LivingWithBugs Logo
Find Books Fast 468x60

Insect Identification Guides

- You'll need good reference material -

Summary: In order to do even basic insect identification you'll need a few inexpensive tools plus good reference books and a little practice.

Jack DeAngelis, PhD
OSU Ext. Entomologist (ret.)

'Bugs is about insect identification. Our aim is make make you better at identifying and understanding insects in the hope that you will be less likely to try and control what are often harmless, or even beneficial, insects and spiders.

There are many excellent guidebooks available, both printed and online, that can help you identify an unknown specimen. The big advance in recent years is that you now have access to high quality bug images online. Be cautious however -- occasionally images you find online are misidentified. Be sure to judge the overall reliability of a site before depending on the stated identification and check at least two different sites if possible.

Using printed and online resources makes insect identification possible even for novices. With a little practice you'll be able to "sight id" the major groups. You should be able to tell the many insects orders apart as well as distinguish spiders from insects, identifiy some ticks and so forth.

anatomy of a flea

External anatomy of a flea. Original drawing from CDC Pictorial Keys To Arthropods, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals of Public Health Significance. 1967.

Arthropod classification

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.

Related Articles

+ General Entomology Textbooks

+ Collecting & Preserving Insects - Part 1, Part 2

+ Using a Hand Lens

+ BugGuide.Net - online community of naturalists who share observations of insects, spiders, and other related creatures.

+ Alex Wild Insect Photography and ant specialist.

If our information is useful click here to help us maintain and grow 'Bugs!

Don't forget to bookmark us for next time - press ctrl-D in most browsers.

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.

Jack DeAngelis, Ph.D.

Please see the Disclaimer statements as well.


Copyright © 2004-... LivingWithBugs, LLC. All rights reserved. Page Updated: 12/31/2009