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Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

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Calendar

Upcoming Events

National Moth Week was July 19-27, and the Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Phylum Arthropoda - Arthropods

Representative Images

Arphia - Arphia xanthoptera - male unknown wasp - male Horned Passalus - Odontotaenius disjunctus Eastern cicada killer - Sphecius speciosus feeding on ageratum - Toxomerus marginatus Bee - Andrena Psocodea? Tortricidae: Epinotia albicapitana - Epinotia albicapitana

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Explanation of Names

'joint-legged'

Numbers

20 classes, >160 orders, ~4,200 families, and ~1.2 million described species(1)

Size

ranges from the smallest mite (~0.1 mm) and the smallest insect (a Hymenopteran, Dicopomorpha echmepterygis at 0.14 mm), up to the Japanese Spider Crab (legspan to 3.8 m), but most 2‒25 mm

Identification

Three or more pairs of jointed legs (some mites have less, many insect larvae have none)
Body segmented, bilaterally symmetrical
Exoskeleton, usually tough, composed in part of chitin
terminology glossary

Range

Cosmopolitan

Internet References

Higher taxa of Arthropoda (Kluge 2000)

Works Cited

1.Catalogue of Life
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 31 January, 2004 - 4:45pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, John VanDyk, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, Chris Wirth, Chuck Entz, ceiseman, v belov, Harsi S. Parker, Blocky, Arturo Santos, Chris Angell
Last updated 6 October, 2025 - 10:12am

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