Birders like spotting rare or unusual species. Those interested in insects do, too. But Texas Standard’s go-to insect expert, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service senior program specialist Wizzie Brown, says each person’s list can vary.
“It’s really going to depend upon what you’re used to seeing in your given area and how active you are looking for bugs. And, I guess, what insects you like,” Brown said.
The ‘gateway’ insects
A lot of people like butterflies.
“As entomologists, we call those the gateway bug,” Brown said. “Those are the ones that usually people get interested in first, and then the rest of them come. So we’re just sucking you in with the butterflies.”
By Charles J. Sharp – Own work, sharpphotography, CC BY-SA 4.0
The next step, might be a beautiful moth.
“A lot of people get really excited when they see hawk moths, or they’re also known as Sphinx moths,” Brown said. “They kind of mimic hummingbirds in their movement and they’re a daytime flying moth. So a lot of people like those.”
But they’re not on Brown’s list. Here are the insects she wants to spot.
1. Pale-bordered field cockroach
By xpda – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
“My absolute favorite cockroach. I love it,” Brown said.
The pale-bordered field cockroach is about half an inch in length. They are a dark grayish-black color and have a reddish orange shield that protects their head.
“And then they have this creamy white border on their wings and body, and they’re beautiful. I love them,” Brown said.
2. Banana cockroach (or Cuban cockroach)
By Greg Hume – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
These are often found in compost piles.
“And they are this very beautiful, pale green color. And they’re just absolutely beautiful,” Brown said.
They usually grow up to about an inch long and have very translucent wings.
“They’re just very, very pretty cockroaches,” Brown said.
3. Scorpionfly
By Richard Bartz, MFB.jpg – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5
Scorpionflies and hangingflies are in the order Mecoptera. But Brown doesn’t get as excited about hangingflies.
“Because they look kind of like crane flies, which we see every spring, but the scorpion flies are so cool,” Brown said.
Scorpionflies get their names because the males – and only the males – have an elongated abdomen that looks very similar to a scorpion tail.
“They do not sting because they don’t have a stinger, but they just have that elongated abdomen with kind of a like a little bulbous structure on the end,” Brown said.
Brown says their mouthparts are also cool because they are elongated into what looks almost like a snout – called a rostrum.
“The ones that I typically see are a bright reddish-orange color and then their wings are going to be yellow and black striped,” Brown said. “Very, very cool insects.”
By G Lens Microscopist, ChrisStewart – Own work, CC BY 4.0
4. Toad bug
This bug, a true “bug” by the scientific definition, appeared on Brown’s top insect list along with her husband’s.
“So these ones are typically found on the shores of water and they just look like these little tiny toads,” Brown said.
They are related to stink bugs.
“They are so incredibly cute,” Brown said. “I love them so much.”
5. Twisted wing parasite
By Duane D. McKenna , Brian D. Farrell – CC BY 4.0
This one, Brown warns, is going to be pretty difficult to spot unless you really work hard at it.
The female twisted wing parasites are found on other insects – where they’ll actually burrow into the spaces between the exoskeleton. The males are the ones who fly.
“And they have only one pair of wings and they’re twisted,” Brown said.
They’re parasites because they lay their eggs on other insects.
“So they’re very cool, but they’re very, very tiny, very hard to see,” Brown said.
By Beentree – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
6. Snakefly
Snakeflies are related to the green lacewings that are common in Texas.
“But they have this really long – we would call it a neck, but insects don’t have necks – so it’s like an expansion of the thorax,” Brown said.
They look a little like an insect giraffe.
“But I don’t see them very often and so when I do see one, I get super excited,” Brown said.
7. Tiger beetle
By Didier Descouens – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
You can usually find tiger beetles in sandy areas.
“I used to be able to find these when I was living in College Station,” Brown said. “You can go out to the park and find them.”
They’re often bright metallic colors and have long legs and big eyeballs. So if you see them, they’ll probably see you too – and they’re difficult to catch!
“Because not only can they run really fast, but they also fly away. And that makes things really hard,” Brown said.
Do you have a bug question for Wizzie Brown? Drop us a line, and we’ll pass it along.
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