Insect: An animal with six legs and three body parts
Arthropod: An animal with jointed legs and an exoskeleton
Ant: A social insect that lives in colonies with a queen
Honeybee: An insect that makes honey and pollinates flowers
Bumblebee: A fuzzy, large bee
Wasp: A stinging insect, many build paper nests
Hornet: A large wasp
Butterfly: An insect with colorful wings that drinks nectar
Moth: A mostly nocturnal relative of butterflies
Monarch butterfly: An orange and black butterfly that migrates
Caterpillar: The larva of a butterfly or moth
Chrysalis: The hard case a butterfly pupa lives in
Cocoon: A silk case made by many moth larvae
Ladybug: A small red beetle with spots that eats aphids
Beetle: An insect with hard front wings; the largest group of animals
Firefly (lightning bug): A beetle that glows to find mates
Dragonfly: A fast insect with two pairs of wings that eats mosquitoes
Damselfly: A slimmer relative of the dragonfly
Grasshopper: An insect with strong back legs for jumping
Cricket: An insect that chirps by rubbing its wings together
Katydid: A green insect like a grasshopper that sings at night
Praying mantis: An insect that catches prey with spiny front legs
Stick insect: An insect that looks like a twig
Cicada: An insect that spends years underground and then sings loudly
Aphid: A tiny plant-sucking insect
Mosquito: A small flying insect; females drink blood
Housefly: A common fly that tastes with its feet
Flea: A tiny jumping insect that lives on animals
Termite: An insect that eats wood and builds big mounds
Cockroach: A hardy insect found all over the world
Earwig: An insect with pincers at the tail
Mayfly: An insect whose adult stage lasts only a day or so
Water strider: A bug that walks on water
Dung beetle: A beetle that rolls dung into balls
Rhinoceros beetle: A strong beetle with a horn
Goliath beetle: One of the heaviest insects
Silkworm: A caterpillar that spins silk, used to make cloth
Spider: An arachnid with eight legs that makes silk
Tarantula: A large hairy spider
Black widow: A venomous spider with a red hourglass mark
Orb weaver: A spider that makes round webs
Jumping spider: A small spider with great eyesight
Scorpion: An arachnid with pincers and a stinging tail
Tick: A small blood-sucking arachnid
Mite: A tiny arachnid
Millipede: A many-legged arthropod that eats decaying matter
Centipede: An arthropod with one pair of legs per body segment
Pill bug (roly-poly): A crustacean that curls into a ball
Snail: A mollusk with a spiral shell, not an insect
Slug: A snail without a shell, not an insect
Earthworm: A segmented worm that loosens soil
Antennae: Feelers on an insect's head for smelling and touching
Compound eye: An eye made of many tiny lenses
Thorax: The middle body part where wings and legs attach
Abdomen: The rear body part of an insect
Exoskeleton: A hard outer skeleton
Metamorphosis: Big change in body form during growth
Complete metamorphosis: Egg, larva, pupa, adult
Incomplete metamorphosis: Egg, nymph, adult
Larva: A young insect that looks different from the adult
Pupa: A resting stage between larva and adult
Nymph: A young insect that looks like a small adult
Pollinator: An animal that carries pollen between flowers
Colony: A group of social insects living together
Queen bee: The egg-laying bee in a hive
Worker bee: A female bee that collects food and builds the hive
Drone: A male bee
Hive: A bee home
Honeycomb: Wax cells where bees store honey and raise young
Waggle dance: How honeybees tell others where flowers are
Anthill: A mound of earth built by ants
Camouflage in insects: Walking sticks and leaf insects blend in
Entomologist: A scientist who studies insects
Insect with the most species: Beetles
Do spiders count as insects?: No; they have eight legs and two body parts
Silk: Strong thread made by spiders and silkworms
Web: A trap made of spider silk
Insect wings: Most adult insects have four wings; flies have two
Pheromone: A chemical signal used by insects
Beneficial insects: Insects that help people, like bees and ladybugs
Pest: An insect that harms crops or spreads disease

Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/animal-insects-bugs