How to Identify Bugs

What to Look For

• 1

  Determine if the bug has wings. Bugs without wings with a twig like body are part of the Orthoptera order. Count how many wings it has, their shape and texture. Are the front wings different from the back ones? Are they like leather, full of scales or hairy?

• 2

  Check out the legs. If the bug has three pairs of legs, a head, an abdomen, a thorax and antennae then it is probably an insect. What do the legs look like? Are they like oars to swim, or large and powerful like grasshopper's legs?

• 3

  Look at the antennae. If it doesn't have antennae it could be a Proturian. Look carefully if the antennae are club-shaped, threadlike or if they have a bend in them.

• 4

  Look at their mouths. Bugs use different methods to eat; some chew, others suck and some soak up food with a sponge-like mouth. Use a magnifying glass to identify what mouth parts your bug has.

• 5

  Study the bugs abdomen. This is the middle section of the bug. Count how many segments it has, and any appendages attached to it.

Where to Go for More Help

• 6

  Collect and organize the information you have on your bug. Go to your local library and look at specialized insect and other arthropod books to find your bug.

• 7

  Visit the Amateur Entomologists' Society website. Follow their insect recognition key or send them a picture of your bug so they can help you identify it.

• 8

  Visit your closest natural museum or university entomology department and ask for help.