Insects & Spiders of North America (and other Bugs)

Backyard Bugs

Here is a list of the common groups of insects and arachnids in the USA. Some sections include information about exotic pet insects too. Please CLICK the text and photo links below to visit the databases for those groups of bugs. We have pictures of many bugs that are common in United States cities. We also have a large picture database of various insects and spiders that are common in the hobby of keeping live bugs as pets. Please make use of the <Back button on your browser from the sub-category pages until we have a chance to make navigation a bit easier.

Common Name Scientific Name Description Size Photo Link
Ants Hymenoptera usually wingless, ground-dwelling 1/4-3/4 in. Ants
Aphids, Leafhoppers & Cicadas Homoptera most small, suck juices from plants. Cicadas have familiar buzzing song and are an inch or more in length. 1/2-1 1/2 in. Aphids, Leafhoppers, Cicadas
Aquatic Bugs Various bugs found in water Various bugs found in water including True Bugs (Hemiptera) and Beetles (Coleoptera) 1/8 - 3 in. Water Bug
Bees Wasps & Hornets Hymenoptera 2 pairs of wings, fairly long antennae, most sting 1/2 - 1 in. Bees, Wasps, Hornets
Beetles: Including Scarab, Stag, Rhino Coleoptera hardened wing-covers, rounded shape 1/4 - 3 in. Beetles
Butterflies Lepidoptera fly by day, usually colorful, hold wings vertically at rest 3/4 - 3 in. Butterflies
Centipedes & Millipedes Chilopoda & Diplopoda many pairs of legs, long-bodied (not actually insects) 3/4 - 4 in. Centipedes
Cockroaches Blattaria Mostly nocturnal. Closely related to mantids, though pronotum (neck-covering) usually extends over downward-pointing head. 1/2 - 4 in. Cockroach, Roach
Dragonflies & Damselflies Odonata 2 pairs of wings, usually found near source of water 1 1/2 - 3 in. Dragonfly, Damselfly
Earwigs Dermaptera pincers on end of abdomen, often seen on roses and in ears of corn at grocery stores 1/2 - 1 in.

Earwig

Flies Diptera 1 pair of wings, short antennae, stingless 1/4 - 1 in. Fly
Grasshoppers, Crickets & Katydids Orthoptera "Hopper" insects, hind pair of legs are longer 1/2 - 4 in. Grasshopper, Cricket, Katydid
Lacewings, Antlions, Alderflies Myrmeleontidae Wings with prominent veins.  Antennae long.  Antlions like dragonflies with long antennae.  Mantispids like mantises with raptorial forelegs. 1/2- 3 in. Antlion
Mantises Mantidae Large. front pair of legs together as if "praying" but used for catching other bugs 1/4 - 4 in. Mantis, Mantid, Praying Mantis
Moths Lepidoptera Most fly by night, usually brown and not very colorful, hold wings in tent shape over body 1/4 - 5 in. Moth
Pill and Sow Bugs Isopoda info. soon 1/2 in....
Spiders Araneae 8 legs, often in webs but not always, 2 main body parts (insects have 3) 1/4 - 3 in. Spider
Stick-insects (Walkingsticks) Phasmida long, skinny, look like twigs, usually brown or green 3/4 - 6 in. Phasmids
Termites Isoptera most commonly seen in summertime, male is winged at this time with a reddish body, otherwise clear to white and found underground or in wood. 1/4 - 1 in. Termite
True Bugs- Stink Bugs Hemiptera some species seem to come in swarms (boxelder bug) and are common on houses and bushes 1/8 - 3 in. True Bugs, Milkweed, Stink Bug, Assassin Bugs
Scorpions Scorpiones Nocturnal arachnids with two pincers and tail with venomous "stinger" on the end of it. Some species are considered deadly. 3/4 - 10 in. Scorpion
Slugs & Snails Gastropoda Snails have shells.  Slugs don't. 1 - 10 inches Slugs, Snails
Whipspiders Amblypygi These strange arachnids are part spider, part scorpion. Cave-dwellers and found on rock faces. Recede within cracks in rocks by day. 1/2 - 3 in. Tailless Whipscorpion
Tarantulas Theraphosidae Usually large and covered with hair. Species distinguished as arboreal or terrestrial.  Most species are mildly venomous. 3 - 12 in. Tarantula
Vinegaroons Thelyphonida (Uropygi) info. soon 3 in.
Windscorpions Solfugidae Fast as wind, nocturnal arachnids. Jaws proportionately largest in animal kingdom. Non-venomous. 3/4 - 6 in. Windscorpion, Sunspider
 

 

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Bugs Defined

Arizona Trip 2001

Lake Chapala, Mexico 2006

Oregon Desert 2007

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