6 insects starting with the letter L — each with origin, classification, and notes.
If you've been searching for insects that start with L, you'll find 6 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 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 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.
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.
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.
A wingless parasitic insect — head lice are particularly common among schoolchildren, body lice can transmit serious diseases including epidemic typhus, and pubic lice are a sexually transmitted parasite.
That's our current list of insects starting with the letter L. We add new entries every week — if you have a favorite insect starting with L that isn't on this page, let us know and we'll write it up.
Looking for more? Try insects that end with L, or contain L anywhere in the name.