7 insects starting with the letter D — each with origin, classification, and notes.
If you've been searching for insects that start with D, you'll find 7 detailed insects below. We're not interested in giving you only a list of names — every entry on this page links to a full profile with the kind of detail you'd actually want to know.
For insects, that means taxonomy, habitat, diet, life cycle, and ecological role.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
That's our current list of insects starting with the letter D. We add new entries every week — if you have a favorite insect starting with D that isn't on this page, let us know and we'll write it up.
Looking for more? Try insects that end with D, or contain D anywhere in the name.