REFERENCE COLLECTION / IMAGE PROVENANCE

See the
difference.

16 curated reference images. Every photograph retains its source and reuse license. These are third-party reference specimens, not evidence collected from your home.

Use the caption as part of the comparison

A larva and adult of the same species can look very different. Images are not displayed at life size. We do not use generated images as identification evidence.

How we check image provenance and identification claims →

A pile of drywood termite fecal pellets on wood below a small opening — Photo: Sanjay Acharya / Wikimedia Commons. Resized for web. Original file · CC BY-SA 3.0

Termite droppings: what to look for →

Brown termite mud tubes climbing a concrete foundation block — Photo: Jim Conrad / Wikimedia Commons. Original file · Public domain

Termite mud tubes: how to recognize them →

Small dark Oriental cockroach droppings scattered across a pale wooden surface — Photo: Bestiasonica / Wikimedia Commons. Resized for web. Depicts Oriental cockroach frass; other species may leave different marks. Original file · CC BY-SA 3.0

Roach poop and cockroach droppings →

Scattered dark droppings along the edge of a floor, photographed by the New York State IPM Program — **Mus musculus · droppings reference.** Photo: Matt Frye / NY State IPM Program at Cornell University, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized by Wikimedia to 1280 pixels; no further changes. The source identifies house mouse droppings. No measurement scale is shown. Original file · CC BY 2.0

Mouse droppings: signs and safe next steps →

Bed bug beside pale eggs around a recessed screw hole in a wooden bed — **Cimex lectularius · bug and eggs.** Photo: Thomas Oldani / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0. Source version cropped and brightness-adjusted by Soerfm; used without further changes. Source-described bed bug with eggs in a wooden bed; no scale shown. Original file · CC BY 3.0

Bed bug eggs: appearance and hiding places →

Close-up of a banded, hairy varied carpet beetle larva beside millimeter marks — Photo: Arnoldius / Wikimedia Commons. Resized for web; this is a varied carpet beetle larva. Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0

Carpet beetle larvae: identification clues →

Detached dark brown American cockroach egg case showing its ridged edge on a plain surface — **Periplaneta americana · egg case.** Photo: Eran Finkle / Wikimedia Commons. American cockroach case; no scale shown. Original file · CC BY-SA 3.0

Cockroach egg cases: what they look like →

German cockroach nymphs inside a laboratory culture dish — **Blattella germanica · late nymphs.** Photo: JoeKunkel. Web-sized reference image. A laboratory culture, not a household infestation. This photograph shows one growth stage. Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0

Baby cockroaches: nymphs and lookalikes →

Adult German cockroach with two dark lengthwise markings behind the head — **Blattella germanica · adult.** Photo: Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series. Web-sized reference image. The shield behind the head shows the paired markings. No measurement scale is present. Original file · CC BY 3.0 us

German cockroach: markings and indoor clues →

Reddish-brown American cockroach with a pale border behind the head — **Periplaneta americana · adult.** Photo: Insects Unlocked. Web-sized reference image. The pale border and long wings are visible. The photograph is not life-size. Original file · CC0

American cockroach: size, color, and lookalikes →

Male Oriental cockroach with dark body and wings shorter than its abdomen — **Blatta orientalis · adult male.** Photo: Dimitǎr Boevski. Web-sized reference image. The exposed end of the abdomen is visible. Females have much shorter wing pads. Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0

Oriental cockroach: dark body and short wings →

Brownbanded cockroach nymph showing pale bands across its dark body — **Supella longipalpa · nymph.** Photo: CDC / Wikimedia Commons. Web-sized reference image. The bands run across the body. This is an immature insect, not the adult wing pattern. Original file · Public domain

Brownbanded cockroach: bands and hiding places →

Adult black carpet beetle with its hard wing covers partly open — **Attagenus unicolor · adult.** Photo: Ryan Hodnett. Web-sized reference image. Wing covers and dark body are visible. The larva looks different from this adult. Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0

Black carpet beetle: adults, larvae, and fabric clues →

Silverfish with long antennae, tapered body, and three tail filaments — **Lepisma saccharina.** Photo: Aiwok. Web-sized reference image. The three tail appendages are visible. Related household species can look similar. Original file · CC BY-SA 3.0

Silverfish in a house: body shape, eggs, and clues →

Pale Indianmeal moth larva with a brown head on a dark surface — **Plodia interpunctella · larva.** Photo: Fvukajlovic. Web-sized reference image. The head and segmented body are visible. Food or webbing context is not shown. Original file · CC BY 4.0

Pantry moth larvae, eggs, and food webbing →

Adult bed bug viewed from the side while feeding in a documented reference photograph — **Cimex lectularius · adult.** Photo: Piotr Naskrecki / CDC PHIL 9820. Web-sized reference image. A feeding individual viewed from the side. Body shape changes with feeding; do not handle insects to recreate this image. Original file · Public domain

Compare bedroom evidence →