Insect Identifier – How To Identify Insects

With over one million known species and an estimated nine million more, insect identification and being an insect indentifier seems like an arduous task for beginners.

Insect Identifier

The general body plan of insects encompasses an exoskeleton made out of chitin covering fused body segments known as tagmata. The tagmata is made up of a head, thorax, and abdomen. The head contains the mouth, eyes, and antennae; six legs sprout from the thorax, which may also contain wings.

How To Identify Insects

The first question of insect identification is whether or not the insect in question has wings.

If it does not have wings, it is either a bristletail or a silverfish. The living orders can be distinguished by their coloration, and the presence of scales on the silverfish insect.

Bee Identification And Winged Insects

Winged insects belong to the subclass Pterygota. If the wings of the insect cannot fold back over the abdomen, the insect belongs in the orders Ephemeroptera, which make up the mayflies, or Odonata, which compose the dragonflies and damselflies. Mayflies are aquatic, dragonflies have large compound eyes, and damselflies are smaller than dragonflies and unlike dragonflies, hold their wings parallel to their torsos at rest. Bee identification is also a very interesting yet complex field.

If the wings of the insect can fold back over the abdomen, it belongs in the infraclass Neoptera, containing the rest of known insect species, whose taxonomy is currently a matter of debate. If the insect is small, brown, associated with freshwater lakes and streams, with an intricate vein pattern present on the wings, it is likely a stonefly.

Cockroach Identification Facts

Insects that do not have distinct stages of metamorphosis are grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts. Grasshoppers are large with short antennae, crickets are smaller with flatter thoraxes, and locusts travel in swarms.
If the body of the insect is long and cylindrical, with long legs and camouflaged pigmentation to match its surroundings, it is a stick insect. These insects are often confused with praying mantises. Beetle-like insects with flattened abdomens indicate cockroach identification. Insects mere millimeters in length can be lice or thrips.

Beetle Identification

The order Endypterygota, which includes butterflies, moths, fleas, ants, and beetle identification, is composed of insects with distinct stages of metamorphosis that can be easily distinguished from one another by their adult forms. Insect identification between different kinds of flies is difficult but classification can be established by looking at adult forms and checking for characteristics such as eye size and shape, chewing mouthparts, and wing type. Another special topic is worm identification covered in one of the next posts.