24 insects containing the letter M — each with origin, classification, and notes.
Below are insects that contain the letter M anywhere in the name. Each of the 24 insects below opens to a full profile.
The sulphur-yellow butterfly that heralds spring — males are an unmistakable lemon-yellow, females a paler greenish-white; one of the longest-lived British butterflies, spending the winter as an adult hibernating among ivy and evergreen leaves, then emerging on warm February days to become the first butterfly many people see each year.
One of Britain's most extraordinary camouflaged insects — at rest, the buff-tip moth is almost indistinguishable from a broken birch twig, with its pale yellow-buff wing tips and grey middle aligned to mimic a stub of birch; the hairy, yellow-and-black larvae are gregarious and can strip a tree of leaves in days.
A large, fuzzy, surprisingly cold-tolerant social bee that pollinates many crops honeybees can't reach — beloved by gardeners, declining alarmingly across multiple species.
A brilliantly coloured day-flying moth of chalk downland and coastal grassland — the six-spot burnet has six vivid red spots on metallic blue-black forewings, a warning colouration that advertises its toxicity; burnet moths produce hydrogen cyanide from their own tissues as a chemical defence, making them poisonous to predators; conspicuous in sunshine on downland flowers, flying weakly but apparently without concern for predators.
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 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.
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.
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.
Britain's only day-flying member of the silk moth family — the male emperor moth is one of the most spectacular insects on British heathland, with large owl-like eyespots on all four wings; the male can detect a female's pheromone from up to 11 km away; the caterpillar is a vivid green and black jewel, and the silk cocoon was once harvested.
A bioluminescent insect larva (or wingless adult female of certain beetles) that produces a steady greenish glow to attract prey or mates — including the New Zealand cave-dwelling species that creates one of the world's most spectacular natural light displays.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
A small, blood-feeding fly responsible for more human deaths annually than any other animal, the primary vector for malaria, dengue, yellow fever, and Zika.
A large, pale-green silk moth of eastern North America with long curved hindwing tails — adults that don't eat at all, living only a week to mate and die.
A tiny biting midge so small it slips through standard window screens, leaving disproportionately painful itchy welts — the bane of summer evenings in coastal and wetland areas.
A large, furry, pale grey moth whose caterpillar is one of the most extraordinary in Britain — vivid green with a dark saddle, a fierce face-like pattern, and two whip-like tails that it waves when threatened; adults are beautifully marked with grey and cream patterning and are among the most striking moths of woodland edges and riverside willows.
A wood-eating social insect — actually a derived cockroach — that builds elaborate colonies, decomposes vast quantities of plant matter, and causes billions in property damage annually.
Small, bell-shaped moths whose caterpillars are among the most damaging to gardens and orchards — they roll leaves into shelters bound with silk and eat the enclosed tissue; the codling moth (apple's worst enemy) and the light brown apple moth are tortrix moths, and European vine moth damages grapevines worldwide.
A large nocturnal moth with cryptic gray-brown forewings camouflaged like tree bark, concealing brilliantly colored hindwings flashed in startle displays to confuse predators.
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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