Insects that contain A

List of Insects That Contain A

1

Ant

Atta cephalotes

A New World ant that doesn't eat leaves — it farms fungus on them, in one of the oldest agricultural systems on Earth.

2

Aphid

Aphidoidea (superfamily — many species)

A tiny soft-bodied sap-sucking insect that reproduces astonishingly fast through asexual cloning — the gardener's nemesis on roses, vegetables, and fruit, and the prey ladybugs evolved to control.

3

Assassin Bug

Reduviidae (family; approximately 6,800 species)

A predatory true bug that ambushes and stabs other insects with a powerful curved rostrum, injecting saliva that liquefies the victim's tissues — with some species also capable of transmitting Chagas disease to humans.

4

Bark Beetle

Ips typographus (European spruce bark beetle) and related Scolytinae

Tiny beetles that bore beneath tree bark to lay eggs in galleries — under normal conditions they kill only weakened trees, but when populations explode during drought or after storm damage, they can kill millions of healthy trees across entire forests; the European spruce bark beetle has killed more trees than any other insect in European history.

5

Caddisfly

Order Trichoptera (various genera)

An aquatic insect whose larvae build elaborate protective cases from pebbles, sand, twigs, or leaf fragments cemented with silk — a key indicator of clean water quality and the inspiration for fly-fishing artificial lures.

6

Carpet Beetle

Anthrenus verbasci (varied carpet beetle) and related species

One of the most economically damaging household insects in Britain — the adult is a harmless tiny pollen-feeder, but its larvae are the notorious "woolly bears" that devour wool carpets, stored clothing, taxidermy specimens, and museum collections; infestations can destroy irreplaceable textiles within months.

7

Caterpillar

Lepidoptera (order, larval stage)

The larval stage of butterflies and moths — voracious eating machines that can consume 27,000 times their birth weight before pupating, with thousands of species ranging from harmless monarchs to dangerous puss caterpillars.

8

Chafer

Melolontha melolontha (cockchafer) and related Scarabaeidae

Large, clumsy, nocturnal beetles that blunder noisily into windows and lights on warm summer evenings — the adults are harmless leaf-grazers but the larvae (white C-shaped grubs) live in soil for 3–4 years eating plant roots, damaging lawns and crops; badgers and rooks dig up turf to find them.

9

Cicada

Magicicada septendecim (and related species)

A loud-singing insect spending 13 or 17 years underground as a nymph before emerging in massive synchronized broods to mate and die within weeks.

10

Clearwing Moth

Family Sesiidae (various genera)

Moths with transparent wings that convincingly mimic wasps and bees — the hornet moth looks exactly like a hornet; other species mimic bumblebees or wasps so precisely that even experienced naturalists hesitate; adults are active by day and fly fast; larvae bore in tree trunks, stems, and roots for 2–3 years.

11

Cockroach

Periplaneta americana

A large, fast, exceptionally hardy insect that has been on Earth for 200+ million years and is now a near-universal urban pest, the species behind most "cockroach" stories.

12

Colorado Beetle

Leptinotarsa decemlineata

The world's most destructive potato pest — a striped yellow-and-black beetle native to the Rocky Mountains that spread across North America and then Europe by the early 20th century, capable of stripping entire potato fields bare; Britain has so far kept it out through strict biosecurity controls.

13

Comma Butterfly

Polygonia c-album

A ragged-winged butterfly of woodland edges and hedgerows — named for the small white comma-shaped mark on the underside of its hindwing; the scalloped, jagged wing outline gives roosting adults a dead-leaf appearance of startling realism; common in England and Wales, the comma has expanded its range northward in recent decades.

14

Crane Fly

Tipula paludosa

A long-legged, gangly fly often mistaken for a giant mosquito — harmless as an adult, but whose larvae (leatherjackets) are significant lawn and turf pests that consume grass roots from below.

15

Daddy Long Legs

Various (Opiliones, Pholcidae, Tipulidae)

A common name applied to several different long-legged arachnids — including harvestmen (which aren't spiders), cellar spiders, and crane flies (an actual insect) — none of which are dangerous to humans despite persistent myths.

16

Damselfly

Zygoptera (suborder)

A slender relative of the dragonfly that holds its wings folded together over its back at rest — graceful aerial hunters of stream and pond edges, distinguishable from dragonflies by their delicate build.

17

Darkling Beetle

Tenebrio molitor

A large family of dark-coloured, flightless desert beetles — including the mealworm beetle and the famous Namib fog-basking beetle that harvests drinking water from coastal fog on its textured back.

18

Deathwatch Beetle

Xestobium rufovillosum

An ancient-wood-eating beetle whose larvae bore through structural timber in old buildings for up to 13 years — the ticking sound made by adults knocking their heads against wood to attract mates was historically heard in deathbed vigils and gave the beetle its sinister name; it has damaged medieval roofs across Britain and Europe.

19

Dragonfly

Anax junius

A large, fast-flying dragonfly that migrates thousands of kilometers across North America in a multi-generational journey, an ancient predator with extraordinary aerial agility.

20

Earwig

Forficula auricularia

A nocturnal insect with prominent rear pincers and a famous (false) reputation for crawling into human ears, an attentive mother to its eggs and young.

21

Fire Ant

Solenopsis invicta

An aggressive, venom-injecting red-brown ant whose painful sting produces a burning sensation and a characteristic white pustule — one of the world's most damaging invasive insects, responsible for billions in annual agricultural and ecological losses.

22

Flea

Ctenocephalides felis (cat flea, most common); also dog and human fleas

A wingless blood-feeding parasite that jumps astonishing distances relative to its size — agent of the medieval Black Death, perpetual pet nuisance, and one of evolution's most successful designs.

23

Gall Wasp

Biorhiza pallida (oak apple gall wasp) and family Cynipidae

Tiny insects that chemically reprogram oak trees to build elaborate protective structures around their larvae — the oak apple, marble gall, and spangle gall are all created by different gall wasp species; each species produces a uniquely shaped gall from its own chemical signals, essentially directing the tree's own cells to build a home and food supply.

24

Gnat

Various (Sciaridae, Mycetophilidae, others)

A general term for various small flying flies — including fungus gnats, eye gnats, and biting midges — that swarm in late summer evenings and form clouds around faces, with some species causing significant agricultural damage.

25

Goliath Beetle

Goliathus goliatus (and related Goliathus species)

The heaviest insect on Earth — a male goliath beetle in its larval stage can weigh up to 100 grams, more than a small bird; the adults are strikingly patterned in black and white and can reach 110 mm in length; found in the tropical rainforests of Africa, they are popular in the insect-keeping hobby.

26

Grasshopper

Schistocerca americana (American grasshopper)

A jumping insect with powerful hind legs and short antennae, eaten across many human cultures and capable, in certain species, of transforming into devastating swarming locusts.

27

Green Hairstreak

Callophrys rubi

Britain's only green butterfly — the vivid emerald underside of its wings makes it one of the most beautiful small butterflies of spring; the upperwing is a dull brown, making it effectively invisible when perched on brown vegetation, but when it opens its wings momentarily in sunlight the green underside flashes brilliantly; associated with gorse, broom, and bilberry on heathland and downland.

28

Hawk-Moth

Family Sphingidae (various genera)

The largest moths in the world — powerful fliers with streamlined wings, capable of hovering in front of flowers like hummingbirds while feeding with enormously long tongues; the deaths-head hawk-moth has a skull-pattern on its thorax and squeaks when disturbed.

29

Katydid

Tettigoniidae (family — over 8,000 species)

A green, leaf-mimicking long-horned insect closely related to crickets and grasshoppers, with an iconic raspy "katy-did, katy-didn't" night call from male wing-rubbing.

30

Lacewing

Chrysoperla carnea

A delicate green or brown insect with large, elaborately veined transparent wings and golden eyes — whose larvae are ferocious aphid hunters earning them the nickname "aphid lion," making lacewings one of the most beneficial insects in gardens and agriculture.

31

Ladybug

Coccinella septempunctata (seven-spotted ladybug)

A small, dome-shaped beetle in red, orange, or yellow with black spots — beloved by gardeners as a voracious aphid predator and a symbol of good luck across cultures.

32

Mantis

Mantis religiosa (European mantis)

A predatory insect with raptorial forelegs held in a "praying" posture, capable of swiveling its triangular head 180° and famous for the female's occasional sexual cannibalism.

33

Mayfly

Ephemeroptera (order)

Aquatic insects with brief winged adult lives — some species live just 24 hours, with massive synchronized emergences sometimes blanketing entire towns and serving as the model for fly fishing imitation flies.

34

Orange-tip Butterfly

Anthocharis cardamines

A delicate white butterfly of spring hedgerows — males have vivid orange wingtips that give the species its name, while females are white with black tips, easily mistaken for other whites; the underside of both sexes is marbled green and white, providing perfect camouflage on cow parsley flowers where they roost.

35

Roach

Blattella germanica

The small, light-brown cockroach species responsible for nearly all kitchen-pest cockroach infestations worldwide — fast-breeding, hard to eliminate, and the bane of restaurants and apartment buildings.

36

Scarab Beetle

Scarabaeus sacer (sacred scarab); Scarabaeidae family

A large, often metallic-shelled beetle of the Scarabaeidae family — most famously the dung beetles of African savannas, sacred in ancient Egyptian religion as a symbol of rebirth.

37

Snail

Gastropoda (class — many species)

A spiral-shelled mollusk (technically not an insect, often grouped colloquially) that moves on a single muscular foot — an agricultural pest in gardens but a French and Italian culinary tradition (escargot, lumache).

38

Springtail

Collembola (class; approximately 8,000 species)

A tiny soil-dwelling hexapod that leaps into the air using a spring-loaded tail appendage — among the most abundant land animals on Earth, with millions per square meter of healthy soil playing a critical role in decomposition and nutrient cycling.

39

Stag Beetle

Lucanus cervus

Britain's largest insect — the male stag beetle's enormous antler-like jaws can be longer than his body but are used for wrestling rival males rather than biting; a declining species dependent on rotting wood in old gardens and ancient parkland; adults do not feed and live only a few weeks as adults after 3–7 years as grubs.

40

Tarantula

Theraphosidae (family)

A large, hairy spider with a fearsome reputation that's mostly undeserved — about 1,000 species worldwide, with most posing minimal danger to humans, and the giant Goliath birdeater being the largest spider species at 30 cm leg span.

41

Velvet Ant

Mutillidae (family — over 7,000 species; common North American: Dasymutilla occidentalis)

A wingless wasp despite the name "ant," covered in dense bright fur, with a famously painful sting earning the nickname "cow killer" — the female only; males have wings and don't sting.

42

Wasp

Vespidae (family); the common yellowjacket is Vespula vulgaris

A diverse group of stinging insects ranging from solitary mud-daubers to aggressive social yellowjackets — predators of garden pests, distinguished from bees by smooth bodies and the ability to sting repeatedly.

43

Water Beetle

Dytiscus marginalis (great diving beetle) and related Dytiscidae

Aquatic beetles that have evolved to live in ponds, streams, and lakes — the great diving beetle is Britain's most spectacular aquatic insect, an aggressive predator that will attack fish, frogs, and newts; it carries an air bubble under its wing cases to breathe underwater and can fly between ponds at night.

44

Water Strider

Gerris lacustris

An insect that walks on the surface film of still or slow-moving water using hydrophobic leg hairs that trap air — an iconic example of surface-tension locomotion and a model organism for materials science research.

45

Yucca Moth

Tegeticula yuccasella

A small white moth bound to yucca plants in an obligate mutualism — the only insect that pollinates yucca, while yucca seeds are the only food its larvae can eat.

46

Zorapteran

Zoraptera (order — about 45 known species; common: Zorotypus hubbardi)

A tiny, obscure insect in the small order Zoraptera — sometimes called "angel insects" — known mostly to specialists, with a strange dimorphism and a phylogenetic position that has long puzzled entomologists.