There are over 900 thousand different species of insects in the world. A number of these insects are indeed mentioned in the Bible. We have listed below the insects of the Bible, along with the amount of times each insect appears in God’s Word using the NIV version of the Scriptures.
Insects Of The Bible
Locusts (46 Mentions), Grasshoppers (9), And A Cricket (1)
The locust, a type grasshopper, is the most commonly found insect the in the Bible, being mentioned 46 times. Just in the one scripture below these insects are found six times. Along with flies, locusts were one of the Ten Plagues of Egypt (Exodus 10:4-5). From ancient Egypt until now, these bugs are famous for swarming by the billions and wreaking havoc on peoples crops and vegetation.
(Joel 1:4) What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten.
The term (grasshoppers, grasshopper) is found nine times, oftentimes being listed in the same verse as it’s kinfolk the locust.
Last but not least in this group, at least when it comes to it’s noise making ability, is the cricket. This little bug that has a big chirp is mentioned in the Bible only once in (Leviticus 11:22).
Flies (13 Times) Gnats (7) Maggots (4)
One word comes to mind when thinking about flies, annoying. Most everyone would agree there’s nothing like getting a fly in your soup. These insects are just as annoying now as they were in the Bible. Flies are most remembered in the Bible for the role they played as (Plague number four) in the 10 plagues of Egypt. (Exodus 8:24) says dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.
Gnats definitely meet the criteria required to be considered annoying as well. These little flying insects were plague number three in the Ten Plagues of Egypt. The Bible says all the dust in Egypt turned into gnats. They infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals (Exodus 8:17).
Maggots are the larva stage of a fly. These future flies are found in four verses of the Bible.
Moths (10)
Who doesn’t love the wonderful smell of mothballs? They probably didn’t have mothballs back in Job’s day, but they did have the same problem as some of us do today with moths eating holes in their clothes.
(Job 13:28) So man wastes away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.
Bees (4)
While bees are mentioned four times in the Bible, it is the honey that the bees make that gets all the attention in the Scriptures. On numerous occasions in the Bible you will read about a land flowing with milk and honey.
(Exodus 33:3) Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.
Hornet (3)
Bible commentators are divided as to whether the hornet in the three verses it appears is to be taken literally or figuratively. Some believe the hornet in these Scriptures represents terror or fear. As you can see below, some versions of the Bible actually use the word terror instead of hornet.
(Joshua 24:12) I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.
(Joshua 24:12) And I sent terror ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory. NLT
Ants (2)
Ants are used in Proverbs as creatures for lazy people to learn a lesson from. If it seems like ants are always working, that’s because they are. Studies show that over 80 percent of working ants are always active. The ant gets its sleep by taking on average 250 naps a day. These naps last for about 1 minute each. That is some serious power napping.
(Proverbs 6:6) Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! NLT
(Proverbs 30:25) Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer
Flea (2)
The tiny flea appears twice in the NIV version, as well as a third time in the New Living Translation of the Bible (Jeremiah 43:12) NLT.
The Caterpillar
While the caterpillar is not mentioned in the NIV, the soon to be butterfly or moth does make a handful of appearances in other versions of the Bible.
(Psalm 78:46) He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust. NKJV
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