Top 10 Most Beautiful Insects in the World

There are many beautiful insects out there that deserve our attention. From the peacock butterfly to the beautiful praying mantis, these creatures have their own features to make them gorgeous. Here is the list of best-looking insects that will blow your mind away.

1. Lantern bug

Lantern bugs are among the most beautiful insects in the world. These species inhabit tropical regions in Asia like Thailand, Laos, Viet Nam, Hong Kong, etc. Each species in total 70 species has its own beauty with gorgeous colors and patterns.

They can have green wings with yellowish spots, dark wings with white patches, black wings with orangeish dots, white wings with brown spots, or white wings with blue bands. What makes them more stunning is that the front wings and the back wings have different colors. You can see these gorgeous lantern bugs here.

Pyrops clavata – pretty cool insects

One of the most highlighted features of the insects is their curved long rhino horn-like rostrum (snout). This snout can be yellowish, red, green, white, blue, or black, with white spots on it. Despite the name, its rostrum cannot glow at night.

Because of this beauty, lantern bug is often searched by collectors.

2. Orchid mantis

Orchid mantises are both beautiful insects and excellent camouflage masters. With the white and almost-transparent colors, these mantises look just like orchid flowers when they are in positions.

Having petal-like legs, the orchid mantis can easily blend into its environment. This feature is also the reason why they are called the orchid mantis. In addition, they can switch their colors to match the flowers of their surroundings.

The orchid mantis is one of the prettiest insects

The beautiful mantises are beautiful but deadly insects. Due to the perfect camouflage, the beautiful orchid mantis can easily attract other insects to come to them. And then, all they need to do is to reach out, catch the prey, and eat them.

You can read our “Orchid mantis facts” to know their amazing hunting skills.

3. Rainbow grasshopper

Speaking of the most beautiful insects, we can’t miss the rainbow grasshopper. This species is also called barber pole grasshopper or painted grasshopper.

As its name, this grasshopper comes with multiple colors on its body. Its body is predominantly black with occasional markings of red, emerald, and yellow. Like other colorful insects, its colors send alarming signs to attackers that it is dangerous and undesirable food.

The rainbow grasshopper measures no more than 2 inches. These small creatures don’t have wings. They live in the grassland and desert meadows of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

To know more about this insect, you can read more information about rainbow grasshoppers on our website.

4. Peacock butterfly

The butterfly is one of the world’s most beautiful butterflies, and the peacock butterfly is no exception. It has rusty red wings with bright stripes and markings all over it. The most outstanding pattern on its wings is the eyespots with different colors (yellow, red, blue, white, and purple).

Peacock butterfly is most beautiful butterfly on earth

Its wings act as a protection system to deter potential predators. When threatened, the butterfly will extend its wings, showing the eyespots which look like the eyes of big animals. Besides this way, the beautiful red butterfly also has other 2 ways to protect itself. To know the defense mechanism of peacock butterflies, you can read our article.

These beautiful colored butterflies are found in temperate parts of Asia and Europe. It has a wingspan of up to 2.5 inches, and females are frequently slightly larger than males. These wonderful butterflies can eat a diverse diet.

5. Picasso bug

The look Picasso bug is one of the most beautiful bugs. It’s so artistic that it’s compared to an artwork of the famous Picasso. It has beige colored background with colorful patterns in greenish, red, back, and orange.

The most beautiful bug in the world

When looking at them, you’ll understand why they are called so. These striking, colorful markings are to warn off predators to not get close to them. The insects are found in both tropical and subtropical Africa. They eat plants.

To know more about this beautiful interesting insects Picasso bugs, you can follow our guidelines.

6. Spiny flower mantis

Another praying mantis spots on the list of beautiful insects – the spiny flower mantis. The

species has a white body with stripes. The colors of the stripes can be yellow, green, red, or pink. Although the full grown spiny flower mantis is pretty, its young resemble black ants.

Spiny flower mantis is one of the most beautiful insects on earth

On its wings, there’re yellow black spirals that resemble the eyes of huge creatures. When attacked, the spiny flower mantis spreads its wings and displays the “eyes” to drive away predators.

This stunning species is cannibalistic and eats mostly insects plucked from the air by its spinning patterns.

7. Green milkweed locust

The green milkweed locust is a member of the Pyrgomorphidae family. It has an average size of around 7 centimeters (2.8 in) long. These species can travel long migratory trips.

This insect has a green body. Its front wings are wings, while the back wings are brilliant red and blue. This gives it a distinctive and beautiful appearance when flying. The dorsal portion directly behind the skull is covered in red-tipped spines or carbuncles.

The species are among beautiful insects with wings

When threatened, the green milkweed locust flashes and rustles multicolored wings to scare predators. The insect can even release a toxic liquid obtained from milkweed plants from its thorax joint.

Its diet contains exceedingly toxic plants, such as Acokanthera oppositifolia or Secamone alpinii. To eat, they gather together on trees and bushes, organized in such a way as to imitate leaves.

8. Cuckoo wasp

Cuckoo wasps (aka emerald wasps) are one of the most beautiful insects you can find in Australia. They have entirely vivid glossy emerald, blue, or purple bodies. Their dazzling look is generated by sophisticated light refraction and a dimpled exoskeleton.

Pretty insects that fly

In the north, some cuckoo wasps exhibit golden or scarlet colors. They are called ‘gold wasps’ or ‘ruby wasps.’ These small beautiful wasps parasitize on other wasps.

9. Rainbow scarab

The rainbow scarab is a type of dung beetle found in North America. Due to its shiny, dazzling, multicolored body, the insect earns its name. The beetle has a black body, a copper-colored pronotum, a green elytra, and a yellow head’s upper part. With this look, it deserves to be one of the most beautiful beetles in the world.

These beetles are one of beautiful exotic insects

The two most impressive features of these beautiful beetles are its large horn on the face and its disk affixed to the head. As a dung beetle, the rainbow scarab mainly eats dung.

These insects are beautiful and harmless, that’s why they are often kept as exotic pets.

10. Beautiful demoiselle

The next beautiful insect on the list is the beautiful demoiselle. This beautiful flying insect is a member of big damselfly in Europe. It has a body size of up to 5 centimeters in length and a wingspan of around 6.5 centimeters. It has a shimmering dark green body. However, this color can turns blue or blue-green when the light changes.

Beautiful demoiselles are beautiful insects

Depending on the gender, the color of its gleaming wings will be different. The beautiful damselfly females have shiny brown-green wings, whereas the males’ wings are metallic deep blue-green.

11. Palawan birdwing butterfly

Last but not least – the Palawan birdwing butterfly. Unlike the bright peacock butterfly in 4th position, the Palawan butterfly has a darker color. And you can differentiate males and females through their appearance.

The males are smaller with a black coloration. They have tooth-shaped patterns which are electric green on the wings. Their thorax is coated with red hair. On the other hand, the females are bigger and they have a brown color with white patterns.

One of the prettiest butterfly in the world

These beautiful flying insects only live in the Philippines. Unfortunately, collectors keep searching for this beauty, making it endangered.

Conclusion

Those species above are the top beautiful insects in the world. Whether they are pretty butterflies or intricate moths or beautiful bugs, these species are a sight to behold. So next time you’re out in nature, take a moment to appreciate these amazing creatures. Maybe you’ll be inspired to start taking pictures and learning more about them!

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Animal Facts 276

We are passionate animal enthusiasts with over a decade of experience studying animals. With a degree in zoology and conservation biology, we've contributed to various research and conservation projects. We're excited to bring you engaging content that highlights the wonders of the animal kingdom. We aim to inspire others to appreciate and protect wildlife through informative content grounded in expertise and passion. Join us as we delve into the captivating world of animals and discover the incredible stories they have to tell.

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