The most searched group

Bug identifier

People search "what bug is this" when it's already in the kitchen.

Insects are the largest group of living things and the worst served by paper guides: too many species, too many tiny details. One photo is enough for SafaRoll. Ladybird, shield bug, hornet, caterpillar, dragonfly — the name arrives with the group and the rarity.

124 species4 min read
Download on theApp Store
In brief

How do you identify an insect with your phone?

Photographing the insect is enough: SafaRoll sends the image to a model trained on the tree of life, which returns the species name in about a second. No identification key, no counting antennal segments. This is the group where the gap between paper guides and image identification is widest: insects number over a million described species, and telling them apart by eye often needs a binocular microscope. A shot from above, subject sharp and whole in frame, gives the best results. SafaRoll covers 124 insects in the collection catalogue — ladybirds, shield bugs, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, wasps and bees — each with its rarity. Identification is free and unlimited: no paid tier degrades the accuracy of the answer.

When to use it
  • 01.

    On something that flew in through the window, before deciding what to do with it.

  • 02.

    In the garden, to work out who is eating what.

  • 03.

    With a child, when "what is it?" arrives faster than the answer.

124 species · insects

Western Honey Bee

Apis mellifera

Common

Asian Lady Beetle

Harmonia axyridis

Common

Monarch

Danaus plexippus

Common

Seven-spotted Lady Beetle

Coccinella septempunctata

Common

Common Eastern Bumble Bee

Bombus impatiens

Common

Red Admiral

Vanessa atalanta

Common

Small White

Pieris rapae

Common

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Papilio glaucus

Common

Black Swallowtail

Papilio polyxenes

Common

European Peacock Butterfly

Aglais io

Common

Common Whitetail

Plathemis lydia

Common

Brown-belted Bumble Bee

Bombus griseocollis

Common

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

Halyomorpha halys

Common

Common Buckeye

Junonia coenia

Common

Common Carder Bumble Bee

Bombus pascuorum

Common

European Mantis

Mantis religiosa

Common

European Firebug

Pyrrhocoris apterus

Common

Buff-tailed Bumble Bee

Bombus terrestris

Common

Pipevine Swallowtail

Battus philenor

Common

Small Tortoiseshell

Aglais urticae

Common

Large Milkweed Bug

Oncopeltus fasciatus

Common

Widow Skimmer

Libellula luctuosa

Common

Western Conifer Seed Bug

Leptoglossus occidentalis

Common

Japanese Beetle

Popillia japonica

Common

Two-spotted Bumble Bee

Bombus bimaculatus

Common

European Hornet

Vespa crabro

Common

Green Shield Bug

Palomena prasina

Common

Convergent Lady Beetle

Hippodamia convergens

Common

Northern Paper Wasp

Polistes fuscatus

Common

Queen

Danaus gilippus

Common

North American Luna Moth

Actias luna

Common

Chinese Mantis

Tenodera sinensis

Common

Great Green Bush-cricket

Tettigonia viridissima

Common

Old World Swallowtail

Papilio machaon

Common

American Bumble Bee

Bombus pensylvanicus

Common

Common Brimstone

Gonepteryx rhamni

Common

Bald-faced Hornet

Dolichovespula maculata

Common

Spicebush Swallowtail

Papilio troilus

Common

Carolina Mantis

Stagmomantis carolina

Common

Eastern Black Carpenter Ant

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

Common

Southern Green Stink Bug

Nezara viridula

Common

European Stag Beetle

Lucanus cervus

Common

Eastern Boxelder Bug

Boisea trivittata

Common

Differential Grasshopper

Melanoplus differentialis

Common

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee

Bombus vosnesenskii

Common

Hackberry Emperor

Asterocampa celtis

Common

Fourteen-spotted Lady Beetle

Propylea quatuordecimpunctata

Common

German Yellowjacket

Vespula germanica

Common

Sloe Bug

Dolycoris baccarum

Common

Eurasian Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Macroglossum stellatarum

Common

Bathroom Moth Fly

Clogmia albipunctata

Common

Forest Bug

Pentatoma rufipes

Common

Four-spotted Skimmer

Libellula quadrimaculata

Common

White-marked Tussock Moth

Orgyia leucostigma

Common

Slaty Skimmer

Libellula incesta

Common

American Snout

Libytheana carinenta

Common

Eastern Yellowjacket

Vespula maculifrons

Common

Small Milkweed Bug

Lygaeus kalmii

Common

Black Soldier Fly

Hermetia illucens

Common

Common House Fly

Musca domestica

Common

Beautiful Demoiselle

Calopteryx virgo

Common

Scarce Swallowtail

Iphiclides podalirius

Common

Tricolored Bumble Bee

Bombus ternarius

Common

Western Tiger Swallowtail

Papilio rutulus

Common

Egyptian Bird Grasshopper

Anacridium aegyptium

Common

Variegated Lady Beetle

Hippodamia variegata

Common

Asian Weaver Ant

Oecophylla smaragdina

Common

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Libellula pulchella

Common

Yellow-legged Hornet

Vespa velutina

Common

Common European Yellowjacket

Vespula vulgaris

Common

European Earwig

Forficula auricularia

Common

European Rhinoceros Beetle

Oryctes nasicornis

Common

Blue Emperor

Anax imperator

Common

Argentine Ant

Linepithema humile

Common

Asian Tiger Mosquito

Aedes albopictus

Common

Perplexing Bumble Bee

Bombus perplexus

Common

Orange Ladybird

Halyzia sedecimguttata

Common

Giant Honey Bee

Apis dorsata

Common

Apollo

Parnassius apollo

Common

Capricorn beetle

Cerambyx scopolii

Common

Southern Skimmer

Orthetrum brunneum

Common

Purple Emperor

Apatura iris

Common

giant red-winged grasshopper

Tropidacris cristata

Common

Oriental Hornet

Vespa orientalis

Common

French stick insect

Clonopsis gallica

Common

Big Rose-chafer

Protaetia speciosissima

Common

Lesser Black Glow-worm

Phosphaenus hemipterus

Common

Red Glider

Tramea transmarina

Common

Royal Blue Pansy

Junonia rhadama

Common

Gray's Leaf Insect

Pulchriphyllium bioculatum

Common

Green-striped Grasshopper

Chortophaga viridifasciata

Uncommon

Red-shouldered Bug

Jadera haematoloma

Uncommon

European Rose Chafer

Cetonia aurata

Rare

Red-tailed Bumble Bee

Bombus lapidarius

Rare

Two-striped Grasshopper

Melanoplus bivittatus

Rare

Carolina Grasshopper

Dissosteira carolina

Rare

Red Imported Fire Ant

Solenopsis invicta

Rare

Meadow Grasshopper

Pseudochorthippus parallelus

Rare

Imperial Moth

Eacles imperialis

Rare

Two-spotted Lady Beetle

Adalia bipunctata

Rare

Early Bumble Bee

Bombus pratorum

Rare

22-spot Ladybird

Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata

Rare

Spotted Pink Lady Beetle

Coleomegilla maculata

Rare

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail

Papilio canadensis

Rare

Tree Bumble Bee

Bombus hypnorum

Rare

Grapevine Beetle

Pelidnota punctata

Rare

Anise Swallowtail

Papilio zelicaon

Rare

Broad-bodied Chaser

Libellula depressa

Rare

Asian Honey Bee

Apis cerana

Rare

Zebra Swallowtail

Eurytides marcellus

Rare

Red-belted Bumble Bee

Bombus rufocinctus

Rare

Mottled Stink Bug

Rhaphigaster nebulosa

Rare

Two-tailed Swallowtail

Papilio multicaudata

Rare

Violet Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa violacea

Rare

Death's Head Hawkmoth

Acherontia atropos

Rare

Atlas Moth

Attacus atlas

Rare

Asian Giant Hornet

Vespa mandarinia

Rare

Predatory Bush-cricket

Saga pedo

Rare

Cerulean Chafer Beetle

Hoplia coerulea

Rare

Spanish Moon Moth

Graellsia isabellae

Rare

Empress Cicada

Megapomponia imperatoria

Rare

Giraffe Weevil

Trachelophorus giraffa

Very rare

Menelaus Morpho

Morpho menelaus

Legendary

Queen Alexandra's Birdwing

Ornithoptera alexandrae

Legendary
Frequently asked

What people often ask

Approach slowly and shoot from further away than you would like: a whole insect, slightly small in frame, identifies better than a blurred close-up. On a settled insect, early morning is the best window — many are sluggish before the sun warms them.

The SafaRoll app — iOS

Identify insects from one photo.

SafaRoll names the species in a second and turns it into a collectible card. Free, unlimited identification, no ads.

Download on theApp Store

Free · iPhone · Unlimited identification