# What's that bug?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bug/563708
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 10, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bug/563708 "2010-12-10T21:53:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bug/563708/1 "2010-12-10T21:53:06Z")
Is there a website that people can use to try and identify insects they find in their homes? Surely, if we can [identify typefaces online](http://www.identifont.com/), it should be possible to look up bugs.
Reason I ask is that yesterday, I was called to deal with a bug that was almost a half inch in diameter. It was flat and thin, grayish and its sides were serrated. I don’t think it was able to fly, but am not 100% sure of that.
It didn’t look like any sort of termite or roach, and since it was not reddish or under 1/4" long, I’m pretty sure it’s not a bedbug.
Any ideas?
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### Author:  [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bug/563708/2 "2010-12-10T22:05:40Z")
Interestingly, there’s [http://www.whatsthatbug.com/](http://www.whatsthatbug.com/).
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### Author:  [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bug/563708/3 "2010-12-10T22:14:20Z")
> **[Welcome to BugGuide.Net!](https://bugguide.net/node/view/15740)**
>
> An online resource devoted to North American insects, spiders and their kin, offering identification, images, and information.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bug/563708/4 "2010-12-10T22:17:30Z")
It sounds like you found a [true bug](http://www.cirrusimage.com/bugs.htm) (order Hemiptera), which doesn’t narrow it down much but should provide a starting point.
As for your other question, there are a few websites out there that can do what you want to some degree, including Wikipedia and the site **TheChileanBlob** linked to.
The problem with this is that the insects are a large and prolific class: Even after you’ve narrowed it down to a fairly specific sub-grouping, you might still be looking at a substantial number of species. You might try approaching it from another direction, and see if a nearby university has a website with information relevant to your specific region.
(BTW, was it a [stink bug](http://www.cirrusimage.com/bug_stink_Menecles_insertus.htm)?)
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### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-bug/563708/5 "2010-12-10T23:10:34Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#):
>
> Is there a website that people can use to try and identify insects they find in their homes? Surely, if we can [identify typefaces online](http://www.identifont.com/), it should be possible to look up bugs.
>
> Reason I ask is that yesterday, I was called to deal with a bug that was almost a **half inch in diameter. It was flat and thin, grayish and its sides were serrated.** I don’t think it was able to fly, but am not 100% sure of that.
>
> It didn’t look like any sort of termite or roach, and since it was not reddish or under 1/4" long, I’m pretty sure it’s not a bedbug.
>
> Any ideas?
Where do you live? Because I’m either nuking that place or avoiding it at all costs! :eek::eek::eek: