1
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.
Below are insects that contain the letter D anywhere in the name. Each of the 22 insects below opens to a full profile.
List of Insects That Contain D
2
Bedbug
Cimex lectularius
A small reddish-brown blood-feeding insect that hides in mattresses and furniture by day, emerging at night to feed on sleeping humans — making a global comeback since the 2000s after near-eradication in the mid-20th century.
3
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.
4
Centipede
Chilopoda (class — many species)
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.
5
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.
6
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.
7
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.
8
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.
9
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.
10
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.
11
Dobsonfly
Corydalus cornutus
A large, prehistoric-looking aquatic insect with enormous sickle-shaped jaws (in males) whose larvae spend up to three years in clean streams before emerging for a brief, non-feeding adult life of 3–7 days.
12
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.
13
Dung Beetle
Scarabaeus sacer (and many related species)
An insect that feeds, reproduces, and navigates by animal dung — it rolls dung balls away from the pile, buries them, and lays eggs inside; the ancient Egyptians considered the scarab dung beetle sacred and a symbol of resurrection.
14
Ground Beetle
Carabus violaceus
A large, fast-moving, predatory beetle that hunts at night — one of the gardener's best allies, consuming slugs, aphids, and other pests by the thousand, and a key component of healthy soil ecosystems.
15
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.
16
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.
17
Midge
Chironomidae (family)
Tiny non-biting flies that emerge in massive swarms from lakes and rivers — looking like mosquitoes but harmless to humans, with critical roles as fish food and as bioindicators of water quality.
18
Millipede
Diplopoda (class)
A multi-legged arthropod with two pairs of legs per body segment (unlike centipedes' one) — slow-moving detritivores essential to forest decomposition, with some giant African species reaching nearly 40 cm long.
19
Soldier Beetle
Rhagonycha fulva
A soft-bodied, colourful beetle named for its scarlet-and-black colour reminiscent of a British redcoat soldier — an important pollinator that visits flowers for pollen while hunting smaller insects.
20
Spider
Araneae (order)
An eight-legged predatory arachnid (technically not an insect but commonly grouped with them) — over 50,000 species worldwide, with prey-capture techniques ranging from web-building to ambush, jumping, lassoing, and net-casting.
21
Underwing Moth
Catocala spp. (genus — over 200 species)
A large nocturnal moth with cryptic gray-brown forewings camouflaged like tree bark, concealing brilliantly colored hindwings flashed in startle displays to confuse predators.
22
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.
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