Denver-Boulder Metro Area: Bugs
This guide contains spiders, bees, wasps, ants, beetles, dragonflies, grasshoppers, flies and other bugs that can be found in the Denver-Boulder Metro Area, including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties.
Phidippus pius
Phidippus pius is a species of jumping spider that is found in Central America and North America.
Cardinal Jumping Spider
Phidippus cardinalis is a species of jumping spider. It is commonly called Cardinal jumper. It is one of the species of jumping spiders which are mimics of mutillid wasps in the genus Dasymutilla (commonly known as "velvet ants"); several species of these wasps are similar in size and coloration, and possess a very painful sting.
Brilliant Jumping Spider
Phidippus clarus is a species of jumping spider (family Salticidae) found in old fields throughout eastern North America. It often waits upside down near the top of a plant, which may be useful for detecting prey, and then quickly jumps down before the prey can escape. The spider is one of 60 species in the genus Phidippus,:vii and one of about 5,000 in the Salticidae, a ...more ↓
Bold Jumper
Phidippus audax is a common jumping spider of North America. It is commonly referred to as the daring jumping spider, or bold jumping spider. The average size of adults ranges from roughly 13–20 millimetres (0.51–0.79 in) in length. They are typically black with a pattern of spots and striped on their abdomen and legs. Often these spots are orange-tinted in ...more ↓
Hart's Jumping Spider
Tutelina harti is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in the United States and Canada.
Asiatic Wall Jumping Spider
Attulus fasciger is a species of spider from the family Salticidae native to northern and western Asia but now introduced to North America.
Flower Jumping Spider
Attulus floricola is a species of jumping spider (family Salticidae) with a Palearctic distribution. They are typically 4–4.5 millimetres (0.16–0.18 in) in length. Females are dark reddish brown, with an almost black anterior.
Flower Jumping Spider
Calositticus floricola is a species of jumping spider (family Salticidae) with a Palearctic distribution. They are typically 4–4.5 millimetres (0.16–0.18 in) in length. Females are dark reddish brown, with an almost black anterior.
Minute Jumping Spider
Talavera minuta is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in Russia, Canada, and the United States.
Contrasting Jumping Spider
Euophrys monadnock is a species of jumping spider which occurs in the United States and Canada. It was first described by James Henry Emerton in 1891.
Zebra Jumper
The zebra spider, Salticus scenicus, is a common jumping spider. Like other jumping spiders, it doesn't build a web. It uses its four pairs of large eyes to locate prey and its jumping ability to pounce and capture it. Zebra spiders are often noted for their awareness of humans. Upon noticing someone observing them, they can be seen raising their head, and usually change ...more ↓
Evarcha proszynskii
Evarcha proszynskii is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in a range from Russia to Japan, the United States, and Canada.
Habronattus altanus
Habronattus altanus is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in North America.
Habronattus festus
Habronattus festus is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in the United States.
Habronattus conjunctus
Habronattus conjunctus is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in the United States and Mexico.
Habronattus calcaratus
Habronattus calcaratus is a species of jumping spiders from a Salticidae family, that can be found in the United States.
Habronattus clypeatus
Habronattus clypeatus is a species of jumping spider which occurs in the United States and Mexico. Its range extends from the southern Rocky Mountains to the northern Sierra Madre Occidental and Sonoran Desert. It belongs to the viridipes species group within the genus Habronattus.
Black Laceweaver
Amaurobius ferox, sometimes known as the black lace-weaver, is a spider belonging to the family Amaurobiidae. It is distributed in Europe and North America and has been introduced into New Zealand.
Giant Crab Spider
Heteropoda venatoria is a species of spider in the family Sparassidae, the huntsman spiders. It is native to the tropical regions of the world, and it is present in some subtropical areas as an introduced species. Its common names include giant crab spider and cane spider.
American Cellar Spider
Pholcophora americana is a species of cellar spider in the family Pholcidae. It is found in the United States and Canada.
Common Spitting Spider
Scytodes thoracica is a spitting spider, so called because it spits a venomous sticky silken substance over its prey. Its size ranges between 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in). The carapace is unusual in sloping upwards towards its rear end, whereas the abdomen slopes downwards.
Scytodes univittata
Scytodes univittata is a species of spitting spider in the family Scytodidae. It is found in Egypt, Iran, India, Turkmenia, Kirghizia, has been introduced into Hawaii, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, CanaryIslands, and Spain.
Brown Recluse
The brown recluse, Loxosceles reclusa, Sicariidae (formerly placed in a family "Loxoscelidae") is a recluse spider with a necrotic venom. Similar to other recluse spider bites, their bite sometimes requires medical attention. The brown recluse is one of three spiders (the others being black widow and Loxosceles laeta, the Chilean recluse) with medically significant ...more ↓
Woodlouse Spider
The woodlouse spider, Dysdera crocata, is a species of spider that preys exclusively upon woodlice. Other common names refer to variations on the common name of its prey. These are woodlouse hunter, sowbug hunter, sowbug killer, pillbug hunter and slater spider.
European Harvestman
Phalangium opilio is "the most widespread species of harvestman in the world", occurring natively in Europe, and much of Asia, and having been introduced to North America, North Africa and New Zealand. It is found in a wide range of habitats, including meadows, bogs, forests, and various types of anthropogenic habitats, such as gardens, fields, hedgerows, lawns, quarries, green ...more ↓
Rocky Mountain Wood Tick
Dermacentor andersoni, commonly known as the Rocky Mountain wood tick, is a hard tick with 3 life stages including: larvae, nymph and adult. This tick is generally located in the NW United States and SW Canada along the Rocky Mountains. This tick is generally a vector for Colorado tick fever but can also be a vector for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Tularemia. During ...more ↓
American Dog Tick
Dermacentor variabilis, also known as the American dog tick or wood tick, is a species of tick that is known to carry bacteria responsible for several diseases in humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia (Francisella tularensis). It is one of the most well-known hard ticks. Diseases are spread when it sucks blood from the host, which ...more ↓
Poison Ivy Leaf Mite
Aculops rhois, the poison ivy gall mite, is a species of Eriophyid mite found in North America. They form galls in poison ivy as well as other members of North American Toxicodendron and some species of Rhus (including fragrant sumac).
Willow Bead Gall Mite
Aculus tetanothrix is a species of mite which causes galls on the leaves of willows (Salix species). It was first described by Alfred Nalepa in 1889.
Red Nail Gall Mite
Eriophyes tiliae is a mite (an acarid, not an insect) that forms the lime nail gall or bugle gall. It develops in a chemically induced gall; an erect, oblique or curved distortion rising up from the upper surface of the leaves of the common lime (linden) tree Tilia × europaea.
Dorymyrmex insanus
Dorymyrmex insanus is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. It is endemic to the United States. Dorymyrmex insanus is located in moderately central areas of North America, and can be found in drier areas of the USA.
Odorous House Ant
Tapinoma sessile is a species of small ant that goes by the common names odorous house ant, sugar ant, stink ant, and coconut ant. Their colonies are polydomous (consist of multiple nests) and polygynous (contain multiple reproducing queens). Like many social insects, T. sessile employs complex foraging strategies, allocates food depending on ...more ↓
Western Carpenter Ant
Camponotus modoc or western carpenter ant is a black carpenter ant with dark red legs. Workers range in size from 7 to 13 mm (0.28 to 0.51 in).
Western Thatching Ant
Formica obscuripes (the western thatching ant) is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. It is native to North America. It produces large mounds covered by small pieces of plant material. The number of adult workers per colony may be as high as 40,000. F. obscuripes feeds upon a number of insect species, consumes nectar from homopterous insects they tend, and ...more ↓
Red Harvester Ant
Pogonomyrmex barbatus is a species of harvester ant from the genus Pogonomyrmex. Its common names include red ant and red harvester ant. These large (5– to 7-mm) ants prefer arid chaparral habitats and are native to the Southwestern United States. Nests are made underground (up to 2.5 m deep) in exposed areas. Their diets consist primarily of seeds, and they ...more ↓
Rough Harvester Ant
Pogonomyrmex rugosus, or rough harvester ant, is a species of harvester ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae which is endemic to the southwestern United States, specifically New Mexico and southern Colorado.
Western Harvester Ant
Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, or the western harvester ant, is a species of ant that inhabits the deserts and arid grasslands of the American West at or below 6,300 feet (1,900 m). Like other harvester ants in the genus Pogonomyrmex, it is so called because of its habit of collecting edible seeds and other food items. The specific epithet "occidentalis", ...more ↓
Fire Ants
Fire ant is the common name for several species of ants in the genus Solenopsis. They are, however, only a minority in the genus, which includes over 200 species of Solenopsis worldwide. Solenopsis are stinging ants and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many species also are called red ...more ↓
Temnothorax rugatulus
Temnothorax rugatulus is a species of ant in the genus Temnothorax. It is found in North America. More specifically, it is found in the forests of the western United States Colonies are either monogynous (with single reproductive queen) or polygynous (multiple queens). Queens in monogynous colonies are generally larger (marcogynes), about twice the size of conspecific ...more ↓
Red Pavement Ant
The pavement ant (Tetramorium caespitum) is an ant native to Europe, which 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, and grooves on the head and thorax .
Common Eastern Velvet Ant
Dasymutilla occidentalis (red velvet ant or eastern velvet ant), is a species of parasitoid wasp native to the eastern United States. It is commonly mistaken for a member of the true ant family, as the female is wingless. The species ranges from Connecticut to Missouri in the north and Florida to Texas in the south. Other common names include cow ant and ...more ↓
Great Golden Digger Wasp
Sphex ichneumoneus, known commonly as the great golden digger wasp or great golden sand digger is a wasp in the family Sphecidae. It is identified by the golden pubescence on its head and thorax, its reddish orange legs, and partly reddish orange body. This wasp is native to the Western Hemisphere, from Canada to South America, and provisions its young with various ...more ↓
Great Black Wasp
Sphex pensylvanicus is a species of digger wasp, commonly known as the great black wasp. It lives across most of North America and grows to a size of 20–35 mm (0.8–1.4 in). The larvae feed on living insects which the females paralyze and carry to the underground nest.
Black-and-yellow Mud Dauber
Black and yellow mud dauber is a common name for the sphecid wasp species Sceliphron caementarium. They are solitary insects that build nests out of mud, in sheltered locations, frequently on man-made structure such as bridges, barns, open porches or under the eaves of houses. These nests are not aggressively defended, and stings are rare.
Blue Mud Dauber
The blue mud dauber is a metallic blue species of mud dauber wasp that preys primarily on black widow spiders. It does not build a nest, but uses nests abandoned by other mud dauber wasps. Like other mud daubers, it is rarely aggressive.
Steel-blue Cricket-hunter Wasp
Chlorion aerarium, known generally as the steel-blue cricket hunter or aphid wasp, is a species of thread-waisted wasps in the family Sphecidae....
Beewolf
Philanthus gibbosus (commonly referred to as a beewolf) is a species of bee-hunting wasp, the most common and widespread member of the genus in North America.
Eastern Cicada Killer Wasp
Sphecius speciosus, often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large digger wasp species. Cicada killers are large, solitary wasps in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid which preys on cicadas, though in North America it is typically applied to a single species, S. speciosus. However, since ...more ↓
Long-horned Bee
Svastra obliqua, the sunflower bee, is a species of long-horned bee in the family Apidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Agile Long-horned Bee
Melissodes agilis, the agile long-horned bee, is a species of long-horned bee in the family Apidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Pruinose Squash Bee
Peponapis pruinosa is a species of solitary bee in the tribe Eucerini, the long-horned bees. Its common name is eastern cucurbit bee. It may be called the squash bee, but this name can also apply to other species in its genus, as well as the other squash bee genus, Xenoglossa. This bee occurs in North America from the East Coast of the United States to the ...more ↓
Bumble-bee-mimic Digger Bee
Anthophora bomboides, the bumble-bee-mimic anthophora, is a species of anthophorine bee in the family Apidae. It is found in North America.
White-Shouldered Bumble Bee
Bombus appositus is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the white-shouldered bumblebee. It is native to western North America, including western Canada and the western United States.
Black-and-gold Bumble Bee
Bombus auricomus is a species of bumblebee known by the common name black and gold bumblebee. It is native to eastern North America, including Ontario and Saskatchewan in Canada and much of the eastern United States, as far west as the Great Plains.
Nevada Bumble Bee
The Nevada bumblebee (Bombus nevadensis) is a species of bumblebee. It is native to North America, where it occurs from Alaska to California in the west, and east to Wisconsin, and in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico.
High Country Bumble Bee
Bombus balteatus, the golden-belted bumble bee, is a species of bumblebee found in Finland, northern Sweden, Russia, and North America from arctic Alaska, Canada, and mountains, and mountain ranges in the United States such as the Sierra Nevada and the White Mountains down south to New Mexico.
Brown-belted Bumble Bee
Bombus griseocollis is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the brown-belted bumblebee. It is native to much of the United States except for the Southwest, and to the southernmost regions of several of the provinces of Canada.
Morrison's Bumble Bee
Bombus morrisoni is a species of bumblebee. It is native to western North America, including the western United States and British Columbia. It is known commonly as the Morrison bumblebee.
Red-belted Bumble Bee
Bombus rufocinctus is a species of bumblebee known by the common name red-belted bumblebee. It is native to North America where it has a wide distribution across Canada and the western, midwestern, and northeastern United States. It may occur in Mexico.
Black-notched Bumble Bee
Bombus bifarius, the two-form bumblebee, is a common species of eusocial bumblebee of the subgenus Pyrobombus. B. bifarius inhabits mountainous regions of western North America. Its common name refers to the two dominant color polymorphisms, the nominate and nearcticus polymorphisms, present in the species. B. bifarius has been identified as one of ...more ↓
Hunt's Bumble Bee
Bombus huntii is a species of bumblebee. It is native to western North America, where it occurs in western Canada and the United States as far east as Manitoba and Minnesota, and in Mexico as far south as the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. It is known commonly as the Hunt bumblebee or Hunt's bumblebee.
Forest Bumble Bee
Bombus sylvicola is a species of bumblebee native to North America. It occurs throughout most of Canada, its distribution extending into Alaska and the western contiguous United States. In the southernmost extent of its range in California it occurs only at elevation. It is known commonly as the forest bumblebee.
