What’s the difference between a bug and a beetle?

Often I find myself referring to any insect as a bug unless I know specifically what it is, such as a dragonfly, butterfly or praying mantis. However, upon trying to identify an insect I found out that bugs are insects but not all insects are bugs. 

Insect and bug are often used interchangeably but from an entomological standpoint they are different. Insect refers to an arthropod with six jointed legs, an exoskeleton, generally two pairs of wings, and a body consisting of a head, thorax and abdomen. 

All insects have six legs like this green shield bug

Insects are divided into 25 orders and one order, Hemiptera, classifies bugs. The largest order, Coleoptera, classifies beetles. 

Some common bugs include aphids, cicadas, water striders, stinkbugs and spittlebugs. Common beetles include fireflies, ladybird beetles and cucumber beetles.

What is the difference between a bug and a beetle? 

Pronghorn fastest land mammal in North America

Capable of bursts of speed greater than 60 miles per hour and sustained speeds of 45 mph, the pronghorn gracefully speeds across the American Plains and grasslands across the West. 

If a pronghorn and a cheetah raced, the cheetah would win the sprint and the pronghorn would win the marathon. 

Pronghorns stand two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half feet tall at the shoulders and range from 75 to 140 pounds

The never-ending aspen

One of my favorite sounds is the rustling of aspen leaves in the wind. While most leaves are attached to branches with round stems, quaking aspen have a flat stem that causes the leaf to tremble in the slightest breeze.

Aspen leaves are nearly circular with pointed tips

An added bonus is that aspen trees aren’t usually found by themselves but in groves. So when the leaves tremble, there is a pleasant sound all-around. 

Garter snakes most common snake in Idaho

Unlike southern Idaho, North Idaho is thankfully devoid of poisonous snakes. The snakes that do live in the forested region of the north are harmless to humans and the ones you’ll most likely encounter are garter snakes. 

Two types of garter snakes live in Boundary County--the common garter snake and the western terrestrial garter snake. Both have three cream to yellow stripes running down their length, with one dorsal (back) stripe and one on each side. The stripes on the western terrestrial garter snake can appear wavy because dark, pencil eraser-sized spots scattered over its back overlap the edges of the stripes.

Common garter snake

Another way to tell the two snakes apart is the color between the stripes--the common garter snake is very dark to black while the western terrestrial garter snake is olive to greenish gray. Additionally, most common garter snakes have red spots on the sides of their bodies.