Long-nosed Stink Bug
The outline of the bug is shaped as a pentagon. Wings folded down over back. Usually on mint family plants with developing seeds.
Sunflower Stink Bug
This stink bug was found on flower spikes of verbena in Nairobi.
Agonoscelis Stink Bug
A pair of brick-red markings on the wings distinguish this pentatomid found on Cyathula.
Gray Stink Bug
These bugs are well camouflaged when crawling on gray bark. They can also exude pungent chemical if attacked.
Handsome Stink Bug
Okay, I made up the name. There's a gold band across the front of the pronotum. On shubs.
Blue-Legged Stinkbug
I suspect that the blue color blends with the leafy green hiding the legs from visual predators..
Picasso Bug
Conspicuously colored bug feeding on seed heads. Wings concealed under a shield.
Shield Bug
Small, nearly round bug. 3 mm. Widely spaced eyes. Found on Balanites.
Plant Bug
Small (< 5mm), agile bugs with slender legs, sometimes able to jump. Many species in variety of colors.
Plant Bug
Small bug with charcoal body and rusty-orange legs. Feeds on growing plant tissue.
Cotton Stainer
Conspicuously marked bug that has become a pest on many crops. Two black bands on dorsum.
Broad-headed Bug
Leaf-footed bugs are more conspicuous and therefore over-represented in this guide.
Broad-headed Bug
Posterior leg femurs are held perpendicular to body. Head is missle-shaped.
Leaf-footed Bug
Most leaf-footed bugs have a leaf-like process on the third legs - this one is an exception. Many kinds that feed on plants.
Leaf-footed Bug
Possibly the same species, but a darker morph. This specimen was feeding on developing seed of Amaranthus in a Kitale garden.
Leaf-footed Bug
Robust, very dark bug found on herbaceous weeds. Femora of hind legs conspicuous.
Leaf-footed Bug
Brown 15 mm plant bug with slightly enlarged third pair of legs. Surface texture granular in appearance. Sucks sap from new growth and fruit.
Leaf-footed Bug
This one looks very similar to the one at left. Same genus? Acanthocoris? Notice orange-tipped antennae.
Plectropoda
The red and black markings give this bug an intimidating look.
Coreid on Guava
Bug about 5mm with thickened first antenna segments. Marked with brown and white.
Seed Bug
Many seed bugs are marked red-and-black, but not all. Even hard seed coats can be penetrated. These are ˜4mm.
Dirt-Colored Seed Bug
This bug lives on the ground feeding on germinating seeds and dead insects.
Assassin Bug
Predaceous bugs that can deliver painful bite. Black with orange markings. Narrow "neck" behind head (pronotum).
Assassin Bug #2
Predaceous bugs that might deliver painful bite. Black with burnt-orange marks. Narrow "neck" behind head (pronotum).
Assassin Bug #3
Flowers attract pollinators where danger often lurks. The sharp beak (folded under the head) penetrates and kills.
Water Strider
Predaceous bugs that skate on the water surface tension in ponds and slow streams. Long legs like a spider's.
Water Scorpion
A long, slender tail-like structure suggests a scorpion, but it doesn't sting. This large, fresh water aquatic bug is predatory.
Olive Lace Bug
Plerochila sp.
Small insects that usually live in groups on undersides of leaves. Some have lacy fringe on thorax. Host of this one is African Olive, Olea.
Thorny Tree Hopper
This hopper is black with small amount of white. Two sharp lateral projections from the pronotum.
Tree Hopper
What looks like a thorn on a plant turns out to be a hopping bug! Many species in wide array of colors and shapes.
Citrus Leafhopper
Green and brown hoppers feeding on new shoots of an orange tree.
Grape Leafhopper
Bullet-shaped bug capable of quick jumps. Small, less than 4mm. Tan, mottled with brown.
Twin-Dash Leafhopper
Coppery brown with two yellowish dashes on each wing. Powerful jumping legs. Can fly also.
Electric Leafhopper
Most leafhoppers do not have common names. The blue markings inspired this suggestion.
Kakamega Sharpshooter
Small leafhoppers when viewed through magnification are often brightly colored.
Pavonia Sharpshooter
This sharply marked leafhopper was found on fresh foliage of Pavonia (Malvaceae) near Mt. Kenya.
Green Cicada
Males are the noisemakers normally concealed high in tree canopies.
Spittle Bug
Or perhaps this is a Fulgorid? Adults can jump and fly. Many kinds on a variety of plants. Many smaller than this one at 7 mm.
Cercopid Bug
Another name for a kind of spittlebug. This is a colorful adult and possibly contains noxious chemicals. In a Kitale garden.
Ambatch Spittle Bug
Adult bugs brightly marked with orange and white on black. They can jump quickly and to quite a distance for escape.
Spittle Bug
Orange, white and yellow marks on mostly black insect. Adult form can jump and fly also.
Spittle Nymph
Immature form of bug to left. Froth of bubbles excreted by the bugs while sucking sap.
Orange Spot Bug
Glossy black with two orange spots. Locomotes by jumping and/or taking flight. Spittle bug in weeds near cultivation.
Cixiid Plant Hopper
These sap-sucking plant hoppers were found on the yellow-green trunks of fever tree (Acacia xanthophloea).
Plant Hopper
Bright white velvety wings folded into tent. Hops when disturbed.
Scale on Mango
Very dark immobile bugs with white projections around the perimeter. Clustered on twig.
Mealy Bug
Small, pinkish mealy bugs on the underside of a Cordia leaf with ants guarding.
Giant Mealy Bug
Slow moving, brilliant white bug with no visible head or legs dorsally. Threads are made of waxy matterial.
Felt Scale
Clumsy, barely mobile bugs with a cottony border found on growing points of plants and usually with ant guards.
Cochineal Scale
Bright white masses of stringy wax on pads of cactus plants. Bright red dye emerges from crushed bugs inside.
Scale Insect
Hard, smooth lumps on twigs with golden brown cover. Sap sucking insect inside.
Armored Scale
Soft-bodied bug beneath a hardened shell. Black, sooty mold nearby growing on old honeydew.
Leaf Scale
Small, pyramid-shaped, sessile insects with a shell-like cover. These were on a Ficus leaf.
Whitefly
Bright white wings on very small insects often alighted on undersides of leaves. Many species.
Cowpea Aphid
Aphis craccivora
Almost black aphids on buds and shoots of cultivated beans and related plants. Forms colonies of multiple-aged bugs.
Cabbage Aphid
Slow moving blue-green insects that form colonies on coles such as cabbage and mustard greens.
Aphids on Guava
Very small black aphids on undersides of Guava leaves protected my Myrmicaria ants.
Horseweed Aphid
Dark green aphids on stems of horseweed (Asteraceae) with ants in close association.