Arthropods

A fly is a very common insect that can fly, as the name suggests. Flies lay their eggs in rotting food or dead animals in the wild, and in your house they lay their eggs in any of your food that they find. The eggs hatch into maggots.

Gnats are any of a large variety of small, thin, flying insects that are often seen in large swarms. Their larval stage typically lives in water so they are common in swampy areas, or anywhere there is standing water.

A grub is the immature form of many insects, particularly beetles. Grubs usually live in the ground or in fallen leaves, eating rotting vegetation. The grubs you commonly see in your backyard will grow up to be either beetles or moths. Grubs all look quite similar to each other but can look dramatically different to the adult insect they will turn into.

Hermit crabs are not actually true crabs, but are distantly related crustaceans. Hermit crabs don't have a shell of their own, so they need to find the discarded shell from another creature to wear. As they grow, they have to find another shell to replace their old one.
Hermit crabs are found all over the world, and many people keep them as pets.

Horseshoe crabs are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to crabs. They have six pairs of legs, a hard shell that looks like a horse's hoof, and a long tail. Their first pair of legs are very small and are used for putting food into their mouths.
Horseshoe crabs are called a living fossil because there are fossils of almost identical creatures found that are 230 million years old.
The two horseshoe crabs in the picture are upside down.

Lacewings are small, soft-bodied insects with delicate, net-like wings that look almost lacey. Lacewings can eat tiny pests like aphids, helping keep plants healthy.

A lerp is a protective cover made by the larvae of some kinds of insects. Lerps are made from sugary liquid that the larvae make. Once it is dry, it is hard and crystalline.

Locusts are a kind of grasshopper that form into huge swarms. When they are swarming in such large numbers they can strip crops and gardens completely.

Maggot is the common name for the larvae of flies. Flies typically lay their eggs or put live maggots onto rotting food that they find. Maggots are very commonly seen in carrion. The maggots eat the food, grow bigger and then pupate and turn into flies.

Mites are small, generally parasitic arachnids very closely related to ticks. Some mites are so small you need a microscope. Some mites infest animals, including insects, others infest plants. The mite in the picture is on a bee's head.