27 insects containing the letter C — each with origin, classification, and notes.
Below are insects that contain the letter C anywhere in the name. Each of the 27 insects below opens to a full profile.
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.
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.
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.
A fast-moving multi-legged predatory arthropod (technically not an insect but commonly grouped with them) — its venomous front "fangs" make it one of the few terrestrial invertebrates capable of delivering a painful bite to humans.
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.
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.
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.
A beetle that escapes predators by snapping its body to launch itself into the air with an audible click — a remarkable mechanical hinge mechanism that can catapult the beetle up to 30 cm high.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A nocturnal insect known for the male's incessant chirping, originally from Asia and now naturalized worldwide as a pet-food, fishing-bait, and human-food crop.
The soil-dwelling caterpillar larvae of noctuid moths — one of the most destructive garden and agricultural pests, cutting seedlings off at soil level overnight, yet the adult moths are harmless and often beautiful.
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.
The caterpillar of geometer moths, distinguished by its looping "measure-the-cloth" gait — pulling rear feet up to front feet, then arching forward — and famous in nursery songs.
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.
A blood-feeding annelid worm — used in medicine for over 2,500 years, with modern medical leeches still approved by the FDA for restoring blood flow to reattached body parts and skin grafts.
A grasshopper that has transformed into the swarming phase — physiologically distinct from its solitary form, capable of forming billion-strong swarms that devastate agriculture across continents.
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.
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.
An ancient arachnid with venomous tail and pincered front claws — among the oldest land animals on Earth (430 million years), with surprising longevity and bizarre fluorescence under UV light.
A bizarre-looking woodland insect named for the male's upturned, scorpion-like tail — actually the genitalia, not a sting; scorpionflies have a long, beak-like rostrum, mottled brown and yellow wings, and a peculiar habit of stealing prey from spider webs; they are significant scavengers of dead insects and small animals, and are among the oldest winged insect lineages.
Masters of camouflage that resemble twigs, leaves, or sticks — over 3,000 species worldwide, with some Asian species reaching 60 cm long, including several capable of parthenogenetic reproduction without males.
A blood-feeding arachnid that transmits more diseases than any other arthropod — including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and rickettsial infections, with major populations expanding due to climate change.
A small blue butterfly of California's San Francisco peninsula — extinct since the 1940s, the first North American butterfly species lost to habitat destruction, and the namesake of the Xerces Society for invertebrate conservation.
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.
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