Ants are tiny social insects that live in colonies. They build nests, follow scent trails, care for young, collect food, protect their homes, and work together in some of the busiest little teams in nature.

Atlas moths are giant silk moths from Asian forests. They are famous for huge patterned wings, snake-like wing tips, fluffy bodies, and a short adult life focused mostly on finding a mate and laying eggs.

Barnacles are ocean crustaceans that spend adult life attached to rocks, shells, boats, piers, whales, or other surfaces. They may look like tiny shells or bumps, but they are relatives of crabs, shrimp, and lobsters.

Blue-ringed octopuses are small ocean octopuses with bright blue warning rings. They may look beautiful, but they are extremely venomous, so people should never touch them and should admire them only from a safe distance.

Brittle stars are ocean invertebrates related to sea stars. They usually have a small central disk and five long flexible arms that can wriggle, crawl, break off, and regrow if needed.

Bumblebees are fuzzy bees that help pollinate flowers. Many bumblebees live in small colonies with a queen, female workers, and male drones, often nesting underground or in hidden grassy places.

Butterflies are colorful insects with delicate wings, antennae, six legs, and amazing life cycles. They begin as eggs, become caterpillars, change inside a chrysalis, and finally emerge as adult butterflies.

Carpenter bees are sturdy bees named for the way many species tunnel into wood to make nests. They are important pollinators, and many look like bumblebees but often have shinier, less hairy abdomens.

Centipedes are fast many-legged arthropods that hunt small animals in moist hidden places. They have one pair of legs on each body segment and special venom claws, so wild centipedes should be watched from a safe distance and never handled.

Cicadas are noisy insects famous for their loud summer songs. Many live quietly underground as nymphs for years, then climb up trees, shed their old skins, grow wings, sing, mate, and begin the next cicada generation.

Cockroaches are flat-bodied insects with long antennae, fast legs, and a very old family history. Most cockroaches live outdoors in warm habitats, while only a few species are famous household pests.

Coconut crabs are huge land crabs from tropical islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. They are also called robber crabs or palm thieves and are famous for strong claws, climbing skills, and cracking open coconuts.

Cone snails are marine snails with beautiful cone-shaped shells and powerful venom. They are slow-moving predators that use a harpoon-like tooth to catch prey, so wild cone snails should never be picked up or handled.

Crickets are chirping insects related to grasshoppers and katydids. They are known for long antennae, strong jumping legs, nighttime songs, and males that make music by rubbing parts of their front wings together.

Crown-of-thorns starfish are large spiky sea stars found on coral reefs. They eat coral polyps and have venomous thorn-like spines, so they should be watched from a safe distance and never touched.

Cuttlefish are clever sea animals related to octopuses and squid. They can change color and pattern, use ink to escape, and have a special internal shell called a cuttlebone.

Decorator crabs are marine crabs that hide by attaching bits of algae, sponge, shell, or other ocean material to their bodies. Their disguise can help them blend into reefs, tide pools, or seafloor habitats.

Diving beetles are aquatic beetles that live in ponds, lakes, marshes, and slow water. Many are strong swimmers with flattened bodies and paddle-like hind legs, and both adults and larvae are hungry predators.

Dragonflies are fast flying insects with long bodies, huge eyes, and four clear wings. They often live near ponds, lakes, rivers, and wetlands because their young grow underwater before becoming adult fliers.

Dung beetles are insects that feed on animal dung, also called manure. That may sound yucky, but these beetles are amazing recyclers because they help clean up waste, return nutrients to soil, and create safe food nurseries for their young.

Earthworms are soft segmented worms that live in moist soil, leaf litter, gardens, and compost. They tunnel through the ground, eat decaying plant material, and leave behind castings that help recycle nutrients in the soil.

Earwigs are flat, slender insects known for the pincer-like forceps at the end of the body. Despite old stories about ears, earwigs do not crawl into ears on purpose. Most hide in dark damp places and come out at night.

Emperor scorpions are large black scorpions from western Africa. They have big pincers, a curved tail with a stinger, eight legs, and a quiet nighttime life in warm forests and savannas.

Fiddler crabs are small shore crabs often seen on mudflats, mangroves, salt marshes, and sandy beaches. Males are famous for one oversized claw that they wave to communicate, attract females, and warn other males.

Fireflies are soft-bodied beetles famous for glowing at night. They are also called lightning bugs, and many use flashing lights from their abdomens to find mates or send signals in warm fields, gardens, forests, and wetlands.

Fleas are tiny wingless insects best known for jumping and feeding on blood from animals. They have flat bodies, strong legs, and a complete life cycle that goes from egg to larva to pupa to adult.

Fruit flies are tiny two-winged insects often found near ripe or fermenting fruit. Some are called vinegar flies, and one species, Drosophila melanogaster, is famous in science because it has helped researchers learn about genes, growth, and inheritance.

Giant clams are huge reef mollusks with two heavy shells and colorful mantles. They live in warm Indo-Pacific coral reefs and share a clever partnership with tiny algae that help feed them with sunlight-made food.

Giant isopods are enormous deep-sea crustaceans that look like huge pill bugs from the ocean floor. They have armored plates, 14 walking legs, big eyes, long antennae, and a scavenger lifestyle in the dark deep sea.

Giant squid are mysterious deep-sea animals with huge eyes, eight arms, two extra-long tentacles, a beak, and a soft body. They live far below the ocean surface, where humans rarely see them alive.

Goliath beetles are giant scarab beetles from tropical African forests. They are among the heaviest insects on Earth, especially as chunky larvae, and adults have strong legs, hard wing covers, and bold patterns.

Grasshoppers are jumping insects found in grasslands, forests, gardens, farms, and many other habitats. They are known for powerful hind legs, plant-eating habits, chirping sounds, and young nymphs that look like smaller wingless adults.

Hercules beetles are giant rhinoceros beetles famous for their huge size and dramatic horns on males. They live in tropical forests, start life as grubs in rotting wood, and grow into armored beetles with hard wing covers.

Hermit crabs are crustaceans with soft curved abdomens that need protection. Many live inside empty snail shells, changing to larger shells as they grow, while using pincers, antennae, legs, and careful shell shopping to survive.

Honey bees are social insects that live together in busy colonies. They collect nectar and pollen from flowers, make honey, build wax combs, and help pollinate many plants as they fly from bloom to bloom.

Hornets are large social wasps that live in colonies. They are known for strong flight, yellow or brown markings, paper-like nests, queens, workers, drones, and stingers that help them defend their homes.

Horseshoe crabs are ancient-looking sea animals with hard horseshoe-shaped shells, long pointed tails, and blue blood. Even though they are called crabs, they are not true crabs and are more closely related to spiders and scorpions.

Houseflies are common insects often found near people, food scraps, garbage, and animal waste. They are true flies with one main pair of wings, fast movements, big eyes, and a life cycle that goes from egg to maggot to pupa to adult fly.

Japanese spider crabs are giant ocean crabs with extremely long legs, spiky shells, and a spider-like look. They live in Pacific waters near Japan and are famous for having the largest leg span of any living crab.

Jellyfish are soft sea animals with jellylike bodies, no bones, and trailing tentacles. They drift through oceans around the world and use stinging cells to catch tiny prey.

Jumping spiders are small, active spiders famous for big eyes, excellent vision, and quick jumps. Instead of using sticky webs to catch prey, many jumping spiders stalk insects carefully and leap with a silk safety line behind them.

Katydids are mostly nighttime insects related to crickets and grasshoppers. Many have very long antennae, leaflike green bodies, strong jumping legs, and loud mating calls that can make summer nights feel full of tiny hidden musicians.

Krill are tiny shrimplike crustaceans that live in the ocean, often in huge groups. They may be small, but they are one of the most important foods for whales, seals, penguins, fish, squid, and many other marine animals.

Lacewings are delicate insects named for the fine network of veins in their wings. Green lacewings are especially helpful in gardens because their hungry larvae eat many tiny pests, including aphids.

Ladybugs are small beetles with round bodies, bright colors, tiny legs, and cute spots. They are also called ladybird beetles and are loved by gardeners because many ladybugs eat plant pests such as aphids.

Lobsters are hard-shelled crustaceans that live mostly on the sea floor. Many true lobsters have large claws, long antennae, walking legs, strong tails, and a tough outer shell that they must molt as they grow.

Locusts are special grasshoppers that can change behavior when conditions are right. They may live quietly alone, but when many gather together, they can form marching hopper bands as nymphs and flying swarms as adults.

Luna moths are large pale green moths from North America with long tail-like wing tips and beautiful eyespots. Adults live briefly, fly at night, and do not eat because their mouthparts are reduced or absent.

Mantis usually means praying mantis, a patient insect hunter with folded front legs and a triangular head. Mantises wait quietly on leaves and stems, then grab insects with lightning-fast spiny forelegs.

Mantis shrimp are colorful marine crustaceans known for amazing eyes and super-fast hunting arms. Some use club-like arms to smash prey, while others use sharp spear-like arms to grab fish and other small ocean animals.

Mayflies are delicate insects with young stages that live in water. Their adults are famous for very short lives, often only hours or days, while their aquatic nymphs may spend much longer growing in streams, rivers, ponds, or lakes.

Millipedes are slow many-legged arthropods that usually live in damp leaf litter, soil, and under logs. Most eat decaying leaves and plant material, helping recycle old plant matter back into the soil.

Mites are tiny arachnids related to ticks and spiders. Many are so small that people need a microscope to see them clearly, and different mites can live in soil, water, plants, animal nests, homes, or on other animals.

Mole crabs, often called sand crabs, are small crustaceans that live in wave-washed beach sand. They burrow backward into wet sand and use feathery antennae to catch tiny food from the water rushing over them.

Moon jellies are pale translucent jellyfish often seen in coastal waters. They have soft bell-shaped bodies, short tentacles, four petal-like shapes inside, and a gentle pulsing swim that looks like a floating moon.

Mosquitoes are tiny flying insects in the true fly group. They are famous for buzzing and biting, but their life story begins in water, where eggs hatch into wriggling larvae before becoming pupae and then adults.

Mussels are bivalve mollusks with two shells and soft bodies inside. Some live in the ocean attached to rocks by strong threads, while freshwater mussels often live partly buried in river or lake bottoms.

Nautiluses are ancient-looking ocean animals with soft bodies, many tentacles, and beautiful spiral shells divided into chambers. They are cephalopod mollusks, which means they are related to octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish.

Nudibranchs are colorful sea slugs that live in oceans around the world. They are soft-bodied marine mollusks, often without shells as adults, and many use bright colors, strange shapes, gills, cerata, and chemical defenses to survive.

Octopuses are clever sea animals with soft bodies, eight arms, strong suckers, large eyes, and amazing camouflage. They are mollusks, not fish, and many can squirt ink to confuse predators.

Oysters are ocean mollusks with two shells called valves. Many oysters live attached to hard surfaces, filter tiny food from seawater, and can build rough reefs that shelter small ocean animals.

Peacock spiders are tiny jumping spiders from Australia, famous for colorful males that lift bright fan-like body parts and dance during courtship. They are small, sharp-eyed, active hunters with big personality packed into a speck-sized body.

Praying mantises are insects with triangular heads, big eyes, long bodies, and folded spiny front legs. They look like they are praying, but they are really waiting to grab prey with lightning-fast moves.

Rhinoceros beetles are strong scarab beetles named for the horn-like structures on many males. They can look like tiny armored rhinos, with shiny bodies, hard wing covers, and larvae that grow in rotting wood or soil.

Sand dollars are flat ocean animals related to sea urchins and sea stars. Living sand dollars are covered with tiny spines and move slowly through sandy seafloors, while the pale “sand dollars” found on beaches are usually their dried skeletons.

Scallops are bivalve mollusks that make fan-shaped shells. Unlike many other bivalves, some scallops can swim by clapping their shells together and pushing water out in quick jets.

Sea cucumbers are soft, tube-shaped marine animals that crawl along the sea floor. They are echinoderms, related to sea stars and sea urchins, and many help recycle nutrients by eating tiny food bits mixed with sand or mud.

Sea hares are soft marine mollusks that look like chunky sea slugs with rabbit-ear-like tentacles. They often eat seaweed, crawl along shallow ocean bottoms, and some can release purple or reddish ink when bothered.

Sea urchins are round, spiky marine animals that live on the ocean floor. They are echinoderms, which means they are related to sea stars and sand dollars, and they use tiny tube feet, spines, and a special mouth structure to move and eat.

Shrimp are small crustaceans that live in oceans, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and muddy or sandy bottoms depending on species. They have long antennae, many legs, hard outer shells, gills, and a quick backward-swimming escape move.

Silverfish are small, quick-moving insects with silvery scales, flat bodies, long antennae, and three tail bristles. They are often found indoors in dark, damp places where they nibble starchy materials like paper, paste, and old book bindings.

Squid are fast ocean mollusks in the cephalopod group. They have soft bodies, big eyes, eight arms, two longer tentacles, a beak, and a siphon that helps them jet through the water like tiny sea rockets.

Stag beetles are beetles famous for the huge jaw-like mandibles on many males. These jaws can look like deer antlers, which is why they are called stag beetles, but the larvae quietly grow in rotting wood before becoming adults.

Starfish are better called sea stars because they are not fish. They are marine invertebrates related to sea urchins and sand dollars, with arms, tube feet, spiny skin, and amazing ways to move, eat, and regrow body parts.

Stick insects are amazing insects that look like twigs, sticks, or leaves. Their long thin bodies, slow movement, and clever camouflage help them hide from birds, reptiles, and other hungry animals.

Tarantulas are large, hairy spiders found in warm places around the world. They have eight legs, fangs, venom for catching prey, sensitive hairs, and many species live in burrows where they hide during the day and hunt at night.

Termites are social insects that live in colonies with different jobs. Many termites eat cellulose from wood, dead plants, grass, or soil materials, and tiny microbes in their bodies help them digest this tough plant food.

Ticks are tiny blood-feeding arachnids related to mites and spiders. They do not jump or fly. Instead, many wait on grass, leaves, or low plants and grab onto a passing animal or person.

Vampire squid are deep-sea cephalopods with dark bodies, glowing arm tips, big eyes, and webbing between the arms that looks like a little cape. Despite the spooky name, they do not drink blood and mostly feed on drifting ocean particles called marine snow.

Velvet worms are soft, ancient-looking invertebrates with many stubby legs, tiny claws, feelers, and velvety bodies. They live in damp forests and can shoot sticky slime to catch prey like a miniature creature from a secret rainforest lab.

Wasps are insects related to bees and ants. Some wasps live alone, while others live in colonies. Many have narrow waists, smooth bodies, strong wings, and stingers, so their nests should be watched from a safe distance.

Water striders are insects that seem to skate across the surface of ponds, streams, and quiet water. Their long water-repelling legs spread out their weight and use surface tension to keep them from sinking.

Whirligig beetles are small aquatic beetles that spin and circle across the surface of calm ponds, lakes, and streams. They are famous for divided eyes that help them watch the air above and water below at the same time.