States Wildlife
Menu

What bug is this?

Choose what you saw. The list narrows to the bugs in our species guides that match, venomous ones first. It suggests possibilities only: a description cannot confirm what an animal is or that it is safe.

41 bugs in our guides. A match is only a possibility, not an identification.

Carpenter bee
Photo: beewonder · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Carpenter bee

Xylocopa (genus); main species in the eastern US: Xylocopa virginica (eastern carpenter bee)

Venomous

Abdomen shiny and mostly hairless (bumble bees have a hairy abdomen)

Fire ants
Photo: Judy Gallagher · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Fire ants

Solenopsis (fire ants); page focuses on the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta

Venomous

Soil mound, often dome-shaped; up to 18-24 inches high depending on soil (UGA; UC IPM: can be 1 ft high); in mowed turf the mound may look flattened

Giant Water Bugs
Photo: Rissa Groves · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Giant Water Bugs

Belostomatidae (genera Abedus, Belostoma and Lethocerus in the US)

Venomous

Oval, flattened, beetle-like body

No confirmed photo of Io Moth Caterpillar

Io Moth Caterpillar

Automeris io

Venomous

Clusters of branching spines, usually yellow or green with black tips, on fleshy protrusions

Mud dauber
Photo: Hlgu1 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

Mud dauber

Sphecidae and Crabronidae (two wasp families); main US species: Sceliphron caementarium, Chalybion californicum, Trypoxylon politum

Venomous

Narrow or threadlike waist.

Velvet Ant
Photo: Judy Gallagher · CC BY-SA 4.0 · iNaturalist · resized

Velvet Ant

Mutillidae (velvet ants); best-known US species Dasymutilla occidentalis (eastern or red velvet ant, "cow killer")

Venomous

Females wingless and ant-like, like large furry ants; males winged and look like ordinary wasps

Wheel bug
Photo: Melissa McMasters from Memphis, TN, United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Wheel bug

Arilus cristatus

Venomous

The cogwheel crest: the only insect species in the United States with such a crest

Yellow jacket
Photo: Katja Schulz · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Yellow jacket

Vespula and Dolichovespula (yellowjackets; family Vespidae)

Venomous

Less hairy and more brightly striped than honey bees

Asian Lady Beetle
Photo: Judy Gallagher · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Asian Lady Beetle

Harmonia axyridis

Not stated by official sources

Black mark behind the head, the most reliable identifying feature per Minnesota Extension, which describes it as an M. Penn State and Iowa State describe it as a W, and it may look thick, thin, broken or filled in. It can be hard to see on dark beetles.

No confirmed photo of Asian Longhorned Tick

Asian Longhorned Tick

Haemaphysalis longicornis

Not stated by official sources

Short mouthparts

Brown marmorated stink bug
Photo: Alexa Hoffman · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Brown marmorated stink bug

Halyomorpha halys

Not stated by official sources

Two white bands on the antennae; blunt front edge of head; smooth shoulder margin; dark bands at the tip of the membranous forewings; banded abdominal edge visible beside the wings

No confirmed photo of Chiggers

Chiggers

Trombiculidae

Not stated by official sources

Biting larvae have six legs; nymphs and adults have eight legs and do not bite people

Dobsonfly (eastern dobsonfly)
Photo: Grant Mullen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · iNaturalist · resized

Dobsonfly (eastern dobsonfly)

Corydalus cornutus

Non-venomousper official sources; still do not handle

Males have very long, tusk-like jaws (up to about 1.6 inches) that cannot hurt people; females have short, stubby jaws but better leverage, and can pinch harder.

Hercules beetles
Photo: Stosh Morency · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Hercules beetles

Dynastes

Not stated by official sources

Males have two horns, one from the thorax and one from the head; females have none

Horse fly
Photo: xpda · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

Horse fly

Tabanidae (family); the vast majority of horse flies are in genera Tabanus and Hybomitra

Not stated by official sources

Stout body with a very large head and very large eyes

Japanese Beetle
Photo: Emmett Collins-Sussman · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Japanese Beetle

Popillia japonica

Not stated by official sources

Row of five white hair tufts on each side of the abdomen

Kissing bug
Photo: Judy Gallagher · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kissing bug

Triatoma (subfamily Triatominae, family Reduviidae); Paratriatoma also occurs in the US

Not stated by official sources

Long, thin, cone-shaped head

Lone star tick
Photo: Jasper Shide · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Lone star tick

Amblyomma americanum

Not stated by official sources

Hard tick: larva 6 legs, nymph and adult 8 legs

Luna moth
Photo: Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋） · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Luna moth

Actias luna

Not stated by official sources

Lime-green color and long tails set it apart from all other North American moths

Millipedes
Photo: Grady Duffy · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Millipedes

Diplopoda

Not stated by official sources

Two pairs of legs on each body segment, except the first three segments, which have one pair each.

Palmetto Bug
Photo: Steve Kerr · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Palmetto Bug

Blattidae (large cockroaches; mainly Eurycotis floridana and Periplaneta americana)

Not stated by official sources

Florida woods cockroach: no working wings, only short leathery pads that do not cover the abdomen

Spongy moth
Photo: Emmett Collins-Sussman · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Spongy moth

Lymantria dispar

Not stated by official sources

Older caterpillars have a double row of five pairs of blue spots followed by six pairs of red spots down the back, and tufts of hair on each segment.

Spotted lanternfly
Photo: Isaac Caswell · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Spotted lanternfly

Lycorma delicatula

Not stated by official sources

Forewings brown or gray with black spots, ending in a speckled band.

Tomato Hornworm
Photo: Dan Horowitz · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Tomato Hornworm

Manduca quinquemaculata

Non-venomousper official sources; still do not handle

Horn on the last abdominal segment, usually black in this species

How to use this tool safely

  • Look from a safe distance. Never pick up, poke or corner a bug to see it better.
  • A match here is a possibility, not an identification. Many bugs vary in color, and juveniles can look different from adults.
  • The status shown (venomous, non-venomous or not stated) is what official sources say about each species. "Not stated" does not mean harmless.
  • The tool covers the bugs that have a full guide on this site (41 so far). For every bug on a state's official list, open the state's insects and bugs page.
  • Your choices stay in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.

Bugs by state