1
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.
If you've been searching for insects that start with M, 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.
List of Insects That Start With M
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Mayfly
Ephemeroptera (order)
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.
3
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.
4
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.
5
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.
6
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.
About insects starting with M
That's our current list of insects starting with the letter M. We add new entries every week — if you have a favorite insect starting with M that isn't on this page, let us know and we'll write it up.
Looking for more? Try insects that end with M, or contain M anywhere in the name.