Insects that contain T — 58 detailed entries

Below are insects that contain the letter T anywhere in the name. Each of the 58 insects below opens to a full profile.

Table of contents 58 entries

List of Insects That Contain T

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.

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.

Beetle

Lucanus cervus (European stag beetle)

A large, hard-shelled beetle whose males sport antler-like mandibles used for ritualized combat over females, a member of the most species-rich animal order on Earth.

Brimstone Butterfly

Gonepteryx rhamni

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.

Buff-tip Moth

Phalera bucephala

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.

Burnet Moth

Zygaena filipendulae (six-spot burnet)

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.

Butterfly

Danaus plexippus

A large orange-and-black butterfly famous for an annual multi-generation migration of up to 4,800 km between Canada and central Mexico.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Click Beetle

Agrypnus murinus

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.

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.

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.

Cricket

Acheta domesticus

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.

Cutworm

Agrotis segetum

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.

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.

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.

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.

Emperor Moth

Saturnia pavonia

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.

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.

Fruit Fly

Drosophila melanogaster

A small fly species (Drosophila melanogaster) that became the most important laboratory animal in genetics research — the workhorse of 20th-century genetics, with much of modern biology built on fruit fly studies.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hornet

Vespa crabro (European); Vespa mandarinia (Asian giant)

A large social wasp with a particularly painful sting — including the European hornet that builds paper nests in tree hollows and the notorious Asian giant hornet, the "murder hornet" that decimates honeybee colonies.

June Beetle

Phyllophaga spp. (true June beetles); also includes Cotinis nitida (green June beetle)

A common name for several stout-bodied scarab beetles that emerge in early summer in North America, the bumbling, light-attracted nighttime fliers familiar to anyone with a porch light.

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.

Locust

Schistocerca gregaria (desert); Locusta migratoria (migratory)

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.

Longhorn Beetle

Family Cerambycidae (various genera)

Beetles whose antennae are often longer than their entire body — the larvae bore through wood for years before emerging as adults; some of the most destructive tree pests in the world, while others are important wood-decay specialists in old-growth forests.

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.

Mosquito

Anopheles gambiae (malaria mosquito); Aedes aegypti (yellow fever mosquito)

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.

Moth

Actias luna

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.

Oil Beetle

Meloe violaceus and related Meloe species

A strange, flightless beetle with a swollen, soft abdomen and a fascinating life history — females lay thousands of eggs, the tiny larvae (triungulins) climb flowers and hitch a ride on mining bees back to their burrows, where they feed on the bee's pollen stores and develop through multiple larval stages; when threatened, the beetles exude a blistering oil (cantharidin) from their leg joints.

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.

Puss Moth

Cerura vinula

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.

Rove Beetle

Staphylinus olens

A large family of beetles with characteristically short wing covers that expose most of the abdomen — the most species-rich beetle family, playing crucial roles as predators, scavengers, and even ant-colony infiltrators.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Stick Insect

Phasmatodea (order)

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.

Stinkbug

Pentatomidae (family)

A shield-shaped insect with foul-smelling defensive chemicals — including the brown marmorated stinkbug, an invasive Asian species that has become a major American agricultural pest since its 2001 detection in Pennsylvania.

Stonefly

Order Plecoptera (multiple British species)

An ancient aquatic insect whose larvae are the gold standard of clean water — stonefly larvae require highly oxygenated, cold, unpolluted streams to survive, making them invaluable biological indicators of water quality; adults are drab, flat-winged insects that rest on bankside stones and vegetation, rarely flying far from the stream where they developed; one of the most ancient insect orders, with fossils over 300 million years old.

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.

Termite

Reticulitermes flavipes (Eastern subterranean termite)

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.

Tick

Ixodida (suborder)

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.

Tortrix Moth

Family Tortricidae (various genera)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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