Bug Identification
Important Information on Bug Identification
Where do we start with bug identification? There are so many genus and subgenus, species and orders and on and on. There are more species of beetles known to man than there are all species of mamma, bird, and fish combined. And that only covers one species of one genus in the family of insects. That said, bug identification is basically a science which has not even begun to make sense to the world. Of these literally millions of types of bugs, the scientific community estimates that we have only discovered about 30% of the insects which actually live here, or have lived here in the past. In short, bug identification is in its infancy stage, and will probably stay there for centuries to come. We can start with a few of the most common species and genus of insects to North America, getting a good idea of who belongs where on the vast family tree.
Bug identification starts with a class of insects which is all alone in and of itself. This class is the elite gathering of arachnids, of the genus arthropod. This class will include any bug with eight legs, never more or less, unless some of the legs have been lost to battles or accidents. Also in the family arthropod is the crustacean, but these animals are difficult to mistake for a spider. Most arachnids have four sets of eyes, yes eight in total, though certain species of recluse spiders have only three pair. Arachnids are perhaps the easiest subjects for bug identification. After all, if it looks like a spider and walks like a spider, it’s probably a spider. Tarantula or tiny little white jumping spider, to every color and size in between, these arthropods, not insects, are beneficial to our environment and aren’t going anywhere any time soon.
Next up for bug identification is the class insecta, or the many thousands of bugs called insects. They can fly, or not. They can bite, or not. They can be poisonous, or not. This vast and multifaceted branch of the bug family tree is by far the largest, and includes such wonders as the Hercules beetle all the way down to the common house fly. Some are harmless, yet others wreak havoc every where they go. An insect is classified as having six legs, though some have arm like extremities at the front of their bodies which look like an extra pair of legs. From mites to moths, and fleas to flies, insects rule the planet, whether we notice it or not. Butterflies and beetles alike are included in this phase of bug identification. All alone in the bug world are such individual classes as the centipede and the millipede.