Insects

Photinus pyralis

The firefly is a soft-bodied beetle famous for its ability to produce light through a chemical reaction in its abdomen, a phenomenon called bioluminescence used mainly to attract mates on warm summer evenings. Despite the name, it isn't a fly at all -- it's a beetle, most closely related to click beetles and other Coleoptera.

Apis mellifera

The honeybee is a highly social insect essential to global agriculture, pollinating a huge share of the crops humans depend on while producing honey and wax.

Danaus plexippus

The monarch butterfly is famous for an extraordinary multi-generational migration spanning thousands of kilometers between Canada, the United States, and central Mexico.

Mantis religiosa

The praying mantis is an ambush predator instantly recognizable by its front legs held together as if in prayer, folded and spiked for snatching prey in a lightning-fast strike. Its triangular head can rotate nearly 180 degrees, giving it an almost unmatched field of view among insects for spotting movement.

Coccinella septempunctata

The seven-spot ladybird is one of the most recognizable beetles in the world, named for the seven black spots that mark its glossy red wing covers. Both adults and larvae are voracious predators of aphids, making the species a natural form of pest control long valued by farmers and gardeners.