Insects You Find In Alabama Part 1
First the numbers. Across the globe there are, give-or-take, about 900 thousand different kinds insects that we’ve figured out so far. From a species standpoint, this means that bugs compose around 80% of the world’s species.
However, that’s a conservative estimate. Those who study insects say it could be as high as 30 million. So let’s say we took a census of each bug on the planet, we’d find that around 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual insects are alive and kicking.
Fortunately, they don’t all live in Alabama. In the Heart of Dixie, Vulcan Termite and Pest Control, Inc. only has around 199 types of ‘Bama bugs in the state to contend with. But depending on the season you may not see too many of them.
Insects for Every Season in Alabama
The season will affect which bugs you see on the list below. Because of the fairly temperate climate in Alabama you may see some bugs year round, while others only pop up during certain months. There also may be times of year when a species is in abundance.
Winter
Unlike some northern states, Alabama has comparatively mild winters that, for the most part, stay above 45°F, the temperature at which insects can be active. Even so, it’s the bugs that move inside that you’re more likely to see when it’s cold outside. These include stink bugs and ladybugs. There are also a few native insects like the Northern Mole Cricket that will only come out in the wintertime.
Spring
Springtime is when the wet weather loving insects like mosquitoes come out. The stinging insects – wasps, bees and hornets – will also start buzzing around once winter has officially passed. Another insect you’ll notice is butterflies, which come out of their chrysalis during the spring.
Summer
During summer insects are in full swing. Just about every type of bug in Alabama comes out during the hottest time of year. Beetles and cicada especially will be all over the place as some varieties will only be seen during June through August. Ants are another insect that will be in abundance during summer.
Fall
With temperatures dropping off so will the spring and summer bugs that thrive in the heat. This is also the time of year when insects start to migrate south. Grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, dragonflies, beetles, locusts and more may start showing up.
Alabama’s Indigenous Insects in Alphabetical Order
Thanks to the website Insectidentification.org, here’s what they have in their database when it comes to insects in Alabama. There might be more out there, but here’s what they’ve identified so far. Want to read more about ’em? Simply click on the title of the insect:
Ailanthus Webworm Moth
American Bumble Bee
American Carrion Beetle
American Cockroach
American House Spider
American Lady Butterfly
American Oil Beetle
American Pelecinid Wasp
Ant Mimic Spider
Aphids
Arrowhead Orb Weaver
Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spider
Asian Multicolored Lady Beetle
Assassin Bug
Augochlora Sweat Bee
Bald-Faced Hornet
Banded Alder Borer Beetle
Banded Garden Spider
Basilica Orb Weaver
Bed Bug
Big Dipper Firefly
Black- and-Yellow Garden Spider
Black Blister Beetle
Black Carpenter Ant
Black Saddlebags Skimmer
Black Swallowtail
Black Tail Crab Spider
Black Vine Weevil
Black-Legged Tick
Blue Dasher
Blue-Eyed Darner
Blue-fronted Dancer
Boll Weevil
Bowl and Doily Weaver Spider
Boxelder Bug
Brown Mantidfly
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Brown Recluse
Buffalo Treehopper
Cabbage White Butterfly
California Timema
California Trapdoor Spider
Camel Cricket
Candy-striped Leafhopper
Carolina Grasshopper
Carolina Locust
Carolina Mantis
Checkered Beetle
Cicada Killer
Clouded Sulphur
Clymene Haploa Moth
Coffinfly
Comb-Clawed Spider
Common Green Darner
Common Sanddragon
Common Thread Waisted Wasp
Common Whitetail Skimmer
Cottonwood Borer
Cow Killer
Cranefly
Cribellate Orb Weaver
Cryptopid Centipede
Cuckoo Bee
Dark Jerusalem Cricket
Darkling Beetle
Desert Tarantula
Devil’s Coach Horse
Dobsonfly
Dog Day Cicada
Dogbane Leaf Beetle
Eastern Carpenter Bee
Eastern Eyed Click Beetle
Eastern Harvestman
Eastern Hercules Beetle
Eastern Pondhawk
Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Eastern-tailed Blue Butterfly
Edwards Glassy Wing Moth
Emerald Ash Borer
European Earwig
European Mantid
Feather Legged Spider
Field Cricket
Fiery Skipper
Firebrat
Fishfly
Five-Banded Tiphiid Wasp
Flower Fly
Forage Looper Moth
Formica Ant
Funnel-Web Spider
German Cockroach
Giant Darner
Giant Leopard Moth
Giant Mayfly
Giant Red Velvet Mite
Giant Stick Insect
Giant Stonefly
Giant Swallowtail Butterfly
Giant Walkingstick
Giant Water Bug
Golden Northern Bumble Bee
Golden Silk Orbweaver
Goldenrod Crab Spider
Grapevine Hoplia
Grass Spider
Gray Hairstreak Butterfly
Gray Silverfish
Great Blue Skimmer
Green Crab Spider
Green Lynx Spider
Ground Crab Spider
Ground Spider
Gulf Fritillary Butterfly
Hardwood Stump Borer Beetle
Hentz Jumping Spider
Hister Beetle
Hoary Edge Skipper
Honey Bee
Horntail Wasp
Horse Lubber Grasshopper
House Centipede
House Cricket
Hover Fly
Hummingbird Moth
Huntsman Spider
Ichneumon Wasp
Iron Clad Beetle
Ivory Marked Beetle
Japanese Beetle
Japygid Dipluran
Jerusalem Cricket
Johnson Jumping Spider
Jumping Bristletail
Katydid
Labyrinthine Orb Weaver Spider
Lattice Orbweaver Spider
Leaf-Footed Bug
Least Skipper Moth
Locust Borer Beetle
Long-bodied Cellar Spider
Long-jawed Orb Weaver
Long-legged Fly
Long-legged Sac Spider
Long-tailed Skipper
Luna Moth
Thanks again to the folks at Insectidentification.org for allowing us to use this information. Don’t forget, you can click on any of the bugs listed above for more info. Stay tuned for part 2 when we go all-the-way to “Z” when it comes to ‘Bama bugs.
Image Source: wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Beetle_collection.jpg
Original Source: https://www.vulcantermite.com/pest-news-updates/insects-you-find-in-alabama-part-1