Insect & Spider Identification Guides

Wolf Spider

Lycosidae

Wolf spiders are ground-hunting spiders in Lycosidae. They usually catch prey without a prey-catching web, and their eye pattern is more useful than their brown color.

Brown Recluse Spider

Sicariidae

The brown recluse is Loxosceles reclusa. Identification requires more than brown coloring or a mark that resembles a violin.

Jumping Spider

Salticidae

Jumping spiders are Salticidae, a family of visual hunters with a prominent pair of front eyes.

Orb Weaver Spider

Araneidae

Orb weavers in Araneidae are spiders associated with wheel-shaped capture webs. This family contains many species with very different markings.

Black Widow Spider

Theridiidae

Black widow refers to several Latrodectus species. This guide covers North American black widows, whose appearance depends on species, sex and age.

House Spider

Theridiidae

House spider is a loose household name. Here it means the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum; a spider found indoors is not automatically this species.

Brown Widow Spider

Theridiidae

The brown widow is Latrodectus geometricus. Its spiky egg sacs are a useful clue; a brown spider alone is not enough for identification.

Garden Spider

Araneidae

Garden spider can describe many outdoor spiders. This guide focuses on the North American yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia.

Grass Spider

Agelenidae

Grass spiders are Agelenopsis funnel weavers. Their sheetlike webs and long rear spinnerets help distinguish them from wolf spiders.

Tarantula

Theraphosidae

Tarantulas are spiders in Theraphosidae. The family includes many species, so the size and behavior of a Texas brown tarantula cannot describe every tarantula.

Barn Spider

Araneidae

The name barn spider usually refers to Araneus cavaticus in North America. A spider on a barn can belong to many other species.

Crab Spider

Thomisidae

Crab spiders in Thomisidae typically hold their front legs out to the sides, giving them a crablike stance.

Fishing Spider

Dolomedidae

Fishing spiders in Dolomedes are large hunting spiders; many are associated with water, but some regularly occur away from it.

Cobweb Spider

Theridiidae

Cobweb spiders are Theridiidae, a diverse family of spiders that includes house spiders, false widows and true widows.

Cellar Spider

Pholcidae

Cellar spiders are members of Pholcidae, often recognized by a small body and exceptionally thin legs in a loose indoor web.

Tick

Ixodida

Ticks are blood-feeding arachnids. Identification depends on the species and life stage; an engorged tick can look very different from an unfed one.

Carpenter Bee

Apidae

This guide covers large carpenter bees in Xylocopa, which excavate nesting tunnels in wood. Small carpenter bees in Ceratina are a separate group.

Cicada Killer Wasp

Crabronidae

Cicada killers are large solitary wasps in Sphecius. Females provision underground nests with cicadas.

Mud Dauber Wasp

Hymenoptera

Mud daubers are several groups of solitary wasps that build or use mud nests. The name spans more than one wasp family.

Velvet Ant

Mutillidae

Velvet ants are wasps in Mutillidae. The wingless females resemble hairy ants, while males generally have wings.

Red Wasp

Vespidae

Red wasp is a regional name. Here it refers to reddish paper wasps, particularly Polistes carolina and Polistes rubiginosus in the United States.

Bald-Faced Hornet

Vespidae

The bald-faced hornet is Dolichovespula maculata, a social wasp with pale facial markings. It is not the European hornet, Vespa crabro.

Fire Ant

Formicidae

Fire ants include several Solenopsis species. The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is one important stinging pest; not every red ant is a fire ant.

Luna Moth

Saturniidae

The luna moth is Actias luna, a North American silk moth recognized by green wings and long hindwing tails.

Rosy Maple Moth

Saturniidae

The rosy maple moth is Dryocampa rubicunda. Its familiar pink-and-yellow coloring varies, and some individuals are very pale.

Sphinx Moth

Sphingidae

Sphinx moths, or hawk moths, belong to Sphingidae. Many are strong fliers with streamlined bodies and narrow forewings.

Swallowtail Butterfly

Papilionidae

Swallowtails are butterflies in Papilionidae. Many have tail-like extensions on the hindwings, but those extensions are not present in every species.

Polyphemus Moth

Saturniidae

The polyphemus moth is Antheraea polyphemus, a large silk moth with conspicuous eyespots on the hindwings.

Monarch Butterfly

Nymphalidae

The monarch butterfly is Danaus plexippus. Adults have orange wings divided by dark veins, with white spots in the dark margins.

Flea

Siphonaptera

Fleas are small, wingless insects in Siphonaptera. Adults jump and feed on blood, while their eggs and larvae can develop away from the animal host.

Bed Bug

Cimicidae

Bed bugs are small, wingless blood-feeding insects. The principal human-associated species are Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus.

Boxelder Bug

Rhopalidae

Boxelder bugs are Boisea species that often gather on warm building surfaces and seek shelter as weather cools.

Stink Bug

Pentatomidae

Stink bugs are shield-shaped true bugs in Pentatomidae. The family includes plant feeders and predatory species.

Assassin Bug

Reduviidae

Assassin bugs are Reduviidae. Many hunt other insects, but the family also includes blood-feeding kissing bugs; those groups need to be distinguished.

German Cockroach

Ectobiidae

The German cockroach is Blattella germanica, a small indoor pest associated with food, water and warm shelter.

Palmetto Bug

Blattidae

Palmetto bug is a regional common name for large cockroaches, not a single species or a separate kind of insect.

Termite

Blattodea

Termites are social insects within Blattodea. They are related to cockroaches, but a list of all cockroaches is not a list of termites.

Ladybug

Coccinellidae

Ladybugs, also called lady beetles, are Coccinellidae. Adults are often rounded beetles, but color and spot patterns vary widely.

Hercules Beetle

Scarabaeidae

This guide focuses on the eastern Hercules beetle, Dynastes tityus. Other Dynastes species also carry the Hercules beetle name.

Scarab Beetle

Scarabaeidae

Scarab beetles form the large family Scarabaeidae. The group includes dung beetles, flower visitors and many beetles with soil-dwelling grubs.

Bombardier Beetle

Carabidae

Bombardier beetles are particular groups of ground beetles known for a chemical defensive discharge. Most ground beetles are not bombardier beetles.

Rove Beetle

Staphylinidae

Rove beetles are Staphylinidae. Many have short wing covers that leave much of the segmented abdomen exposed.

Daddy Long Legs

Pholcidae

Daddy longlegs is an ambiguous name. It commonly means a harvestman or a cellar spider; in some regions it also means a crane fly.

Centipede

Centipedes are arthropods in class Chilopoda, not insects or arachnids. Most body segments bear one pair of legs.

Crane Fly

Diptera

Crane flies are delicate, long-legged flies. They are often mistaken for giant mosquitoes, but their long legs do not mean they feed on people.

Bot Fly

Oestridae

Bot flies are Oestridae: their larvae develop in mammal hosts. The host and the part of the body affected depend on the fly species.

Robber Fly

Asilidae

Robber flies are predatory flies in Asilidae. They often wait on exposed perches before flying out to seize another insect.

Deer Fly

Tabanidae

Deer flies are Chrysops flies in Tabanidae. They are related to horse flies but are not interchangeable with every member of that family.

Drain Fly

Psychodidae

Drain flies are small, fuzzy moth flies that develop in wet organic buildup. They are different from fruit flies and fungus gnats.

Katydid

Tettigoniidae

Katydids are long-antennaed insects in Tettigoniidae. Many look like leaves, but the family also includes brown and unusually colored species.

Scorpion

Scorpiones

Scorpions are arachnids with grasping pincers and a segmented tail ending in a stinger. Medical risk depends on the species and location.

Praying Mantis

Mantodea

Praying mantises are predators in Mantodea. Their folded, spiny front legs grasp prey rather than serving primarily for walking.

Camel Spider

Solifugae

Camel spiders, also called solifuges or windscorpions, are arachnids in Solifugae. They are neither true spiders nor scorpions and do not have venom glands.

Silverfish

Lepismatidae

Silverfish are wingless, tapering insects with long antennae and three tail filaments. They are often noticed in quiet indoor hiding places.

Dragonfly

Odonata

Dragonflies are the Anisoptera group within Odonata. Damselflies share the order but are a different group.

House Centipede

Scutigeridae

The house centipede is Scutigera coleoptrata, a fast-moving predator with a narrow body and very long legs.

Earwig

Dermaptera

Earwigs are insects in Dermaptera, easily recognized by the pair of forceps at the end of the abdomen.

Dobsonfly

Corydalidae

Dobsonflies are large, net-winged insects whose aquatic larvae are called hellgrammites. The eastern dobsonfly is Corydalus cornutus.

Mayfly

Ephemeroptera

Mayflies are insects in Ephemeroptera with aquatic young and short-lived winged adult stages.