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The Wild Pest
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Musical bugs

Every species in the Wild Files corpus where musical is a defining trait.

20 on file

On File
A buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) on a flower, fuzzy black-and-yellow striped body.
Beneficial
Six Legs76
Alias
Bombus terrestris

Buff-Tailed Bumblebee

Flies in cold honey bees can't. Vibrates flowers at 400 Hz to shake out pollen. Pollinates your tomatoes.

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On File
A death's-head hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos) at rest, showing the skull pattern on the thorax.
Curious
Six Legs82
Alias
Acherontia atropos

Death's-Head Hawkmoth

Skull on the thorax. Squeaks. Robs beehives by smelling like a bee.

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On File
A Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) on a hand, showing the glossy mahogany body and pronotum bumps.
Curious
Six Legs72
Alias
Gromphadorhina portentosa

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

Hisses by exhaling — not by rubbing. One of the only insects with a real voice.

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On File
A periodical cicada (Magicicada septendecim) on a leaf, showing the distinctive red eyes and orange wing veins.
Curious
Six Legs85
Alias
Magicicada septendecim

Periodical Cicada (17-Year)

Spends 17 years underground. Emerges by the trillion. Picks 17 because it's prime.

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On File
A green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea), pale green slender body with delicate transparent lace-veined wings.
Beneficial
Six Legs75
Alias
Chrysoperla carnea

Green Lacewing

Larva eats 600 aphids. Mother lays eggs on stilts to keep siblings from eating each other. Sold by the kilo.

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On File
A European mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa), tan body with massive shovel-shaped front legs.
Curious
Six Legs80
Alias
Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa

European Mole Cricket

Builds an underground trumpet. Sings through it. Calls audible 600 meters away.

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On File
A snowy tree cricket (Oecanthus fultoni), small pale green body on a leaf, long antennae.
Curious
Six Legs70
Alias
Oecanthus fultoni

Snowy Tree Cricket

Count her chirps in 13 seconds, add 40 — that's the temperature in Fahrenheit. To one degree.

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On File
A male variable dancer damselfly (Argia fumipennis), slim purple-violet damselfly with distinctive smoky-tinted wings, four narrow wings folded above the back, side profile.
Beneficial
Six Legs74
Alias
Argia fumipennis

Variable Dancer

Stream-side dancer damselfly. Distinctive jerky 'DANCING' flight pattern. Color-variable.

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On File
A water boatman (Corixa punctata), oval streamlined dark grayish-brown aquatic bug with fringed oar-like hind legs adapted for swimming, six legs, side profile underwater.
Beneficial
Six Legs75
Alias
Corixa punctata

Water Boatman

LOUDEST animal on Earth scaled to body size. 99 dB underwater calls. Calls made by rubbing PENIS against abdomen.

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On File
A death-watch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum), small dark brown beetle with patches of short yellowish hairs giving the body a mottled appearance, six legs, top view.
Outlaw
Six Legs84
Alias
Xestobium rufovillosum

Death-Watch Beetle

Tapping wood beetle. Folk DEATH OMEN. Major pest of HISTORIC OAK TIMBER in European architecture.

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On File
A Big Dipper firefly (Photinus pyralis), small brown beetle with yellow elytra margins and yellow-orange pronotum, six legs, side profile.
Beneficial
Six Legs77
Alias
Photinus pyralis

Big Dipper Firefly

The classic NA backyard firefly. Males perform J-SHAPED upward flash displays at dusk.

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On File
A Carolina grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina), grayish-brown grasshopper with cryptic dirt-colored markings, six legs, side profile.
Beneficial
Six Legs75
Alias
Dissosteira carolina

Carolina Grasshopper

Cryptic at rest. Reveals BLACK-AND-WHITE BUTTERFLY-LIKE WINGS in flight. Crackling 'hand-clap' wing sound.

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On File
A Jerusalem cricket (Stenopelmatus fuscus), large flightless cricket-like insect with a huge bulging human-like head, large dark eyes, striped abdomen with alternating black-and-tan bands, six legs, side profile.
Curious
Six Legs81
Alias
Stenopelmatus fuscus

Jerusalem Cricket (Potato Bug)

Looks like a 7 cm cricket with a HUMAN-LIKE BULGING head. The 'potato bug' / 'child of the earth'.

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On File
A common true katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia), bright green leaf-mimicking katydid with wings shaped exactly like a fresh oak leaf complete with realistic central veins, six legs, side profile.
Beneficial
Six Legs76
Alias
Pterophylla camellifolia

Common True Katydid

The 'KA-TY-DID, KA-TY-DIDN'T' summer night sound. Wings shaped like a green leaf complete with veins.

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On File
A European field cricket (Gryllus campestris), large glossy black cricket with brownish wing covers and prominent tail filaments, six legs, side profile.
Curious
Six Legs72
Alias
Gryllus campestris

European Field Cricket

The original 'grasshopper' of Aesop's fable. Glossy black. Sings from burrow entrance.

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On File
A house cricket (Acheta domesticus), light brown cricket with darker bands and prominent long antennae, six legs, side profile.
Curious
Six Legs79
Alias
Acheta domesticus

House Cricket

Most globally significant edible insect. Domesticated for food in 30+ countries. Chirp rate = temperature.

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On File
A peacock butterfly (Aglais io), wings spread showing brilliant rust-red surface with four enormous concentric eye-spots in red, blue, gold, and black.
Beneficial
Six Legs75
Alias
Aglais io

Peacock Butterfly

Four enormous peacock-eye spots. HISSES when threatened by rubbing wing veins together.

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On File
A manna cicada (Cicada orni), stout-bodied gray-and-brown cicada with broad head, large compound eyes, and translucent wings folded over the back.
Curious
Six Legs72
Alias
Cicada orni

Manna Cicada

The cicada of Mediterranean antiquity. Plato wrote about her chorus. Sap source of historical 'manna.'

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On File
A ten-lined June beetle (Polyphylla decemlineata), large dark brown scarab with ten cream-white longitudinal stripes on the elytra, six legs, dorsal view.
Curious
Six Legs75
Alias
Polyphylla decemlineata

Ten-Lined June Beetle

Largest western US scarab. Squeaks audibly when grabbed. Males have feathered antennae.

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On File
A dog-day cicada (Neotibicen canicularis), stout-bodied green-and-black insect with broad head, large compound eyes, and translucent wings.
Curious
Six Legs72
Alias
Neotibicen canicularis

Dog-Day Cicada

The high-whine of August 'dog days.' One of the loudest insects on Earth — 100+ dB.

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