripes on the thorax. Adults are commonly found basking on sunny foliage in...

Phasmatodea

Titan Stick Insect

Acrophylla titan

One of the longest stick insects in Australia and among the longest insects in the world. Females can reach over 250 mm ...

Coleoptera

Toadflax Stem Weevil

Mecinus janthinus

A dark metallic blue-purple weevil that feeds on toadflax species. Successfully used as a biological control agent for i...

Coleoptera

Tobacco Flea Beetle

Epitrix hirtipennis

A tiny brownish beetle that creates small round holes in tobacco and other solanaceous crop leaves. Larval feeding on ro...

Phasmatodea

Tobelo Leaf Insect

Phyllium tobeloense

A leaf insect named after the Tobelo region of Halmahera Island in Indonesia. It closely mimics the local broadleaf vege...

Lepidoptera

Tomato Leafminer

Tuta absoluta

A devastating South American moth that mines through tomato leaves, stems, and fruits. Since 2006, it has rapidly invade...

Coleoptera

Tortoise Beetle

Aspidimorpha sanctaecrucis

A spectacular Asian tortoise beetle with a translucent golden shell margin that reveals internal structures. Can change ...

Phasmatodea

Trachyaretaon Stick Insect

Phryganistria heusii

A very large stick insect discovered in Vietnam, with females exceeding 30 cm in body length. It has rough, bark-like te...

Hymenoptera

Tree Bumblebee

Bombus hypnorum

A distinctive bumblebee with a brown thorax, black abdomen and white tail. Often nests in bird boxes....

Orthoptera

Tree Locust

Anacridium melanorhodon

A large grey-brown locust with distinctive vertical stripes on its eyes and a rough thorax crest. It roosts in trees and...

Hymenoptera

Trichiosoma Hawthorn Sawfly

Trichiosoma lucorum

A large, very hairy sawfly with clubbed antennae and a dense covering of golden-brown hairs. It resembles a large bumble...

Blattodea

Trinervitermes Nasute Termite

Trinervitermes trinervoides

A grass-harvesting nasute termite of southern Africa that builds small dome-shaped mounds in grasslands. Soldiers have p...

Orthoptera

True Leaf Katydid

Pseudophyllus titan

A large katydid with broad green forewings that precisely mimic living leaves. The wing venation pattern is nearly ident...

Coleoptera

Tundra Leaf Beetle

Chrysomela lapponica

A rounded, metallic reddish-brown leaf beetle with variable dark markings. Adults and larvae feed on willows in subarcti...

Diptera

Tundra Robber Fly

Rhadiurgus variabilis

A medium-sized robber fly with a dark body and distinctive bristly face. It is an aerial predator that ambushes other fl...

Hymenoptera

Turnip Sawfly

Athalia rosae

A small orange and black sawfly whose larvae defoliate brassica crops....

Coleoptera

Twenty-spotted Leaf Beetle

Chrysomela vigintipunctata

A distinctive leaf beetle with reddish-brown elytra marked with twenty black spots arranged in rows. It feeds on willow ...

Coleoptera

Two-lined Chestnut Borer Leaf Beetle

Chrysomela mainensis

A convex beetle with metallic dark greenish-black elytra and fine punctation. It is found on alder and willow in boreal ...

Coleoptera

Two-lined Leatherwing

Atalantycha bilineata

A slender soldier beetle with pale yellowish-brown elytra bearing two faint darker lines. It is an active predator found...

Coleoptera

Two-spotted Case-bearer

Cryptocephalus bipunctatus

A cylindrical beetle with red to orange elytra each bearing a single black spot, and a dark head and pronotum. It feeds ...

Orthoptera

Two-spotted Grouse Locust

Paratettix mexicanus

A tiny pygmy grasshopper commonly found at the muddy margins of ponds and streams across the Americas. It often has two ...

Phasmatodea

Two-Striped Walking Stick

Anisomorpha buprestoides

A stout stick insect with two bold stripes running down its body, common in the southeastern United States. It is freque...

Phasmatodea

Unarmed Stick Insect

Clitarchus tepaki

A smooth-bodied stick insect endemic to the far north of New Zealand. It is slimmer than its relative Clitarchus hookeri...

Lepidoptera

Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly

Boloria acrocnema

A small alpine butterfly found only above 3900 m in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. It was not discovered until 1978...

Psocoptera

Valenzuela Barklouse

Valenzuela flavidus

A common yellowish barklouse found on a wide range of trees and shrubs. It is one of the most abundant psocids in temper...

Lepidoptera

Vapourer Moth

Orgyia antiqua

A moth in which males are russet-brown day-fliers while females are completely wingless and never leave their cocoon. Fe...

Orthoptera

Variegated Grasshopper

Zonocerus variegatus

A brightly colored grasshopper with striking patterns of yellow, green, black, and orange. It feeds on toxic plants and ...

Phasmatodea

Velvet Stick Insect

Peruphasma schultei

A jet-black velvety stick insect with bright red vestigial wings found in one small area....

Lepidoptera

Venezuelan Poodle Moth

Artace cribraria

A fuzzy white moth densely covered in hair-like scales giving it a woolly appearance. Its large black eyes and fluffy bo...

Orthoptera

Venezuelan Tepui Katydid

Teleutias pellucida

A translucent pale green katydid endemic to the tepui highlands of Venezuela. Its semi-transparent wings allow sunlight ...

Lepidoptera

Verdant Hawk Moth

Tinostoma smaragditis

A vivid emerald-green hawk moth found in tropical Pacific islands....

Phasmatodea

Versine Stick Insect

Eurycnema versirubra

A large, bright green Australian stick insect with red coloring at the base of its wings. It is frequently encountered i...

Coleoptera

Viburnum Leaf Beetle

Pyrrhalta viburni

A small, brownish-yellow beetle with dense pubescence that has become a serious invasive pest of ornamental viburnum shr...

Phasmatodea

Vietnamese Stick Insect

Medauroidea extradentata

A large, smooth-bodied stick insect commonly kept as a pet and used in school biology classes. It reproduces readily thr...

Phasmatodea

Vietnamese Walking Stick

Baculum extradentatum

A long, thin stick insect with small teeth along its middle legs. It is one of the most commonly kept pet phasmids world...

Mantodea

Violin Mantis

Gongylus gongylodes

Named for its elongated prothorax resembling a violin neck. Has leaf-like lobes on all legs and a distinctive crown on i...

Phasmatodea

Walking Leaf

Phyllium philippinicum

Perhaps the most remarkable camouflage in the insect world — an entire insect that looks exactly like a green leaf, comp...

Lepidoptera

Wall Brown

Lasiommata megera

An orange-brown butterfly with eyespots that basks with wings open on walls, rocks and bare ground....

Phasmatodea

Wangpeng's Stick Insect

Neohirasea wangpengi

A recently described stick insect from China named after the entomologist Wang Peng. It has a dark body with pale leg ba...

Hemiptera

Water Boatman

Corixa punctata

A small, oval aquatic bug with oar-like hind legs fringed with swimming hairs. Unlike most aquatic bugs, water boatmen a...

Coleoptera

Water Scavenger Beetle

Hydrophilus piceus

One of the largest European water beetles, with a glossy black, boat-shaped body. Despite its name, it is largely herbiv...

Hemiptera

Water Treader

Mesovelia mulsanti

A tiny, bright green semi-aquatic bug that walks on the surface of still waters among floating vegetation. It is widespr...

Lepidoptera

Water Veneer Moth

Acentria ephemerella

A unique aquatic moth whose larvae live entirely underwater in freshwater lakes. Females are often wingless and spend th...

Coleoptera

Water-lily Reed Beetle

Donacia simplex

A metallic coppery-bronze aquatic beetle with longitudinal ridges on the elytra. Adults sit on floating leaves of pondwe...

Lepidoptera

Waterlily Borer Moth

Elophila gyralis

A small pale brown moth with wavy dark lines across its wings. Its larvae are aquatic, living underwater in cases made f...

Coleoptera

Waterlily Leaf Beetle

Galerucella nymphaeae

A small, brown leaf beetle that feeds on the upper surfaces of waterlily pads. It creates distinctive feeding grooves ac...

Lepidoptera

Waved Umber

Menophra abruptaria

A brown geometrid moth with distinctive wavy cross-lines. A common urban moth often found on walls and fences....

Lepidoptera

Wax Moth

Galleria mellonella

A moth whose larvae feed on beeswax in bee hives, causing major damage to comb. Also famous in science as a model organi...

Hymenoptera

Weaver Ant

Oecophylla smaragdina

Builds elaborate nests by weaving living leaves together using silk produced by their own larvae. Workers form living ch...

Neuroptera

Wesmael's Brown Lacewing

Wesmaelius subnebulosus

A medium-sized brown lacewing with subtly patterned wings found across Europe. Frequent in gardens and deciduous woodlan...

Coleoptera

West African Firefly

Luciola lusitanica

A small soft-bodied beetle that produces bioluminescent flashes to attract mates. Males fly and flash while females resp...

Hymenoptera

Western Harvester Ant

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

A large red ant that constructs conspicuous gravel-topped mound nests in western grasslands. It clears all vegetation fr...

Phasmatodea

Westwood's Leaf Insect

Cryptophyllium westwoodii

A large leaf insect named after the entomologist John Obadiah Westwood. Females are broad and bright green, mimicking fr...

Coleoptera

Whip-scorpion Rove Beetle

Paederus amazonicus

A brightly colored Amazonian rove beetle with orange and metallic blue markings typical of the Paederus genus. It thrive...

Lepidoptera

White Ermine

Spilosoma lubricipeda

A pure white moth peppered with variable black dots, resembling ermine fur. The number of spots varies greatly between i...

Lepidoptera

White Plume Moth

Pterophorus pentadactyla

A delicate pure white moth with deeply divided wings that split into feather-like plumes. Often seen resting on walls at...

Coleoptera

White-spotted Sawyer

Monochamus scutellatus

A large black longhorn beetle with a distinctive white spot at the base of the elytra. Males have antennae twice their b...

Hymenoptera

White-tailed Bumblebee

Bombus lucorum

A common bumblebee with two yellow bands and a white tail. Part of a complex of similar-looking species....

Hemiptera

Widefooted Treehopper

Campylenchia latipes

A North American treehopper with a distinctly angular pronotum and flattened tibiae. It is commonly found on herbaceous ...

Hymenoptera

Willow Bean-Gall Sawfly

Pontania proxima

A tiny sawfly that induces distinctive bean-shaped galls on the leaves of various willow species. Each gall contains a s...

Coleoptera

Willow Calligrapha

Calligrapha multipunctata bigsbyana

A subspecies of Calligrapha with pale elytra marked with elongated dark spots and dashes. It is associated with willow t...

Hymenoptera

Willow Sawfly

Nematus salicis

A defoliator of willows across Europe found in wetlands and riparian areas. Larvae feed gregariously on willow leaves fr...

Phasmatodea

Winged Stick Insect

Megacrania batesii

A large bright green stick insect with well-developed wings that can fly short distances. It feeds on pandanus palms alo...

Orthoptera

Wingless Grasshopper

Phaulacridium vittatum

A small, common grasshopper found across Australia and New Zealand with reduced or absent wings. It can become a signifi...

Lepidoptera

Winter Moth

Operophtera brumata

A cold-hardy moth whose tiny green inchworm caterpillars defoliate fruit and shade trees in early spring. Females are vi...

Orthoptera

Woodland Grasshopper

Omocestus rufipes

A small dark grasshopper with a distinctive red-tipped abdomen in both sexes. Found in warm sheltered spots....

Hymenoptera

Woolly Alder Sawfly

Eriocampa ovata

A small, dark sawfly whose larvae are covered in a white, woolly, waxy secretion. The larvae feed on the underside of al...

Coleoptera

Wooly Darkling Beetle

Eleodes osculans

A stout black beetle common in southwestern US deserts. It raises its abdomen in a defensive headstand posture when dist...

Orthoptera

Xya Pygmy Mole Cricket

Xya pfaendleri

A minute European pygmy mole cricket typically found on bare sandy ground near rivers. It is so small it is often confus...

Neuroptera

Yellow Mantidfly

Leptomantispa pulchella

A delicate yellow mantidfly found in tropical Central and South America. Its slender build and pale coloring provide cam...

Hymenoptera

Yellow-Banded Cimbicid

Trichiosoma tibiale

A large, hairy sawfly with a banded abdomen and prominent clubbed antennae. The body is covered in dense yellowish hairs...

Hymenoptera

Yellow-shouldered Slug Sawfly

Arge berberidis

A sawfly pest of barberry and mahonia shrubs, skeletonizing leaves in gardens. Larvae are slug-like and pale green with ...

Mantodea

Yemeni Desert Mantis

Eremiaphila zetterstedti

A small, agile desert mantis found in the Arabian Peninsula. It is adapted to extremely arid habitats with minimal veget...

Hemiptera

Yucca Plant Bug

Halticotoma valida

A dark metallic blue plant bug that feeds on yucca plants in the arid Southwest. Heavy infestations can cause yellowing ...

Lepidoptera

Zanzibar Blue Butterfly

Uranothauma crawshayi

A delicate blue butterfly found on Zanzibar and coastal East Africa. Males have shimmering blue upperwings while females...

Orthoptera

Zayante Band-winged Grasshopper

Trimerotropis infantilis

A small grasshopper found only in sand parkland habitats in Santa Cruz County, California. It is superbly camouflaged ag...

Lepidoptera

Zegris eupheme

Zegris eupheme

A white butterfly with orange wingtip patches found in steppe grasslands from Spain to Central Asia. European population...

Phasmatodea

Zhao Stick Insect

Phryganistria chinensis

The longest insect ever measured at 64 cm with legs extended. Discovered in 2014 in Guangxi, China. A captive-bred speci...