Pest Library

Paper Wasp

Paper wasps are 0.7 to 1.0 inch (1.8 to 2.5 cm) long wasps that gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct water-resistant nests made of gray or brown papery material. Paper wasps are also sometimes called umbrella wasps, due to the distinctive design of their […]

Pharaoh Ant

The pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) is a small (2 mm) yellow or light brown, almost transparent ant notorious for being a major indoor nuisance pest, especially in hospitals. The pharaoh ant, whose origins are unknown, has now been introduced to virtually every area of the world, including Europe, the Americas, Australasia and Southeast Asia. This species is […]

Carpenter Ant

Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) are large (0.3 to 1.0 in or 0.76 to 2.54 cm) ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world. They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles, preferably in dead, damp wood. They do not consume the wood, however, unlike termites. Sometimes, carpenter ants hollow out sections of […]

Little Black Ant

The little black ant (Monomorium minimum) is a species of ant native to North America. It is a shiny black color, the workers about 1 to 2 mm long and the queens 4 to 5 mm long. It is a monomorphic species, with only one caste of worker, and polygyne, meaning a nest may have more than one […]

Odorous Ant

Latin Name: Tapinoma sessile Appearance Odorous house ants, sometimes called odorous ants, are small, measuring 2.4 to 3.3 mm in length. They have dark brown or black bodies with one node on their petiole, which is hidden by their abdomens. Odorous house ants have an unevenly shaped thorax when viewed from the side. The most distinguishable […]

Pavement Ant

The pavement ant, Tetramorium caespitum is an ant native to Europe, but also occurs as an introduced pest in North America. Its common name comes from the fact that colonies in North America usually make their homes in pavement. It is distinguished by one pair of spines on the back, two nodes on the petiole, […]

Bed Bug (bedbug)

Bedbugs are small, oval, brownish insects that live on the blood of animals or humans. Adult bedbugs have flat bodies about the size of an apple seed. After feeding, however, their bodies swell and are a reddish color. Bedbugs do not fly, but they can move quickly over floors, walls, and ceilings. Female bedbugs may […]

Honey Bee

A honey bee (or honeybee), in contrast with the stingless honey bee, is any member of the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests fromwax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis. Currently, only seven […]

Cicadia Killer

Mild mannered female cicada killer wasps are active across Kentucky during the summer, intent on their tasks of 1) digging underground burrows and 2) provisioning them with paralyzed cicadas that will be food for their grub-like larvae. The wasps will be very focused on these tasks for several weeks. Why are cicada killers so abundant […]

Carpenter Bee

Carpenter bees (the genus Xylocopa in the subfamily Xylocopinae) are large bees distributed worldwide. Some 500 species of carpenter bees are in the 31 subgenera. Their common name is because nearly all species build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers (except those in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which nest in the ground). […]

Yellow Jacket

Yellow jacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as “wasps” in other English-speakingcountries. Most of these are black and yellow like the Eastern yellowjacket Vespula maculifrons and the Saxon wasp Dolichovespula saxonica; some are black and […]

German Cockroach

The German cockroach (Blattella germanica) is a small species of cockroach, typically about 1.1 to 1.6 cm (0.43 to 0.63 in) long. In colour it varies from tan to almost black, and it has two dark, roughly parallel, streaks on the pronotum running anteroposteriorly from behind the head to the base of the wings. Although Blattella germanica has […]

Oriental Cockroach

The oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis), also known as the waterbug, is a large species of cockroach, adult males being 18–29 mm (0.71–1.14 in) and adult females being 20–27 mm (0.79–1.06 in). It is dark brown to black in color and has a glossy body. The female Oriental cockroach has a somewhat different appearance from the male, appearing to be wingless […]

American Cockroach

The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), also colloquially known as the waterbug, but not a true waterbug since it is not aquatic, or misidentified as the palmetto bug (see Florida woods cockroach for the differences), is the largest species of common cockroach, and often considered a pest. It is also known as the ship cockroach, kakerlac, and Bombay […]

Brown Roach

The brown cockroach (Periplaneta brunnea) is a species of cockroach in the family Blattidae. It is probably originally native to Africa, but today it has a circumtropical distribution, having been widely introduced. In cooler climates it can only survive indoors, and it is considered a household pest. This cockroach is similar in appearance to the American cockroach […]

Brown Banded Cockroach

The brown-banded cockroach (Supella longipalpa) is a small species of cockroach, measuring about 5⁄8 in (10 to 14 mm) long. It is the only species of the genus Supella. It is tan to light brown and has two light-colored bands across the wings and abdomen, they may sometimes appear to be broken or irregular but are quite noticeable. […]

Carpet Beetle

This beetle in larval form is common in houses where it usually does little or no noticeable harm, but it is a feared pest in natural history museums, where it can seriously damage biological specimens. While adults are pollen grazers, larvae feed on natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing and insect collections. As […]

Furniture Carpet Beetle

The furniture carpet beetle undergoes complete metamorphosis, passing through the egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. The complete life cycle requires four to 12 months depending upon the temperature. Adults: Adults of the furniture carpet beetle are round, 2 to 3.5 mm long, and black with a yellow and white mottling of scales on the […]

Webbing Clothes Moth

Nap of wool eaten away in spots if lightly damaged; holes completely through the fabric if infestation is extensive. Larvae may be present in the tubes. If fur, hair are cut at the base, exposing the hide and causing loose hair. Fixed silken tubes, sometimes carrying frass(shavings), often the color of the cloth. Fecal pellets […]

Drain Fly

The nematoceran family Psychodidae (moth flies or drain flies) are small (<2 mm) true flies (Diptera) with short, hairy bodies and wings giving them a “furry” moth-like appearance. The adults have long antennae and the wings are leaf-shaped, either slender or broad, with the most elementary wing venation of any Diptera, having little more than a […]

Fruit Fly

Latin Name Family Drosophilidae Appearance Drosophila melanogaster is a species of small fly. Adults are 3 to 4 mm long, may have red eyes, though some are dark eyed, and a tan thorax. The abdomen is black on top, gray underneath. Fruit flies can appear to be brown or tan in color. Behavior, Diet & Habits […]

House Fly

The housefly (also house fly, house-fly or common housefly), Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It is the most common of all domestic flies, accounting for about 91% of all flies in human habitations, and indeed one of the most widely distributed insects, found all over the world. It is considered a […]

Fungus Gnat

Fungus gnats are small, dark, short-lived flies, of the families Sciaridae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae, and Mycetophilidae (order Diptera); they are sometimes placed in the superfamily Mycetophiloidea. The larvae feed on plant roots and fungi, helping in the decomposition of organic matter. The adults are 2–5 mm long and are important pollinators of plants and carriers of […]

Centipede

Centipedes (from Latin prefix centi-, “hundred”, and pes, pedis, “foot”) are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric creatures with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Except for one species […]

Earwig

Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera and are found throughout the Americas, Africa, Eurasia, Australia and New Zealand. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forceps pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded underneath short forewings, hence the scientific […]

Field Cricket

Field crickets are insects of order Orthoptera. These crickets are in subfamily Gryllinae of family Gryllidae. They hatch in spring, and the young crickets (called nymphs) eat and grow rapidly. They shed their skin (molt) eight or more times before they become adults. Field crickets eat a broad range of feeds: seeds, plants, or insects […]

House Cricket

Acheta domesticus, commonly called the house cricket, is a cricket most likely native to Southwestern Asia, but has spread worldwide. They are commercially bred as food for pets such as amphibians, arthropods, birds, and reptiles, but can be kept as pets themselves, as has been the case in China and Japan.

Millipede

Millipedes are arthropods in the class Diplopoda characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together as one. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll […]

Pill/Sow Bug

Pill bugs and Sow Bugs of the Order Arthropoda (arthropod means segmented body and jointed appendages), Class Crustacea, Order Isopoda (isos meaning equal and podes meaning feet), and have a hard armored exoskeleton and jointed limbs. Both creatures are nocturnal, and each has seven pairs of legs at maturity. They are scavengers, feeding on both […]

Silverfish

Lepisma saccharina, commonly known as a silverfish or fishmoth, is a small, wingless insect in the order Thysanura. Its common name derives from the animal’s silvery light grey and blue colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements, while the scientific name (L. saccharina) indicates the silverfish’s diet of carbohydrates such as sugar or […]

Springtail

Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, they do not appear to be any more closely related to […]

Grain Moth

Once you see one pantry moth flying around your kitchen it’s time to focus on getting rid of all the pantry moths you haven’t seen yet. Why? One flying adult pantry moth means the odds of a full pantry moth infestation are much higher. Typically moth larvae will already have been laid, and the pantry […]

Indian Meal Moth

The Indian mealmoth (Plodia interpunctella), alternatively spelled Indianmeal moth, is a pyraloid moth of the family Pyralidae. Alternative common names are North American high-flyer, weevil moth, and pantry moth; less specifically, it may be referred to as flour moth or grain moth. The almond moth (Cadra cautella) is commonly confused with the Indian mealmoth. Its […]

Meal Worm

Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle. Like all holometabolic insects, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Larvae typically measure about 2.5 cm or more, whereas adults are generally between 1.25 and 1.8 cm in length.

Saw-tooth Grain Beetle

The saw-toothed grain beetle and the merchant grain beetle are slender, flat, brown beetles that are about 1/10 inch long. Both saw-tooth and merchant grain beetles are similar in appearance, with six saw-like tooth projections on each side of the thorax (section between head and abdomen). The saw-toothed grain beetle has smaller eyes than the […]

Bird Mite

The mites are blood feeders and attack resting birds at night. They are generally white or greyish in colour, becoming darker or redder when engorged with blood. After feeding, they hide in cracks and crevices away from daylight, where they mate and lay eggs. The mite progresses through 5 life stages: egg, larva, protonymph, deutonymph […]

Blacklegged Tick/Deer Tick

The scientific name of the blacklegged tick is Ixodes scapularis. Many people still know the blacklegged tick by another common name, the deer tick. You may also hear it called the bear tick. They are all the same tick. The blacklegged tick is much smaller than the wood (or dog) tick.

Flea

Latin Name Order Siphonaptera Appearance Adults small, wingless, about 2.5 mm long. Their bodies are shiny and reddish brown in color. Covered with microscopic hair and are compressed to allow for easy movement through animal fur. More information on what fleas look like. Behavior, Diet & Habits Adults are parasites that draw blood from a host. […]

Norway Rat

Latin Name Rattus norvegicus Appearance Norway rats are large rodents that may weigh in excess of 500 grams. They can reach lengths of 40 cm,and their tails alone may measure 21 cm. The body of the Norway rat is covered in shaggy fur that is brown or gray in color. The ears and tail are […]

Deer Mouse/White-Foot Mouse

The white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) is a rodent native to North America from Ontario, Quebec, Labrador, and the Maritime Provinces (excluding the island of Newfoundland) to the southwest USA and Mexico. In the Maritimes, its only location is a disjunct population in southern Nova Scotia. It is also known as the woodmouse, particularly in Texas. Adults are 90–100 mm […]

House Mouse

The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a small mammal of the order Rodentia, characteristically having a pointed snout, small rounded ears, and a long naked or almost hairless tail. It is one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus. Although a wild animal, the house mouse mainly lives in association with humans. The […]

Lyctid Powderpost Beetle

Lyctus planicollis is a wood-boring beetle in the family Bostrichidae (formerly in the family Lyctidae, which is now a subfamily of Bostrichidae), commonly known as the southern lyctus beetle or lyctid powderpost beetle. It is a serious pest of hardwoods including ash, hickory, oak, maple and mahogany and can infest many products in the home including […]

Termite Swarmer

Throughout the year, winged termite adults that are part of a larger colony leave the group to form their own colony. These termites, called “swarmers,” are usually seen during the daytime flying sporadically before shedding their wings. And though the swarmers will not cause damage to your home, they are one of the best indications […]

Termite Soldier & Worker

The worker caste usually contains the greatest number of individuals in a colony. Workers are pale in colour, soft-bodied, and have hardened mandibles and mouthparts adapted for chewing. They feed all the other members of the colony (reproductives, soldiers, and young), collect food, groom other colony members, and construct and repair the nest. The worker […]

Anobiid Powderpost Beetle

Scientific Name Family Anobiidae Appearance Adult anobiid powderpost beetles are small, brownish or black and are less than 5/16 of an inch long. These beetles’ body shape ranges from long and thin to oval. When viewed from above, the head is not visible since it is hidden under the first segment of the insect’s body. […]

Water Bug

water bug is an aquatic insect classified under the order Hemiptera. Water boatmen and water scorpions are true bugs that live in water. Their legs are used as paddles to move through water. Members of the Gerridae family, such as water striders, pond skaters and water spiders, are also water bugs. However, instead of using their legs […]

Stink Bug

Halyomorpha halys, also known as the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), or simply the stink bug, is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, and it is native to China, Japan and Taiwan. It was accidentally introduced into the United States, with the first specimen being collected in September 1998. The brown marmorated stink bug is considered to […]