Collective Nouns for Insects

When it comes to the world of insects, things can get buzzing literally! Just like animals, insects too have their own special group names, known as collective nouns. These words not only add color and creativity to the English language but also help us describe groups of insects in a vivid and often poetic way.

List of Collective Nouns for Insects

Collective Noun	Meaning	Example Sentence
A swarm of bees	A large group of flying bees.	A swarm of bees filled the garden with buzzing.
A hive of bees	Bees living together in a structure.	The beekeeper checked the hive of bees for honey.
A colony of ants	Ants living and working together.	A colony of ants carried food back to their nest.
An army of ants	A large, organized group of ants.	An army of ants marched across the kitchen floor.
A flight of butterflies	Butterflies flying together.	A flight of butterflies fluttered over the meadow.
A kaleidoscope of butterflies	A colorful group of butterflies.	We marveled at the kaleidoscope of butterflies in the garden.
A cloud of locusts	A destructive mass of locusts.	A cloud of locusts darkened the sky and devoured crops.
A plague of locusts	A devastating swarm of locusts.	Farmers feared the plague of locusts would ruin their harvest.
A scourge of mosquitoes	A large, annoying group of mosquitoes.	A scourge of mosquitoes made camping unbearable.
A business of flies	A group of flies (often around waste).	A business of flies buzzed around the trash can.
A cloud of flies	A dense group of flies.	The rotting fruit attracted a cloud of flies.
A hatch of flies	Flies emerging at once.	After the rain, a hatch of flies covered the pond.
A grist of flies	An old term for a group of flies.	The barn was full of a grist of flies.
A swarm of flies	A large, buzzing mass of flies.	A swarm of flies hovered over the compost heap.
A colony of termites	Termites living in a mound or wood structure.	A colony of termites had infested the old shed.
A swarm of termites	Winged termites emerging to mate.	After the storm, a swarm of termites took flight.
A nest of wasps	Wasps living in a built nest.	We avoided the nest of wasps under the eaves.
A swarm of wasps	Aggressive group of wasps.	A swarm of wasps attacked when their nest was disturbed.
A bike of wasps	A regional term for a wasp swarm.	A bike of wasps buzzed angrily near the picnic.
A colony of wasps	Social wasps living together.	A colony of wasps had built a paper nest in the attic.
A bike of hornets	A group of hornets (regional usage).	A bike of hornets made the old shed dangerous.
A nest of hornets	Hornets residing in a nest.	He accidentally knocked down a nest of hornets.
A swarm of hornets	Aggressive hornets in flight.	A swarm of hornets chased the hikers.
A cluster of grasshoppers	Grasshoppers gathered in one place.	A cluster of grasshoppers clung to the wheat stalks.
A cloud of grasshoppers	A large group of grasshoppers in flight.	The cloud of grasshoppers devoured the field in minutes.
A swarm of grasshoppers	A destructive group of grasshoppers.	A swarm of grasshoppers stripped the crops bare.
A rabble of insects	A disorganized group of insects.	A rabble of insects flitted around the porch light.
A horde of gnats	A dense, annoying group of gnats.	A horde of gnats swarmed around our heads.
A cloud of gnats	Tiny flying gnats in a mist-like group.	The marsh was thick with a cloud of gnats.
A rabble of gnats	A chaotic group of gnats.	A rabble of gnats made hiking unbearable.
A swarm of gnats	A persistent group of gnats.	We waved away a swarm of gnats during the picnic.
A colony of lice	Lice infesting a host.	The stray dog had a colony of lice in its fur.
A flock of lice	An archaic term for lice.	Medieval texts described a flock of lice as a common nuisance.
An infestation of lice	A severe outbreak of lice.	The school sent notices about an infestation of lice.
A crawl of cockroaches	Cockroaches moving together.	A crawl of cockroaches scattered when the light turned on.
An intrusion of cockroaches	Cockroaches invading a space.	The dirty kitchen faced an intrusion of cockroaches.
A cluster of spiders	Spiders gathered in one area.	A cluster of spiders occupied the abandoned shed.
A bike of ants	A regional term for a moving ant group.	A bike of ants streamed across the sidewalk.
A swarm of ants	Ants on the move (often winged).	After the rain, a swarm of ants took to the air.
A bike of bees	A regional term for a bee swarm.	The beekeeper captured a bike of bees in a new hive.
A cast of bees	A secondary swarm from a hive.	A cast of bees settled on a low branch.
A drift of bees	Bees moving as a group.	A drift of bees hovered near the clover patch.
A game of bees	An old term for bees gathering pollen.	The meadow was alive with a game of bees.
A grist of bees	Bees in flight (archaic).	The poet wrote of a grist of bees at dawn.
A rabble of bees	A noisy group of bees.	A rabble of bees defended their hive.
A stand of bees	Bees clustered together.	A stand of bees covered the honeycomb.
An erst of bees	An obscure term for a bee group.	The medieval manuscript mentioned an erst of bees.
A bike of wild bees	Feral bees in a swarm.	A bike of wild bees nested in the hollow tree.
A rabble of butterflies	Butterflies fluttering chaotically.	A rabble of butterflies danced over the wildflowers.
A swarm of butterflies	A large group of butterflies migrating.	Monarch fans gathered to see the swarm of butterflies.
An army of caterpillars	Caterpillars moving in mass.	An army of caterpillars stripped the bushes bare.
A plague of insects	A overwhelming infestation.	The stagnant pond bred a plague of insects.
A horde of insects	A vast, oppressive group.	The jungle at night teemed with a horde of insects.

List of Collective Nouns for Insects

Insect Type	Collective Noun
Bees	Swarm, Grumble, Drift, Grist, Cluster
Ants	Colony, Army
Butterflies	Flutter, Rabble
Locusts	Plague, Flight, Horde
Flies	Swarm, Nuisance
Mosquitoes	Swarm, Scourge
Termites	Colony
Wasps	Nest
Hornets	Nest
Gnats	Cloud, Swarm
Midges	Cloud
Cockroaches	Intrusion
Spiders (Insect-like)	Cluster
Beetles	Bunch
Dragonflies	Flight
Caterpillars	Army

Insects might be small, but the language used to describe them is rich and buzzing with creativity! From a swarm of bees to a flutter of butterflies, each term helps bring scenes to life.

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