Fourlined plant bug Order: Hemiptera: Heteroptera Family: Miridae Genus and species: Poecilocapsus lineatus (Fabricius) Fourlined plant bugs damage many species of herbaceous and woody plants, causing immediate damage, which may be severe in areas where bug...

Phlox plant bug Order: Hemiptera Family: Miridae Genus and species: Lopidea davisi Knight Species in the genus Lopidea are fairly species-specific plant feeders. They tend to feed on leaves, stem terminals, and flowers and seeds. The bugs often form dense populations...

Garden Fleahopper Order: Hemiptera Family: Miridae Genus and species: Halticus bractatus (Say) The garden fleahopper can be an important early season pest in many legume, vegetable, and fruit crops. These true bugs suck the contents of plants cells, causing pale...

Wheel bug Order: Hemiptera Family: Reduviidae Genus and species: Arilus cristatus (Linnaeus) Wheel bugs are among the largest terrestrial true bugs in the United States, with adults measuring 1.0 to 1.25 inches long. They have a characteristic dorsal crest on the...

Sycamore assassin bug Order: Hemiptera Family: Reduviidae Genus and species: Pselliopus barberi Davis Assassin bugs of the genus Pselliopus are brightly and conspicuously colored with the thorax and abdomen yellow to orange and the appendages ringed in black and...

Boxelder bug Order: Hemiptera: Heteroptera Family: Rhopalidae Genus and species: Boisea trivittata (Say) Boxelder bugs are native to the southwest, but their range has expanded in recent decades. They appeared in New England in the 1940’s and 1950’s as boxelder trees...

Golden raintree bug Order: Hemiptera: Heteroptera Family: Rhopalidae Genus and species: Jadera haematoloma (Herrich-Schaeffer) Jadera haematoloma has no common name officially sanctioned by the Entomological Society of America. In the entomological literature, it is...

Large milkweed bug Order: Hemiptera: Heteroptera Family: Lygaeidae Genus and species: Oncopeltus fasciatus (Dallas) Although they might be considered a nuisance by gardeners trying to propagate milkweeds, and they sometimes congregate in large numbers on or near...

Spined stilt bug Order: Hemiptera Family: Berytidae Genus and species: Jalysus spinosus (Say) Stilt bugs are delicate, slender, and elongate, and they have long, slender legs and antennae. The antennal have a characteristic apical club. The spined stilt bug is one of...

Bed bugs Order: Hemiptera Family: Cimicidae Genus and species: Cimex lectularius Linnaeus Until recently, few living Americans – including entomologists – had any experience with bed bugs. Although they have been associated with humans for thousands of years, the...

Azalea lace bugs Order: Hemiptera Family: Tingidae Genus and species: Stephanitis pyrioides (Scott) The azalea lace bug is the most damaging lace bug associated with landscape plants. It was introduced from Japan early in the twentieth century and is now found form...

Green coneheaded planthopper Order: Hemiptera Family: Acanaloniidae Genus and species: Acanolonia conica (Say) Acanalonia conica is a beautiful, bright green species less than half an inch long. It is laterally compressed and has triangular fore wings bearing a...

Citrus, or frosted, flatid planthopper Order: Hemiptera Family: Flatidae Genus and species: Metcalfa pruinosa (Say) This species has been called the citrus flatid planthopper, but it actually occurs on a wide variety of woody plants, including many forest and orchard...

A southeastern grass leafhopper Order: Homoptera Family: Cicadellidae Genus and species: Cuerna costalis (Fabricius) The genus Cuerna came into prominence in the 1950s, after it was discovered that species in this and several other genera are economically important as...

Head louse Order: Phthiraptera Family: Pediculidae Genus and species: Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer Head lice are parasitic, blood-sucking insect found on the human head, eyebrows, and eyelashes. They are not known to spread disease. They appear to have achieved a...

Cat flea Order: Siphonaptera Family: Pulicidae Genus and species: Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) Cat fleas are a common nuisance in homes. When the adults bite and suck blood, they can cause flea allergy dermatitis in humans and other animals. The severity of the...

Human flea Order: Siphonaptera Family: Pulicidae Genus and species: Pulex irritans (Linnaeus) Adult human fleas lack the conspicuous combs of bristles found on or near the head of cat fleas. They suck blood from humans and a number of other animals, causing sometimes...

Prairie mole cricket Order: Orthoptera Family: Gryllotalpidae Genus and species: Gryllotalpa major Saussure Mole crickets are stout, fuzzy, brown insects with short antennae and fossorial front legs reminiscent of those of moles. They burrow in moist soil, often near...