These beetles, like the other members of the Anobiidae family, can easily be mistaken for spiders – hence the name. But they definitely have six legs, not eight. The shiny elytra are orange-brown, and the head, thorax and legs are covered in dense, short hair. They have droplet-shaped bodies 2.5 to 3.5 mm long, and long antennae.
The somewhat crescent-shaped larvae are yellowish and hairy. They measure up to 4.5 mm long.
These tiny brown oval beetles are 2.2 to 3.5 mm long. They have longitudinal rows of fine hairs on the elytra (wing covers).
They are easily confused with cigarette beetles (Lasioderma serricorne), but their antennae help to tell them apart: the drugstore beetle’s antennae end in a three-segmented club, while those of the cigarette beetle are serrated.
The whitish, crescent-shaped larvae are covered with long hairs and have brown heads. They are up to 4 mm long.
These small moths can be recognized by their bicoloured hind wings. The base of their forewings is clear, grey, green or whitish, and the other extremity is darker, either reddish brown or dark grey. They range in size from 11 to 20 mm.
The white or yellowish caterpillars are hairless, with orange-brown heads. They moult five times and measure up to 12 cm long in the last instar.
These moths are recognizable by the two curved white lines on their forewings. The middle part of the wing is a lighter brown than either end. The wingspan is 15 to 30 mm. At rest, the moths adopt an odd posture, holding their wings flat and curving the abdomen upward.
The cream-coloured, hairless, brown-headed caterpillars are up to 20 mm long.
Snowy tree crickets are pale green, with an orange-yellow marking on the top of the head and long antennae. There are two dark spots at the base of the antennae. The wings are transparent, with fine white veins. The males have wider wings than the females. These insects are 13 to 15 mm long.
Dog-day cicadas are large insects with highly characteristic shapes and bodies that are twice as long as they are wide. They are 27 to 33 mm long, with wingspans of up to 82 mm. Their bodies are mostly dark with green and black markings on the upper side of the thorax. The veins at the base of the long transparent wings are also green. Significant colour variations may be related to the geographic origin of different populations. The green form described above is the most abundant.
These black or dark brown bugs measure from 16 to 22 mm long. They have an elongated, oval shape and a small head with sharp mouthparts. They use this beak-like “rostrum” to spear their prey so that they can feed on it.
The nymphs resemble adults but are lighter coloured and have no functional wings. They generally cover themselves in dust, sand or lint similar in colour to their environment. The underside of the nymphs’ body is black or brown, like that of adults.
The two sexes are easy to distinguish: the females have white wings with black spots and thin antennae, while the males are darker and smaller and have feathery antennae. The wings are marked with wavy grey lines in both sexes. Their wingspan is 3 to 4 cm for males and 5.6 to 6.7 cm for females. The females are so heavy that they cannot fly.
In their last stage, the caterpillars are hairy and have small raised coloured spots on their backs. The spots nearest the head are blue, and those farther down the body, red. The head is black and yellow. The caterpillars may be up to 6.5 cm long.
These large brown moths with their elongated wings have wingspans of up to 11.5 cm. The wings are light brown with white and dark brown markings. The thorax is quite hairy.
The large green or brown caterpillars have four horn-shaped growths near the head and a spine at the tip of the abdomen. The body has a small light-coloured ridge running its length and light diagonal lines on the sides.
These moths’ wings have scalloped margins. The forewings are brown with lighter markings, and the hindwings are yellow with dark edges. In flight they can be confused with bumble bees, since they emit a buzzing sound as they forage among flowers.
The females are nocturnal, while the males are crepuscular (active at sunset).
When at rest, they perch on the bark of a tree and curve their abdomens upward between the wings. Their wingspan ranges from 5.1 to 7 cm.
The young caterpillars are green, with a horn-shaped growth at the tip of the abdomen. Later, after one moult, they turn whitish or bluish-green. The “horn” disappears and is replaced by a rounded orange knob. In the last instar, the caterpillar reaches 7.5 cm and has two forms: either brown, or with 10 pale green spots on a brown background. In both cases, there is a growth resembling a large eye at the tip of the abdomen.
