Insect ID: Insects Found in the Yard and Landscape

Lawn / Grassy Area
Trees and Shrubs
Roses and/or Other Flowers

Some of these critters sometimes hitch a ride indoors on such things as firewood, clothing, a family pet, etc.

Return to Insect ID: Habitat

Lawn / Grassy Area

: Ants (especially Pavement Ants which are pictured here)

: Pavement Ants feasting on a Cheez-It® cracker (Boothbay, Maine – 5/25/2019)

: Pavement ants (Closer and cropped view of the previous photo)

: Allegheny Mound Ants in Bristol, Maine
Photo taken: 7/19/2017

: Eastern Black Carpenter Ant (worker) (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) (central Maine; 6/13/2009)

: A male Carpenter Ant (central Maine; 5/29/2015)

: Carpenter Ant (Winged Queen)

: Carpenter Ant (Winged Queen)

: Carpenter Ant (Winged Queen)

: Carpenter Ant Queen
(wingless stage — they shed their wings after mating)

: Cornfield Ants (Lasius neoniger) (Farmington, ME; 4/14/2021)

: European Red Ant — Myrmica rubra (also referred to as the European Fire Ant) (Invasive)

: Armyworm Caterpillar

: Pair of armyworms parasitized by one or more tachinid flies

: Asiatic Garden Beetle (grub and adult)

: Asiatic Garden Beetle grub (Note: Correct ID requires careful examination of the grub’s rastral pattern of hairs because there are many other species of “white grubs” that otherwise look very similar to one another)

: Centipedes and Millipedes

: Example of a Crane Fly (this one is a “Large Crane Fly” in the Tipulidae family)

: Phantom Crane Fly (Family Ptychopteridae)

: Camel Cricket

: Pair of False Armyworm cutworms

: Deer Fly (their larvae are aquatic)

: Deer Flies
(their larvae are aquatic)

: European Chafer

: Comparing grubs of European Chafer and Japanese Beetle

: Horse Fly

: Horse Fly

: A Horsehair worm that has emerged from its host cricket

: Horsehair Worm (these are not insects)

: Hover Flies (also called Syrphid Flies or Flower Flies)

: An example of a Hover fly or Syrphid fly that mimics bee/wasp-like patterning

: Toxomerus marginatus feeding on nectar from a hop clover flower.

: Syrphid Fly – Photo courtesy of Dana Wilde from Unity, ME (mid July 2013)

: Another specimen of a species of syrphid fly called a Drone Fly (sometimes written as one word: Dronefly)

: Drone Fly/Dronefly (a type of syrphid fly which mimics a honey bee drone, such as Eristalis tenax)

: A cluster of Japanese Beetles

: Japanese Beetle Larva/Grub

: Japanese Beetle (on a milkweed leaf)

: May Beetle / June Beetle

: June Beetle grub

: Katydid (Northern Bush Katydid, Scudderia septentrionalis) (Etna, ME; 8/6/2010)

: Rose Chafers

: Closer view of a Rose Chafer (The rose chafer is a type of scarab beetle)

: Spotted Tussock

: Hickory Tussock (the hairs on many tussock caterpillars can cause an itchy rash)

: Tussock caterpillars: Hickory Tussock (top) and Spotted Tussock (bottom).

: White-marked Tussock

: Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar (Euchaetes egle) (Etna, ME; 8/23/2009) (this caterpillar is not an invasive species)

: White Grubs

: White Grub damage to a lawn

: White Grub damage to a lawn

: Woollybear Caterpillars (Banded Woollybear)

: Yellow Bear Caterpillar / Yellow Woollybear (Spilosoma virginica) (Greenville, ME; 9/4/2011)

Lawn / Grassy Area:

Ants
Armyworms
Asiatic Garden Beetle
Carpenter Ants
Caterpillars
Centipedes
Chinch Bugs
Crane Flies
Crickets (dark, moist areas)
Cutworms
Deer Flies
European Chafer
Horse Flies
Horsehair Worm
Hover Flies (also called Flower Flies or Syrphid Flies)
Japanese Beetles
June Beetles (attracted to lights on summer nights)
Katydids (also known as long-horned grasshoppers)
Large Yellow Underwing (Oregon State Univ)
Rose Chafers
Sod Webworm (Penn State)
Tussock Caterpillars
White Grubs (in the soil)
Woollybear Caterpillars (BugGuide.net): Banded Woollybear and Yellow Woollybear
Yellowjackets/Hornets/Wasps
Non-insect Possibilities:
- Spiders
- Ticks

Trees and Shrubs:

: Green Peach Aphids on broccoli

: Azalea Lace Bug adult beside a U.S. penny

: Bald-faced Hornets (guarding their nest)

: Bald-faced Hornet (closer view)

: Browntail Moth (late instar caterpillar stage)

: Browntail Moth (example of a spring/early summer-season nest)

: CarpenterAnts

: Carpenter Ant (Winged Queen)

: Cecropia Caterpillars

: Cecropia Caterpillars

: Cecropia Moth

: An Annual / Dog-day Cicada found in Maine

: A newly-molted Cicada and its former exoskeleton; Photo courtesy of April and Lee Townsend (Portland, ME)

: a Cicada nymph (photo by Griffin Dill)

: Cicadas (comparing Periodical cicadas with an Annual cicada)

: Example of a Crane Fly (this one is a “Large Crane Fly” in the Tipulidae family)

: Phantom Crane Fly (Family Ptychopteridae)

: Eastern Boxelder Bug (Boisea trivittata) (adult stage) (Hallowell, ME; 4/19/2021)

: Eastern Boxelder Bug (Boisea trivittata) (adult stage) (Hallowell, ME; 4/19/2021)

: Eastern Hemlock Looper (Lambdina fiscellaria) (resting by a porch light in Stetson, Maine; 9/15/2019)

: Eastern Hemlock Looper (Lambdina fiscellaria) (Farmington, Maine; 9/8/2020) (Photo courtesy of Hannah A.)

: A mature Eastern Tent Caterpillar (Central Maine: June 5th, 2015)

: A nest of Eastern Tent Caterpillars (Mid-May, 2012; Aurora, ME)

: Closer view of the bottom of the nest shown in the adjacent photo

: Eastern Tent Caterpillar (egg masses)

: Closeup view of an Eastern Tent Caterpillar egg mass

: A nest of Eastern Tent caterpillars

: Comparing the Eastern Tent Caterpillar (bottom) with a Forest Tent Caterpillar (above). Both were feeding on the leaves of a wild apple tree. The Eastern tent caterpillars make silken nests in the forks of their host trees whereas the forest tent caterpillars make no nests at all, in spite of having “tent” in their name (Etna, ME; 6/5/2015)

: Elm Sawfly (larval stage) (7/27/2009; Pittsfield, ME)

: Euonymus Caterpillars

: Euonymus Caterpillars

: A heavy infestation of Euonymus caterpillars

: A heavy infestation of the Euonymus caterpillars

: European Pine Sawfly larva

: European Pine Sawfly larvae

: Fall Webworm caterpillar (early stage of development) (these build nests but they are not considered to harm most trees that are generally healthy)

: Pair of Fall Webworm caterpillars feeding on a crabapple leaf

: Fall Webworm Moth (see also an example of the spotted form of the fall webworm moth)

: Forest Tent Caterpillars
(these do NOT build nests)

: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (an invasive pest)

: Hickory Tussock (the hairs on many tussock caterpillars can cause an itchy rash)

: Spongy Moth (female)

: Lymantria dispar (final instar/mature larva) (Common Name: Spongy Moth)

: A pair of Spongy Moth (Lymantria dispar) pupae

: Spongy Moth (Lymantria dispar) (male)

: Spotted Tussock

: Tussock caterpillars: Hickory Tussock (top) and Spotted Tussock (bottom).

: Horntail (also called a Wood Wasp)

: Introduced Pine Sawfly larva (July 11, 2015) (central Maine)

: Introduced Pine Sawfly larva (July, 2015)

: Introduced Pine Sawfly adult (Etna, ME; 4/15/2020)

: Example of an inchworm (spanworm/looper) (Geometridae family)

: Example of a moth in the Geometridae (inchworms) family of moths.

: A cluster of Japanese Beetles

: Full-grown caterpillar of the Luna Moth

: “The Laugher” Caterpillar (Bangor, Maine; 9/22/2017)

: Luna Moth Caterpillar

: Luna Moth

: Example of a Longhorned Beetle (so-named because of their very long antennae; this one shown here is a Roundheaded Apple Tree Borer)

: Larval stage of a longhorned beetle (such as the Round-headed Apple Tree Borer at left)

: Mealybugs (Family Pseudococcidae)

: Metallic Wood-boring Beetle (Family: Buprestidae)

: Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui) (Camden, Maine; 8/14/2017)

: Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui) (Schoodic Point in Winter Harbor, Maine; 10/10/2017)

: Guinea Paper Wasps (Polistes exclamans)

: Golden Paper Wasp (also known as Northern Paper Wasp)

: Powderpost Beetle

: Powderpost Beetle covered with some of the fine wood powder from the feeding damage they cause

: Feeding damage from Powderpost Beetles

: Raspberry Weevil (also known as the Clay-colored Weevil) (Otiorhynchus singularis) (very similar to the Black Vine Weevil) (this one was found feeding on a rhododendron in central Maine; 5/16/2021)

: Raspberry Weevil (Otiorhynchus singularis) (found feeding on a rhododendron in central Maine; 5/19/2021)

: Red Flat Bark Beetle (Cucujus clavipes) (they are predators on other insects) (York County, ME; April 11th, 2022) (Photo courtesy of P. Wirth)

: Rhododendron Leafhopper (Graphocephala fennahi) (Greenville, ME; 8/26/2007)

: Rose Chafers (beetles)

: Closer view of a Rose Chafer (The rose chafer is a type of scarab beetle)

: Spruce Budworm Larvae

: Spruce Budworm (larva)

: Spruce Budworm (pupal stage)

: Spruce Budworm

: Sugar Maple Borer (Glycobius speciosus) (6/13/2021; Panton, Vermont — but also found in Maine) (Photo courtesy of M.O. Metcalf)

: Two-spotted Tree Cricket (Neoxabea bipunctata – female) (Wells, ME; 9/4/2022) (Photo courtesy of Tom Baxter)

: Narrow-winged Tree Cricket (Snowy Tree Cricket) (Oecanthus niveus) (Wells, ME; 8/24/2022) (Photo courtesy of Tom Baxter)

: Viburnum Leaf Beetle Larvae (arrowwood and highbush cranberry pest)

: Whitespotted Sawyer Beetle (female); Photo by C. Armstrong

: Whitespotted Sawyer Beetles

: Whitespotted Sawyer beetle (female)

: Northeastern Pine Sawyer

: Northeastern Pine Sawyer

: Western Conifer Seed Bug

: White Pine Sawfly larvae

: Woollybear Caterpillars (Banded Woollybear)

: Yellow Bear Caterpillar / Yellow Woollybear (Spilosoma virginica) (Greenville, ME; 9/4/2011)

Trees and Shrubs:

Annual Cicada
Ants
Aphids | see also: Aphid and Adelgid Pests of Conifers [pdf] (Oregon State University)
Asian Longhorned Beetle (no confirmed sightings in Maine as yet)
Azalea Lace Bug
Azalea Leafminer
Bald-faced Hornets
Bark Beetles
Boxelder Bugs (BugGuide.net)
Browntail Moth/Caterpillar
Carpenter Ants
Caterpillars
Cecropia Moth
Cicadas
Crane Flies
Eastern Boxelder Bugs (BugGuide.net)
Eastern Hemlock Looper
Eastern Tent Caterpillars
Elm Sawfly
Emerald Ash Borer (invasive)
Euonymus Caterpillars
European Pine Sawfly
Fall Webworm
Forest Tent Caterpillars
Golden Paper Wasps (BugGuide.net)
Hemlock Looper
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (invasive)
Hickory Tussock Caterpillar
Inchworms (Loopers/Geometers) (USGS) | See also Caterpillars of Eastern Forests (pp 69-85) (US Forest Service)
Introduced Pine Sawfly
Lace Bugs
Laugher (Charadra deridens)
Longhorned Beetles (and Roundheaded Borers) (Iowa State Univ.)
Loopers
Luna Moth
Lymantria dispar
Mealybugs (NC State Extension)
Metallic Wood-Boring Beetle (Univ. of Minnesota Extension)
Moths
Northeastern Pine Sawyer Beetle
Painted Lady Butterfly
Paper Wasps/Yellowjackets/Hornets
Pennsylvania Wood Roach
Polyphemus Moth
Powderpost Beetles
Raspberry Weevil (likes rhododendrons as well)
Red Flat Bark Beetle (Penn State / New Kensington)
Rhododendrons:
- Azalea Leafminer
- Black Vine Weevil and Raspberry Weevil (both weevil species feed during the night)
- Lace Bugs
- Mealybugs (NC State Extension)
- Rhododendron Leafhopper (BugGuide.net)
- Rhododendron Whiteflies (Dialeurodes chittendenl) (UMass)
Rose Chafer beetles
Sawflies:
- Elm Sawfly
- Dogwood Sawfly (Iowa State Univ Extension) (additional images, including the adult stage: BugGuide.net)
- European Apple Sawfly
- European Pine Sawfly
- Introduced Pine Sawfly
- White Pine Sawfly
Sawyer Beetles
Slug Caterpillars (BugGuide.net)
Spongy Moth
Spruce Budworm
Sugar Maple Borer (BugGuide.net)
Tent Caterpillars: Eastern Tent Caterpillars and Forest Tent Caterpillars
Tree Crickets
- Narrow-winged Tree Cricket (BugGuide.net) | Listen to the ‘call’ made by a similar species (Singing Insects of North America)
- Two-spotted Tree Cricket (BugGuide.net)
Tussock Caterpillars
Viburnum Leaf Beetle (Cornell); Viburnum Leaf Beetle (UMass)
Wasps/Hornets/Yellowjackets
Western Conifer Seed Bug
Whitespotted Sawyer Beetle
White Pine Sawfly
Winter Moth (Maine Forest Service) [See also Control of Winter Moth Damage in New England Blueberries — UMass] [2012 Bangor Daily story] and the Maine Forest Service Press Release (Nov-Dec 2015) “When moths fly with snow, let the Maine Forest Service know!”
Woollybear Caterpillars (BugGuide.net): Banded Woollybear and Yellow Woollybear
Yellowjackets/Hornets/Wasps

Roses:

: Green Peach Aphids on broccoli

: Black-patched Clepsis Moth (Clepsis melaleucanus) (Host plant was a Rosa rugosa ‘Rubra’ rose; Etna, ME; 5/28/2024)

: Example of a Broad-nosed weevil (species uncertain; possibly Sciaphilus asperatus — the Strawberry Root Weevil or Naupactus cervinus — Fuller’s Rose Weevil)

: Browntail caterpillar (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) feeding on a rosebush (Etna, ME; 5/25/2022)

: Browntail caterpillar (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) on a rosebush – Roughly 20 individuals were feeding on the plant and were removed prior to this photo being taken (Etna, ME; 5/22/2022)

: Japanese Beetles

: Three Japanese Beetles feeding on a wild rose blossom; Seal Harbor, ME – August 7, 2020

: Leafhoppers (shown here is a Red-banded Leafhopper, Graphocephala coccinea) — Leafhoppers suck out plant juices causing yellowing, leaf-curling and stunting. They also transmit several disease organisms.

: Rhododendron Leafhopper (Graphocephala fennahi) (resting on a rose leaf but with several PJM rhododendrons all around it) (Etna, ME; 7/17/2012)

: Rose Chafers (beetles)

: Thrips

: Spider Mites (leaves with webbing are a telltale sign)

Roses:

Aphids (including Potato Aphids)
Black-patched Clepsis Moth (their tiny caterpillars will feed upon and roll the leaves; also reported on Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum sp.), and trilliums) (BugGuide.net)
Broad-nosed Weevils – such as: Sciaphilus asperatus and Naupactus cervinus (BugGuide)
Browntail Caterpillars
Fall Webworm — See also: Fall Webworm on Roses (Washington State Univ.)
Fuller Rose Beetle (weevil) (Univ. of Florida)
Japanese Beetles
Leafhoppers
- Red-banded Leafhoppers (also called Candy-striped Leafhoppers) (many different food hosts; common on milkweed and various ornamentals) (BugGuide.net)
- Rose Leafhoppers (BugGuide.net)
- Rhododendron Leafhoppers (if your roses are next to some rhododendrons as they sometimes are) (BugGuide.net)
Leafminers / Rose Stem Miner (Washington State Univ.)
Oblique-banded Leafroller (Cornell) — See also Leafrollers (of roses) (Washington State Univ.)
Rose Chafers
Rose Sawflies (three foliage-feeding species) (Univ. of Minnesota Extension)
Spider Mites
Thrips — See also: Thrips on Roses (Washington State Univ.)

Other Flowers:

: Green Peach Aphids on broccoli

: Asiatic Garden Beetle (grub and adult)

: Black Vine Weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) (strawberry, raspberry and cranberry pest; rhododendrons are also a host)

: Raspberry Weevil (also known as the Clay-colored Weevil) (Otiorhynchus singularis) (very similar to the Black Vine Weevil) (this one was found feeding on a rhododendron in central Maine; 5/16/2021)

: Raspberry Weevil (Otiorhynchus singularis) (found feeding on a rhododendron in central Maine; 5/19/2021)

: Cabbage Looper

: Rhododendron Leafhopper (Graphocephala fennahi) (Greenville, ME; 8/26/2007)

: Rhododendron Leafhopper (Graphocephala fennahi) (resting on a rose leaf but with several PJM rhododendrons all around it) (Etna, ME; 7/17/2012)

: Cucumber Beetle (Striped Cucumber Beetle)

: Cutworms

: Flea beetles (and feeding damage) on broccoli

: Japanese Beetles

: Japanese Beetle (shown here on milkweed)

: Lace Bug

: Azalea Lace Bug nymph

: Leafhoppers (shown here is a Red-banded Leafhopper, Graphocephala coccinea) — Leafhoppers suck out plant juices causing yellowing, leaf-curling and stunting. They also transmit several disease organisms.

: Potato Leafhopper (a pest of not only potatoes, but many other crops as well)

: A leafhopper nymph (the wing pads are absent in the nymphal stage)

: Lily Leaf Beetle

: Tarnished Plant Bug

: Tawny Garden Slug

: Tawny Garden Slug

: Thrips

: Spider Mites (leaves with webbing are a telltale sign)

: Whiteflies (adults with wings, immatures, and black/dead ones due to parasitism)

: Whiteflies

: Wireworms (Click Beetle larvae)

**For additional possibilities, see also our photo galleries for: Caterpillars and Sawfly larvae and/or Butterflies and Moths**

Other Flowers:

Asters: Aphids, Leafminers, Tarnished Plant Bugs, Thrips [Important Diseases: Powdery mildew and rust]
Azaleas: Azalea Leafminer and Lace Bugs
Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra): Aphids [Important Disease: Crown rot (if soil is too wet); caused by Sclerotium rolfsii]
Canna Lillies (Canna): Japanese Beetles, Slugs [Important Diseases: Bud rot (Xanthomonas), Canna rust, and certain viruses, some of which are Canna-specific.]
Chinese Bellflowers / Balloon Flowers (Platycodon): Thrips [Important Diseases: Root rots]
Chrysanthemums: Aphids, Asiatic Garden Beetle Grubs, Cyclamen mites, Leafrollers, Cutworms, Thrips, Whiteflies [Important Diseases: Aster yellows, botrytis, leaf spots, viruses, and wilts]
Cockscombs (Celosia): Aphids, Spider Mites
Coneflowers / Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia): Cucumber Beetles, Thrips [Important Diseases: Leaf spots, aster yellows]
Dahlias: Cyclamen mites, Japanese Beetles, Leafhoppers, Tarnished Plant Bug, Spider Mites [Important Diseases: Aster yellows, bacterial stem rot, botrytis and wilt diseases]
Echinacea: Aster Leafhopper (Univ. of Minnesota), Japanese Beetles
Gladiolus: Aphids, Gladiolus Thrips (Univ. of Florida), Spider Mites, Wireworms [Important Diseases: Corm rot, wilt diseases, viruses, bacterial leaf blight]
Globe Amaranths (Gomphrena): Aphids, Spider Mites, Thrips
Larkspurs (Delphinium): Aphids, Cyclamen mites, Slugs, Spider Mites [Important Diseases: Stem rot and powdery mildew]
Liatris: Aphids, Thrips, Whiteflies [Important Diseases: Leaf spots, powdery mildew, rust, and root knot nematodes]
Lilies (‘True Lilies’): Aphids, Lily Leaf Beetles [Important Diseases: Botrytis and Lily Mosaic Virus]
Marigolds: Aster Leafhoppers, Thrips, Spider Mites [Important Diseases: Aster yellows and botrytis]
Peonies (or Paeonies): Flea beetles, Rose Chafers, Thrips [Important Diseases: Diseases are generally quite rare, especially in small plantings] Botrytis (paeoniae and cinerea), iron chlorosis, leaf spots, root rots & wilts]
Phlox: Spider Mites, Thrips [Key Diseases: Leaf spots, wilt diseases and powdery mildew]
Pot Marigolds (Calendula): Aphids, Tarnished Plant Bugs
Rhododendrons:
- Azalea Leafminer
- Black Vine Weevil and Raspberry Weevil (both weevil species feed during the night)
- Lace Bugs
- Mealybugs (NC State Extension)
- Rhododendron Leafhopper (BugGuide.net)
- Rhododendron Whiteflies (Dialeurodes chittendenl) (UMass)
Sage (Salvia): Tarnished Plant Bugs, Spider Mites, Whiteflies
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum sp.): Black-patched Clepsis Moth (in the caterpillar stage) (BugGuide.net)
Strawflowers / Everlastings (Helichrysum): Leafhoppers (including the Aster Leafhopper) [Important Diseases: Aster yellows and Verticillium wilt]
Snapdragons: Cabbage Loopers, Tarnished Plant Bugs, Thrips [Key Diseases: Rust & Verticillium wilt, aster yellows]
Statice (Limonium): Aster Leafhoppers, Cutworms, Loopers, Spider Mites [Important Diseases: Aster yellows, botrytis, crown rots, flower blight, leaf spots]
Sunflowers (Helianthus): Aphids, Cucumber Beetles, European Corn Borers, Leafminers, Tarnished Plant Bugs [Important Diseases: Leaf spots, powdery mildew, and rust]
Trilliums (Trillium sp.): Black-patched Clepsis Moth (in the caterpillar stage) (BugGuide.net)
Tulips (Tulips are quite hardy, but some insects and slugs do show up from time to time and can become problematic): Aphids, Japanese Beetles, Leafrollers, Slugs, Wireworms [Important Diseases (Penn State)]
Yarrows (Achillea) (other names include allheal or bloodwort): Aphids, Leafhoppers, Spider Mites, Thrips [Important Diseases: Powdery mildew, downy mildew, rust, and rhizoctonia stem rot]
Zinnias: Japanese Beetles, Stalk borers, Tarnished Plant Bugs [Important Diseases: Alternaria leaf spot, aster yellows, bacterial leaf spot, and powdery mildew]