Insect Identification Guides

The word "arthropod" means jointed leg or foot. It includes the crustaceans - crabs and their relatives - and the insects, and their relatives like spiders, ticks, scorpions, centipedes, and millipedes.

The Class Insecta, or Hexapoda, includes the insects, and their close relatives, while the Class Arachnida includes the spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions, and some other minor groups. There are well over 20 insect Orders alone. The major insect groups for gardeners are true bugs, aphids, scale insects, beetles, ants, bees, and wasps, mosquitoes and other flies, and, moths and butterflies.

The best way to learn insect identification is to make a reference, or synoptic, collection. Start slowly with a few specimens you find in the garden and use guidebooks, online pictures and "keys" to identify these as best you can. If you have access to a university you'll likely find people there willing to help as well.

The easiest way to start identifying insects around the home is with a field guide to your local insects and related arthropods. Field guides are usually specific to a particular region but regions can be large such as "North America" or more specific such as "Rocky Mountains". The smaller the region the more specific will be the included species. If you are really serious you'll also need a general entomology textbook to learn the basics of anatomy, classification and life histories of insects. Finally you'll also need a good hand lens for getting a close-up view of small specimens. Several good guidebooks and a hand lens are listed here as well as in the Related Articles below.

Mission: To provide accurate, up-to-date and unbiased information for solving common insect and mite problems around your home, business and landscape using least-toxic methods.