Insects in Homes
Species found indoors and around households
65 species in this collection
Domino Cockroach
Therea petiveriana
A strikingly patterned cockroach with white spots on a black body. The nymphs are ground-dwelling and resemble beetles....
Drywood Termite
Cryptotermes brevis
A small termite that lives entirely within dry wood without needing contact with soil. It forms small colonies inside fu...
Firebrat
Thermobia domestica
A heat-loving relative of the silverfish that thrives at temperatures of 37-39C. Found near furnaces, boilers, and baker...
German Cockroach
Blattella germanica
The most common indoor cockroach worldwide. A single pair can produce over 300,000 offspring in one year. Has developed ...
Indo-Malaysian Drywood Termite
Cryptotermes cynocephalus
A drywood termite native to Southeast Asia that infests structural wood and furniture. It has spread across the Pacific ...
Small Yellow Cockroach
Cariblatta lutea
A tiny pale yellowish cockroach found in the southeastern United States. It lives in leaf litter and is rarely encounter...
Black Carpet Beetle
Attagenus unicolor
A small, oval, dark brown to black beetle that is a major pest of textiles and natural fibers. Larvae are covered in lon...
Carpet Beetle
Attagenus pellio
A small dark beetle with a single white spot on each elytron. Larvae damage woolen textiles and natural fabrics....
Confused Flour Beetle
Tribolium confusum
A small reddish-brown beetle nearly identical to the red flour beetle, hence the 'confused' name. It is a worldwide pest...
Drugstore Beetle
Stegobium paniceum
A stored product pest once found infesting pharmaceutical herb collections....
European Grain Weevil
Sitophilus granarius
A small, dark brown, flightless weevil that infests stored grain. It has been a pest since ancient civilizations first s...
Harlequin Flower Beetle
Gymnetis thula
A colorful scarab with variable patterns of brown cream and black resembling calico fabric. No two individuals look exac...
Indian Firefly
Luciola praeusta
A common firefly across South and Southeast Asia known for its bright flashing displays. Its larvae are ground-dwelling ...
Maize Weevil
Sitophilus zeamais
A small dark brown weevil with four reddish spots on its elytra. It is one of the most destructive stored grain pests wo...
Nairobi Eye Beetle
Paederus sabaeus
A small, brightly colored rove beetle with an orange and black body that produces pederin, a potent blistering toxin. Ou...
Powderpost Beetle
Lyctus brunneus
A small, slender reddish-brown beetle that reduces hardwood timber to fine powder. It is a significant pest of furniture...
Red-legged Rove Beetle
Lathrobium brunnipes
A slender, elongate paederine rove beetle with brown legs and a parallel-sided body. It is a soil-dwelling predator comm...
Rice Weevil
Sitophilus oryzae
A small reddish-brown weevil that is one of the most destructive stored grain pests worldwide. Adults bore into kernels ...
Smooth Hister Beetle
Margarinotus striola
A compact, highly polished black beetle with fine elytral striations. It is one of the most common dung-dwelling hister ...
Texas Stygobiontic Diving Beetle
Psychopomporus felipi
A groundwater-dwelling diving beetle from the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer in Texas. It was the first stygobiontic diving bee...
Warehouse Beetle
Trogoderma variabile
A stored product beetle closely related to the khapra beetle that infests grain, cereals, and dried foods. Its hairy lar...
Blind Cave Campodea
Campodea maestrazgoensis
A cave-dwelling dipluran from the Maestrazgo region of eastern Spain. It shows typical troglomorphic features including ...
Australian Malaria Mosquito
Anopheles farauti
A pale-winged Anopheles mosquito that is the dominant malaria vector in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanua...
Biting Midge
Culicoides impunctatus
A tiny, gray, blood-sucking fly notorious in Scotland and Scandinavia as the Highland midge. Swarms can be so dense they...
Lesser House Fly
Fannia canicularis
A small greyish fly often seen flying in circles beneath ceiling lights indoors. It breeds in decaying organic matter an...
Tumbu Fly
Cordylobia anthropophaga
An African blow fly whose larvae cause furuncular myiasis in humans and animals. Females lay eggs on soil or clothing hu...
Window Fly
Scenopinus fenestralis
A small shiny black fly often found on windowsills inside buildings. Its larvae are beneficial predators of carpet beetl...
Northern Rock Crawler
Grylloblatta campodeiformis
A rare ice-dwelling insect that lives on glaciers and snowfields at near-freezing temperatures. Handling one with bare h...
Pallid Kissing Bug
Triatoma pallidipennis
A Chagas disease vector found in central and southwestern Mexico. It readily colonizes human dwellings in rural areas....
Smoke-Tree Sharpshooter
Homalodisca liturata
A large leafhopper native to the southwestern US and Mexico closely related to the glassy-winged sharpshooter. It is a v...
African Stink Ant
Paltothyreus tarsatus
A very large black ponerine ant that releases a foul-smelling secretion when disturbed. It is one of Africa's most consp...
Coconut Ant
Tapinoma melanocephalum
A tiny bicolored ant with a dark head and pale translucent body, also called the ghost ant. It is a major household pest...
Dacetine Trap-Jaw Ant
Strumigenys emmae
A minute trap-jaw ant with elongate mandibles fringed with specialized hairs used to detect and capture tiny soil-dwelli...
Grain Moth Parasitoid
Pteromalus cerealellae
A small metallic parasitoid wasp that attacks stored-product moth larvae and pupae. It is found in grain stores and ware...
Odorous House Ant
Tapinoma sessile
A small dark brown ant that emits a distinctive rotten coconut smell when crushed. It is one of the most common househol...
Orange Spider Wasp
Cryptocheilus australis
A striking orange and black spider wasp that hunts large ground-dwelling spiders across Australia. Its vivid colouration...
Pharaoh Ant
Monomorium pharaonis
A tiny tropical ant that has become a major indoor pest in heated buildings worldwide. Colonies reproduce by budding, ma...
Black Cutworm
Agrotis ipsilon
A dull brown moth whose soil-dwelling caterpillars sever young seedlings at ground level during the night. It is a cosmo...
Brown House Moth
Hofmannophila pseudospretella
A dull bronze-brown moth with darker flecks that is a widespread household pest. Unlike clothes moths, it feeds on a vas...
Chinese Tussar Moth
Antheraea frithi
A large wild silk moth with rich brown wings bearing four prominent transparent eyespots. It produces durable wild silk ...
Japanese Silk Moth
Antheraea yamamai
A large wild silk moth native to Japan with striking yellow-brown wings bearing prominent eyespots. Its silk was histori...
Meal Moth
Pyralis farinalis
A distinctive moth with olive and reddish-brown banded wings that infests stored grain and flour. Larvae live in silken ...
Mediterranean Flour Moth
Ephestia kuehniella
A major pest of flour mills that produces dense silken webbing that clogs milling machinery. It is pale grey with zigzag...
Small Dusty Wave
Idaea seriata
A tiny pale moth with subtle wavy cross-lines. Commonly found inside buildings where larvae feed on dried organic matter...
Tobacco Moth
Ephestia elutella
A small greyish-brown moth that primarily infests stored tobacco but also attacks cocoa, cereals, and dried fruits. It i...
Tropical Warehouse Moth
Ephestia cautella
A common pest of stored products in tropical and subtropical warehouses. Its larvae produce frass and webbing that conta...
Webbing Clothes Moth
Tineola bisselliella
A small golden-buff moth whose larvae are the primary insect pest of woolen clothing and textiles. Adults are weak flier...
White-shouldered House Moth
Endrosis sarcitrella
A small greyish moth with a conspicuous white head and thorax that is common in buildings year-round. It is found worldw...
Saharan Desert Mantis
Eremiaphila braueri
A ground-dwelling mantis adapted to the harsh Saharan environment. It is nearly wingless and relies on speed rather than...
Tiger Bark Mantis
Amorphoscelis tigrina
A small bark-dwelling mantis with tiger-like striped markings from East Africa. Its banded pattern mimics the lichen str...
Wahlberg's Velvet Mantis
Ameles decolor
A small ground-dwelling mantis from the Mediterranean. Females are wingless and brachypterous while males fly readily....
Petaltail Dragonfly
Tachopteryx thoreyi
A primitive dragonfly that perches on tree trunks and has bog-dwelling larvae....
Cave Weta
Gymnoplectron acanthocerum
A large cave-dwelling weta endemic to New Zealand with extremely long antennae up to three times its body length. Uses i...
Dominican Amber Cricket
Amphiacusta annulipes
A cave-dwelling cricket found in Hispaniola with long antennae and pale coloring. It is related to species found preserv...
House Cricket
Acheta domesticus
A light brown cricket commonly found in and around human dwellings. It is widely farmed as a protein source and as feede...
Weta Punga (Tusked Weta)
Anostostoma australasia
A distinctive king cricket or tusked weta found in the North Island of New Zealand. Males possess curved tusks projectin...
Human Body Louse
Pediculus humanus humanus
Closely related to the head louse but lives in clothing rather than on hair. It is the vector for epidemic typhus, trenc...
Death Watch Barklouse
Trogium pulsatorium
A common indoor booklouse known for producing a quiet tapping sound by striking its abdomen against surfaces. It is foun...
Degeeri Booklouse
Liposcelis decolor
A cosmopolitan booklouse commonly found in libraries, herbaria, and grain stores. It can cause significant damage to sto...
Dorypteryx Booklouse
Dorypteryx domestica
A winged domestic psocid found in houses, especially in roof spaces and lofts. It is attracted to light and sometimes sw...
Dusty Barklouse
Lachesilla pedicularia
A tiny psocid commonly found in old books, herbaria, and grain stores. It thrives in dusty undisturbed environments....
Furniture Booklouse
Liposcelis paeta
A minute pale booklouse often found in new homes and recently plastered walls. It feeds on microscopic mold in damp indo...
Tropical Book Louse
Liposcelis entomophila
A cosmopolitan booklouse frequently found in insect collections and herbaria. It feeds on dead insects and dried plant s...
Mouse Flea
Leptopsylla segnis
A small flea that parasitizes house mice and other small rodents worldwide. It is commonly found in rodent nests in and ...
Silverfish
Lepisma saccharinum
A primitive wingless insect with a silvery scaled body and three tail filaments. A common household inhabitant....