Insects and Spiders
Mantids: Mantodea - Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Behavior And Reproduction, Wandering Violin Mantid (gongylus Gongylodes): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, DIET, MANTIDS AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS
Mantids are found worldwide in warm and tropical climates. There are twenty-three hundred species worldwide, mostly in the tropical rainforests of South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Many species are restricted to small areas, but others are found on more than one continent, having been accidentally introduced by humans to continents outside their range. Twenty species live in the Unit…
Rock-Crawlers: Grylloblattodea - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Northern Rock-crawler (grylloblatta Campodeiformis): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, ROCK-CRAWLERS AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS
All twenty-seven species of rock-crawlers live in the Northern Hemisphere; they are found in Siberia, northeastern China, Korea, and Japan. Eleven species are known to live in the United States and Canada. Rock-crawlers are secretive animals that live at elevations between 656 and 10,499 feet (between 200 and 3,200 meters) in mixed forests or in mountains above the highest point where trees c…
Earwigs: Dermaptera - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Earwigs And People, European Earwig (forficula Auricularia): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS
There are approximately 1,800 species of earwigs found throughout the world, except in the Arctic and Antarctic. They are especially common in the tropics and subtropics. Twenty-two species live in the United States and Canada. Most earwigs live in moist crevices (KREH-vuh-ses) of all kinds, including under bark, between leaves, and under stones. Some species live on the furry bodies of giant…
Webspinners: Embioptera - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Webspinners And People, Saunders Embiid (oligotoma Saundersii): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS
There are about three hundred species of webspinners known worldwide, but it has been estimated that there may be as many as two thousand. There are thirteen species found across the southern United States. Webspinners are found on all continents, except Antarctica. Most species live in tropical or subtropical climates. There are usually very few or no species living on remote islands. Some s…
Angel Insects or Zorapterans: Zoraptera - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Angel Insects And People, Hubbard's Angel Insect (zorotypus Hubbardi): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS
There are thirty-three species of angel insects worldwide. Angel insects are found on all continents, except Australia and Antarctica. Most species live in the New World tropics, but other species are known from North America, Southeast Asia, Africa, or the Pacific islands. Three species are found in the United States, including Hawaii. Angel insects are found in warm, moist habitats, usually…
Barklice Psocids and Book Lice: Psocoptera - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Book Louse (liposcelis Bostrychophila): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, PSOCIDS AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS
Psocids are found on all continents, including Antarctica. There are 4,408 species of psocids worldwide, mostly in the tropics. About 260 species occur in the United States and Canada. Psocids live in a wide variety of habitats on land. In spite of the common names that include the word "louse," these insects do not live on other animals. They are most common on dead or living l…
Chewing and Sucking Lice: Phthiraptera - Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Behavior And Reproduction, Chewing And Sucking Lice And People, Human Head/body Louse (pediculus Humanus): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS
Chewing and sucking lice are found on all continents, including Antarctica. The distribution of lice is roughly similar to that of the birds and mammals on which they live. However, their distribution within the host population is not uniform. They are usually quite patchy or concentrated in some areas. There are 4,927 species of lice worldwide, with about 780 species in the United States and…
Fishflies Dobsonflies and Alderflies: Megaloptera - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Megalopterans And People, Eastern Dobsonfly (corydalus Cornutus): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS
Megalopterans live in North, Central, and South America, South Africa, Madagascar, and parts of Asia and Australia. Most species are found outside of the tropics. There are about 300 species of megalopterans worldwide, 43 of which are found in the United States and Canada. Aquatic larvae live in standing or flowing waters, including streams, spring seeps, rivers, lakes, ponds, and swamps. Som…
Snakeflies: Raphidioptera - Physical Characteristics, Geographic Range, Behavior And Reproduction, Schummel's Inocelliid Snakefly (inocellia Crassicornis): Species Account - HABITAT, DIET, SNAKEFLIES AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS
Snakeflies prefer habitats where there is a winter period and lots of woody shrubs. They are found from sea level up to more than 9,840 feet (3,000 meters). Adults are found resting on vegetation. The larvae live under the bark of trees or shrubs or in the top layer of soil. The larvae of a few species are found in rock crevices. Both larval and adult snakeflies eat soft-bodied insects and sp…
Lacewings Antlions and Relatives: Neuroptera - Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Diet, Behavior And Reproduction, Green Lacewing (mallada Albofascialis): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, NEUROPTERANS AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS
Neuropterans live on all continents except Antarctica. There are about six thousand species of neuropterans worldwide, with four hundred found in the United States and Canada. The larvae of both green and brown lacewings are known as aphidlions, and they prey on pests in a variety of garden, greenhouse, and agricultural situations. They are sold to gardeners and farmers as eggs. The adults ar…
Scorpionflies and Hangingflies: Mecoptera - Physical Characteristics, Diet, Behavior And Reproduction, No Common Name (panorpa Nuptialis): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, MECOPTERANS AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS
Mecopterans are found on all continents except Antarctica. Some species even live in the northern polar regions of North America and Eurasia. Most species are found in Southeast Asia and Indonesia. There are about 550 species of mecopterans worldwide, with 81 species in the United States and Canada. Mecopterans live mostly in cool, moist habitats, especially in shady forests near springs, str…
Insects Spiders: Pronunciation Guide for Scientific Names
Acherontia atropos ah-KER-on-tee-uh at-TRUH-pohs Acyrthosiphon pisum as-er-THOS-ih-fon PY-sum Aedes aegypti ay-EE-deez ee-JIP-ty Allopauropus carolinensis al-oh-puh-ROP-uhs kar-uh-LINE-en-sis Anthophiloptera dryas an-thoh-FILL-op-tuh-ruh DRY-uhs Apis mellifera AY-puhs muh-LIF-uh-ruh Arachnida uh-RAK-nuh-duh Atta sexdens ATE-tuh SEKS-dunz Attacus atlas AT-uh-kuhs AT-luhs Basilia falcozi buh-SIL-ee-…
Getting to Know Insects and Spiders
Insects, spiders, and their relatives are all arthropods (arthro-pawds), or animals with a hard outer skeleton and several pairs of jointed limbs. Arthropods form the largest group of animals on Earth. They are found almost everywhere, from the deepest ocean trenches to the tallest mountain peaks. There are nearly one million species of insects known, nearly half of all the different plants and an…
Scorpions Spiders Mites and Ticks: Arachnida - Physical Characteristics, Diet, Behavior And Reproduction, Arachnids And People, Hair Follicle (fah-lih-kuhl) Mite (demodex Folliculorum): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, CONSERVATION STATUS
Arachnids are found throughout the world. About eight thousand of the ninety-seven thousand species of arachnids are found in the United States and Canada. Arachnids live on land, in nearly every sort of habitat. Some live in freshwater. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists one arachnid species as Endangered, meaning that it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near fu…
Proturans: Protura - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, No Common Name (sinentomon Yoroi): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, PROTURANS AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS
Proturans are found around the world, except in the Arctic and Antarctic. Protura usually prefer to live in moist habitats with lots of rotting plant materials. They are found in meadows or in leaf litter, rotten logs, soil, and moss in wooded areas. Some species live in parks and agricultural fields. Most proturans live near the soil surface, although some are found underground as deep as 10…
Pauropods: Pauropoda - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, No Common Name (allopauropus Carolinensis): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, PAUROPODS AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS
They are found on all continents except Antarctica. There are about seven hundred species known worldwide. The pauropods of the United States and Canada are so poorly known that it is not possible to give even an approximate number of species found in these countries. Pauropods live in a variety of habitats and are most common in the upper 7.8 inches (200 millimeters) of soil. They are often …
Insects Spiders - Species List by Biome
American cockroach Bed bug Book louse Book scorpion Brown mayfly European earwig German cockroach Giant salmonfly Giant whip scorpion Greenhouse camel cricket Hair follicle mite Holijapyx diversiuguis Honeybee Human head/body louse Indian mealmoth Long-bodied cellar spider Megarhyssa nortoni Oriental cockroach Rock-crawler Rocky Mountain wood tick Schummel's inocelliid snakefly Silverfish S…
Species List by Geographic Range
American cockroach Bed bug Brownbanded cockroach German cockroach Greenhouse camel cricket Greenhouse whitefly Hair follicle mite Honeybee Human head/body louse Indian mealmoth Liposcelis bostrychophila Long-bodied cellar spider Lucerne flea Pea aphid Silverfish Wandering glider Western flower thrips American cockroach Bed bug Book scorpion Brown mayfly Brownbanded cockroach Common harvestman Deat…
Dragonflies and Damselflies: Odonata - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Dragonflies And Damselflies And People, Conservation Status, Wandering Glider (pantala Flavescens): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET
Dragonflies are found worldwide, except in frozen polar areas. They are especially abundant in the tropics. The larvae are found in most standing and running freshwater habitats, where they live on the bottom, under stones, clinging to vegetation, or buried in mud or detritus (dih-TRY-tuhs), loose, tiny bits of plant and animal remains. A few species live in small air pockets inside the stems…