List of Alabama Insects

Bordered by the state of Tennessee to its North and by the Gulf of Mexico to the South, Alabama is the thirtieth largest state found in America. This region of the South experiences a Summer average temperature of 90 degrees and is home to thousands of species of insects. Various types of Alabama insects include dragonflies, mayflies, earwigs, termites and the brown-hooded cockroach.

Generally found all over the North American region as well as in the state of Alabama, the earwig is an insect that contains a pair of pinchers on the rear section of its body, used for defending itself against attackers. One-third of an earwig's upper body portion contains a hardened surface. Preying mostly on other insects during the night time when the earwig starts hunting for food, earwigs can be found living underneath logs and plant leaves. If touched by a human looking to remove the earwig from a person's home, this insect will pinch the human's hand if given the chance, but is not poisonous.

An insect native to the state of Alabama, the brown-hooded cockroach attained its name by virtue of its hardened brown shell contained on the exterior of the cockroach's body. Consuming wood as one of its primary food groups, the brown-hooded cockroach can be found living underneath cabins and wood sheds located in the state of Alabama. Assisting with the decomposition of old tree trunks and other forms of cast aside wood materials that are just taking up space, the brown-hooded cockroach helps keep Alabama's eco-system intact.

Feeding on a wide variety of plants found in Alabama, including the green sledge plant and the dog funnel plant, tobacco thrips are parasitic insects that will actually damage growing leaves of plants if the insect is not killed. These insects found in Alabama can ruin large tobacco crops grown in the state on an annual basis when the tobacco farmer does not spray the correct amount of pesticide on the crops. Tobacco thrips are also known to spread the tomato spotted wilt virus to other crop areas, including cotton crops.

One of the most dangerous types of insects found in Alabama that can destroy large cotton crops and other types of food crops is the boll weevil. In the early part of the twentieth century, boll weevils destroyed thousands of cotton crops by burrowing into the crops and eating through them until there was nothing left. With an average length of no more than six millimeters, the boll weevil can lay over 200 eggs within a 12 day period and tend to resemble a small beetle. These insects feature a lifespan of just under three months and are found in Alabama primarily during the Summer months.