Top 20 Most Common Insects in Horn Lake

The silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus) constructs a series of nests throughout its development that depends on its growth stage. Its caterpillar form is considered a major homebody, as they rarely leave the spot they call home. When they are adults, males perch on high branches in order to claim and defend favorable territory. Unusually, silver-spotted skipper adults never visit yellow flowers.

Adults are 5 cm long. Mature males are dark blue with black heads. Females and juveniles have brown abdomens with a darker stripe down their backs.

The sociable eastern Tent Caterpillar likes to enjoy gatherings within their nests in the trees where they rest. These caterpillars build a communal tent soon after they hatch, and together work to expand it after coming home each day from feeding. When they feel threatened, colonies of eastern Tent Caterpillar will all thrash about together to create a moving mass of bodies, scaring off timid predators.

Common whitetail skimmer has black bands on its translucent wings which make it easy to identify. The common whitetail skimmer is found throughout North America and serves a vital ecological purpose. The dragonfly’s compound eyes provide it with a 360-degree field of vision, allowing it to spot prey like spiders and other nuisance insects.

The spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) is a butterfly with an extreme love for plants in the Lauraceae family, such as spicebushes. Their preference is so strong that an experiment proved they would rather die than choose another host. Their two subspecies, *T. troilus *troilus and *T. troilus *ilioneus, differ based on location. The *T. troilus *ilioneus has more bluish spots and prefers redbay and swampbay plants.

The widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is a large insect that grows to be incredibly large with a bulbous head and body. As they age, they are known to grow whitish, much like our grandparents' hair. They live in the water until their final molt, where they reveal their wings, it is at this point it reveals why it has part of a group called the king skimmers.

The eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) is considered a pest and a benefit in the same body. It has earned its pest status from its ability to tunnel into human-made structures and weaken them. They can also stain their excrement on the building as they leave the tunnel. Their benefits as pollinators heavily outweigh any damage they do to structures. 

The fiery skipper (Hylephila phyleus) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae and is approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. The males are orange or yellow with black spots while the females are dark brown with orange or yellow spots. The caterpillars are greenish pink with a black head. The caterpillars are often considered pests and can feed on Bermudagrass, creeping bentgrass, and St. Augustine grass. Fiery skippers, along with all other species of skippers and skipperlings, can hold their wings in a "triangle" shape. The forewings are held upright, and the hindwings are folded flat. This position is thought to better absorb the sun's rays. The fiery skipper lives in North and South America, from Canada to Argentina. It is a migratory species.

The common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) is one of the most important pollinator bees in North America. A decline in the bee population will lead to financial hardships for farmers and reduced food yield. Their efficiency in pollination and foraging comes from their ability to drop "traplines." These lines guide other bees to the correct path for food while informing them of depleted locations.

The cloudless sulphur (Phoebis sennae) is known for being a small, yellow butterfly with two dots on either wing. Despite it not being very extravagant, there are those that may think that to be cute. They are known to be long-tongued butterflies that can reach the nectar in tubular flowers.