Insect Identity: Bug ID

Insect Identity is a bug identifier that works from a photo. Something just landed on your arm. You want two things, fast: its name, and whether it can hurt you.

Point your camera at it and let insect identification happen on-device. Insect Identity answers in about a second — the species, a confidence score, and a plain verdict: harmless, irritates skin, may bite, can sting, or can be dangerous. The AI ships inside the app and runs on your phone, so it works in a basement, in the woods, on a plane, anywhere.

THE ANSWER YOU ACTUALLY WANTED

Every identification leads with risk, not trivia. Most bugs are harmless and the app says so plainly instead of leaving you guessing. When something genuinely matters — a black widow, a brown recluse, a tick, fire ants — it says that plainly too, along with what to do about it.

And when a harmless match has a dangerous lookalike close behind it — a cicada killer that might be a hornet, a spider that might be a widow — the result says so, instead of a green light it cannot stand behind.

FIRST AID, ONE TAP AWAY

For everything that can bite, sting or irritate your skin: what to do right now, and the signs that mean get help. Written from NHS, CDC and Mayo Clinic guidance, with the sources on screen.

A FIELD GUIDE TO 224 SPECIES

Not just a name. Every species carries its scientific name, size, what it eats, where it lives, when it's active, and the one thing actually worth knowing about it. Browse or search the whole guide any time, with no signal:

- Butterflies and moths — monarch, swallowtails, luna moth, hawk moths

- Beetles and ladybugs — Japanese beetle, fireflies, stag beetles

- Bees, wasps and hornets — honey bee, bumble bees, yellowjackets, paper wasps

- Ants, termites and household pests — cockroaches, bed bugs, silverfish, fleas, clothes moths

- Flies, mosquitoes, dragonflies and damselflies

- Grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, mantises, walking sticks

- True bugs and cicadas — stink bugs, spotted lanternfly, water striders

- Spiders, ticks, centipedes and millipedes

KEEP WHAT YOU FIND

Every identification is saved with its photo, date and confidence. Add a note, correct the species if the app got it wrong, and search it all later. Your collection becomes a record of your garden, your hikes, your house — how many species you have met, and when.

HONEST ABOUT CONFIDENCE

No identification app can promise certainty, so this one doesn't pretend. You get a best match with a real confidence score and the runners-up with theirs. A sharp, close, well-lit photo usually scores high; a blurry one scores low, and the app tells you instead of bluffing. If it cannot tell at all, it says it is not sure rather than putting a name on a guess. Treat any match as a strong lead, not a verdict — and never rely on it alone for decisions about bites, stings, or anything you plan to eat.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN

Your photos never leave your phone. There is no account, no sign-up and no server. The neural network is bundled in the app itself.

BUILT FOR THE DARK

A proper dark theme for the 2am "what is on my ceiling" moment, and haptics that confirm a result without you having to look twice.

Insect Identity Pro is an optional upgrade: it removes every ad, lifts the limit on your collection, and exports your sightings as a spreadsheet. Identification and the full field guide are never paywalled.

Reference photos by iNaturalist contributors (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA) — credits: https://insect.chinesepowered.com/credits.html

Questions, or a species you'd like added? [email protected]

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