Top 20 Most Common Insects in Phoenix

Western honey bee（Apis mellifera） is the most common species of honeybee in the world. Among the first domesticated insects, its cultural and economic impact on humanity has been vast and far-reaching, providing honey, wax and its services as a pollinator. Western honey bee faces challenges worldwide, such as colony collapse disorder, and populations are thought to be decreasing.

The queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus) is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae with a wingspan of 70–88 mm (2.8–3.5 in). It is orange or brown with black wing borders and small white forewing spots on its dorsal wing surface, and reddish ventral wing surface fairly similar to the dorsal surface. The ventral hindwings have black veins and small white spots in a black border. The male has a black androconial scent patch on its dorsal hindwings. It is found throughout the tropics and into the temperate regions of the Americas, Asia and Africa. It can be found in meadows, fields, marshes, deserts, and at the edges of forests. This species is possibly a close relative to the similarly colored soldier butterfly (or tropic queen; Danaus eresimus); in any case, it is not close to the plain tiger (Danaus chrysippus) as was long believed. There are seven subspecies. Females lay one egg at a time on larval host plants. Larvae use these plants as a food source, whereas adult butterflies feed mainly on nectar from flowers. Unpalatability to avian predators is a feature of the butterfly; however, its level is highly variable. Unpalatability is correlated with the level of cardenolides obtained via the larval diet, but other compounds like alkaloids also play a part in promoting distastefulness. Males patrol to search for females, who may mate up to 15 times a day. Male organs called hair-pencils play an important role in courtship, with males with lower hair-pencil levels being selected against. These hair-pencils may be involved in releasing pheromones during courtship that could attract female mates.

The white-Lined Sphinx ( Hyles lineata) is a colorful furry moth with striped wings. It has a similar size of a hummingbird, and behaves like a hummingbird as well. It can fly extremely fast, and instantly swing from side to side while hovering just like a hummingbird. It feeds on nectar from a variety of flowers including petunia, honeysuckle, lilac, clovers, thistles, and jimson weed.

American snout have prominent elongated mouthparts (labial palpi) which, in concert with the antennae, give the appearance of the petiole (stem) of a dead leaf. Wings are patterned black-brown with white and orange markings. The forewings have a distinctive squared off, hook-like (falcate) tip. The caterpillars appear humpbacked, having a small head, swollen first and second abdominal segments, and a last abdominal segment which is tapered and rounded. They are dark green with yellow stripes along the top and sides of the body, and have two black tubercles on the top of the thorax.

The painted lady is a migratory butterfly that spends part of the year in Northern Africa and then migrates to Europe during the warmer months. Although the adults feed on nectar from flowers, the larvae feed on the leaves of nettles and thistles.

The sleepy orange is a bright orange butterfly with the upperside of the wings having wide black borders. The forewing coastal margin has a small, narrow black spot. The underside of the wings varies seasonally: summer forms are bright yellow with brick-red markings, while winter forms are browner and more heavily marked. It has a wingspan of 3.5 - 6 cm .

The name Pachydiplax longipennis implies that the blue dasher has long wings due to the "longipennis" section literally translating to it. But this would be misleading, as the insect does not have particularly long wings. Instead, they stick out with vibrant blue colors. The dasher part of their name may be in reference to their voracious diet, as they can eat up to 10 percent of their body weight daily.

The arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus) is a fast, nocturnal creature that ambushes its prey. It feeds on a wide range of bugs, including beetles, spiders, and cockroaches. It uses the tiny hairs on its body to recognize terrains and find prey. Its yellow coloring might seem less intimidating than other scorpions, but it has a real powerful venom.

The male of the species has a rose pink and red abdomen. The female has an orange-brown abdomen with clear orange veins and a brownish thorax with a light stripe down the back. The wings are normally clear except for brown pterostigmata at the leading edges. Its 4.5 - 6 cm in length with a wingspan of 3.5 - 4.5 cm long.

Strymon melinus is a butterfly of the family Blüullingen (Lycaenidae) of the subfamily of Hairstreak (Theclinae).