ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Identify a Bug, Bee or Spider

Updated on May 30, 2010

I don't want to sound prejudiced, but I really dislike insects. I am not even fond of ladybugs. As with most forms of prejudice, mine stems from fear -- I am very creeped out by bugs, spiders, bees and anything else with a body that crunches when you step on it. I mean, some of them bite, sting and make babies in places that are meant for food and sleep. Ok, I admit that sounds a bit primadonnaish, but what I can tell you? I'm a girl. I don't like bugs. And when I spot one that looks particularly scary, I want to know what it is so that I needn't worry about what it could do to me. Just last weekend I spotted a very scary looking beetle in my bamboo privacy screen and I nearly screamed. Terrified that some dangerous bug had been inadvertently imported from China, I quickly set about scouring the internet for some means of identifying the bugger. And would you believe I managed it? Turned out to be a harmless (but scary looking!) beetle that is common throughout Europe. So if you've got a bug you need to identify, have a look at these sites and put your mind at ease.

1. whatsthatbug.com

This is actually the site that I found my creepy little Devil's Coach Horse beetle on. (Yeah, man -- even the name of the bug is scary!) It's a fantastic site with lots of pictures and loads of categories. You can even ask the bug people questions and they will post answers to you. Note that the bug people are not in fact bug experts, but rather artists of some nature -- I've no idea how they know so much about bug identification with their Fine Arts degrees, but they've got a brilliant site that is very useful!

2. insectidentification.org

Another impressive site, this one is quite large. Most of the bugs you will find on this site are native to North America -- the USA, in particular -- and really covers everything extensively. There is even a search form that lets you search for bugs by color and location (by state). The photos are brilliant and the explanations incredibly useful!

3. bugguide.net

Here's another nifty bug identifier. This one has a clickable menu and you can select the general body type of a particular creepy crawlie and then investigate from there. The site is run by a group of naturalists who happen to like creepy crawlies and want you to like them, too. Or something like that.


Image: Christian Meyn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)