This is a list of songs inspired by insects.
Insects in music are known from everything from classical music and opera to ragtime and pop.
Rimsky-Korsakov imitates the quick buzzing vibrato of the bumblebee in his famous "The Flight of the Bumblebee". Popular songs with an insect theme include "glow-worm", "Poor Butterfly", "La Cucaracha", "The Boll Weevil", and "The Blue-Tailed Fly". Operas like Puccini's Madam Butterfly and Rousel's Le Festin de L’Araignée similarly reference arthropods.[1]
Pop groups named after insects include Buddy Holly and the Crickets, The Beatles, Adam and the Ants and many others.[2] Songs named after or inspired by the sounds of insects are listed below.
| BUGZ! | Insects-general | Mina Bloom & Mark Generous | Mina Bloom & Doctor Generous | 2023 | Electronic music | A pro-bug song about how important they are to humans | ||
| Six-Limbed Drummer | Hemiptera | David de la Haye | Adam Stapleford | 2022 | Free Jazz /Improv | Drummer improvising with the sound of aquatic insects. On the album 'With Ears Underwater' (NEWJAiM) | ||
| The Boatmen of Garten | Hemiptera | David de la Haye | David de la HayeMhairi Hall | 2021 | Folk / Environmental Art | Features the Water Boatman, family Corixidae | ||
| Insect | Insects-general | Bladee | Bladee | 2017 | Cloud Rap | |||
| I'm a Bug | Insects-general | Urinals | 1978 | [3] | ||||
| Crickets Sing for Anamaria | Orthoptera | Marcos Valle | Marcos Valle | 1968 | Bossa nova | Vocal version of Marcos Valle's instrumental tune "Os Grilos" that appeared on his 1967 album Brazilliance! | ||
| Honey Bee (Let Me Be Your Honey Bee) | Hymenoptera | Ollie Shepard | Ollie Shepard And His Kentucky Boys | 1938 | Blues / Honky-tonk | Released on Decca Records | ||
| The Attack of the Giant Ants | Hymenoptera | Chris Stein | Blondie | 1976 | Punk / New Wave / Rock | |||
| I Got Ants in My Pants | Hymenoptera | James Brown | James Brown | 1972 | Funk | |||
| Ants Marching | Hymenoptera | Dave Matthews | The Dave Matthews Band | 1994 | Pop / Rock | |||
| Spiral of Ants[4] | Hymenoptera | Neil Cicierega | Lemon Demon | 2016 | Electronic Rock | On the album Spirit Phone. Based on the phenomenon of ant mills. | ||
| Insects | Insects-general | Danny Elfman | Oingo Boingo | 1982 | Ska, New Wave, Synth Pop | |||
| Ladybug | Coleoptera | Bars Johnson | 2021 | Indie rock | ||||
| Bee in the Bottle | Hymenoptera | Sinead Lohan | Sinead Lohan | 1995 | Folk rock | |||
| Dance of the Honeybees | Hymenoptera | Charlie Lennon | De Dannan Frankie Gavin Sharon Shannon Altan | 1986 | Irish folk | Said to be based on the honeybee's waggle dance.[5] | ||
| Mosquito | Diptera | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | 2013 | Indie rock | |||
| The Mosquito | Diptera | John Densmore / Robby Krieger / Ray Manzarek | The Doors | 1972 | Rock | |||
| Flight of the Bumblebee | Hymenoptera | Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | many artists | 1899-1900 | Classical | |||
| One Note Samba/Spanish Flea | Siphonaptera | Antônio Carlos Jobim | Sergio Mendes-Brasil '66 | 1966 | Bossa nova | |||
| 100,000 Fireflies | Coleoptera | Stephin Merritt | The Magnetic Fields | 1993 | Electronica | |||
| Fireflies | Coleoptera | Adam Young | Owl City | 2009 | Electronica | |||
| Hotaru Koi (Come Fireflies)[6] | Coleoptera | (Traditional Japanese folk song) | (Traditional Japanese folk song) | Unknown | Folk | |||
| Lady Bug | Coleoptera | Randy Rogers / Wade Bowen | Randy Rogers | 2015 | Country | |||
| Mariposa traicionera | Lepidoptera | Fher Olvera | Mana | 2003 | Rock | |||
| Butterfly | Lepidoptera | John Frusciante B/ret Mazur, M / chael "Flea" Balzary / Seth "Shifty Shellshock" Binzer | Crazy Town | 2000 | Rap rock | |||
| Caterpillar | Lepidoptera | Peter Albin | Big Brother and the Holding Company | 1967 | Rock | This album was the studio debut for the band's lead singer, Janis Joplin. | ||
| The Caterpillar | Lepidoptera | The Cure | 1984 | Post-punk | ||||
| Grasshopper | Orthoptera | Soul Delavants | Soul | |||||
| Grasshopper | Orthoptera | John Phillips | The Mamas and the Papas | 1971 | Folk rock | |||
| The Grasshopper Unit (Keep Movin') | Orthoptera | Beastie Boys | 2000 | Rap rock | ||||
| Grasshoppers | Orthoptera | Ryuichi Sakamoto | Ryuichi Sakamoto | 1978 | Jazz fusion | |||
| Moth | Lepidoptera | Chad Gray / Kevin Churko / Tom Maxwell / Vinnie Paul | Hellyeah | 2014 | Heavy metal | |||
| Moth to a Flame | Lepidoptera | Roger Chapman | Roger Chapman | 1979 | Bluesrock | Second track of the album Chappo | ||
| Moth to the Flame | Lepidoptera | Luke Morley, Andy Taylor, Mikael Höglund | Thunder | 1995 | Rock | First track of the album Behind Closed Doors | ||
| Moth's Wings | Lepidoptera | Michael Angelako | Passion Pit | 2009 | Indietronica | |||
| That's the way love goes | Lepidoptera | Janet Jackson / Jam & Lewis | Janet Jackson | 1993 | R & B | |||
| Mayfly | Ephemeroptera | Stuart Murdoch | Belle and Sebastian | 1996 | Indie pop | |||
| Doin' the Cockroach | Blattodea | Modest Mouse | Modest Mouse | 1997 | Indie rock | |||
| Lady bug | Coleoptera | Bumblebee Umlimited | 1978 | Disco | ||||
| Butterfly | Lepidoptera | Jason Mraz | Jason Mraz | 2008 | Pop / Rock | |||
| Bugs | Insects-general | Eddie Vedder | Pearl Jam | 1994 | Rock | |||
| All My Friends Are Insects | Insects-general | Adam Deibert | Weezer | 2010[7] | Rock | |||
| Georgia Warhorse | Orthoptera | JJ Grey & Mofro | 2010 | Funk rock | Named after the Southern Lubber Grasshopper | |||
| The Blackfly Song | Diptera | Wade Hemsworth | many artists | 1949 | Folk | Inspired a short animated film, Blackfly. | ||
| Black Fly | Diptera | Billy Gibbons | ZZ Top | 2016 | Southern rock | Third song on the album Rhythmeen | ||
| Mosquito Moan | Diptera | Blind Lemon Jefferson | 1927 | Blues | ||||
| Termite | Blattodea | Young Thug | 2015 | Hip hop | ||||
| Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me | Diptera | Thomas Brigham Bishop | many artists | 1869 | Folk | The writer of the song is somewhat contentious (see Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me) | ||
| Killa Beez | Hymenoptera | Killa Beez | 2002 | Hip hop | ||||
| Wu Killa Beez: The Reemergence | Hymenoptera | Remedy | 1998 | Hip hop | ||||
| Dragonfly | Odonata | Ziggy Marley | Ziggy Marley | 2003 | Reggae | |||
| The King Beetle on the Coconut Estate | Coleoptera | mewithoutyou / Aaron Weiss | mewithoutyou | 2009 | Indie rock | |||
| Fireflies | Coleoptera | Harmony Samuels D/awn Richard, d/rew Scott | Zendaya | 2013 | Electronica | |||
| The Cricket Song | Orthoptera | Rich O'Toole | 2011 | Country | ||||
| Frass | Insects-general | Renaldo and the Loaf | 1981 | Experimental | The whole album, Songs for Swining Larvae, is inspired by insects.[8] | |||
| There Ain't No Bugs On Me | Insects-general | (Traditional folk song) | (Traditional folk song) | Unknown | Folk | There is a popular recording of this song by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman on the album, Not for Kids Only. | ||
| Dog and Butterfly | Lepidoptera | Ann Wilson N/ancy Wilson, / e Ennis | Heart | 1978 | Folk rock | |||
| Hive | Hymenoptera | Sexton / Nick Hexum / Martinez | 311 | 1995 | Rap rock | |||
| Red Mosquito | Diptera | Jeff Ament S/tone Gossard, c/k Irons, Mi /McCready, Eddi /Vedder | Pearl Jam | 1996 | Rock | |||
| The Bug | Insects-general | Mark Knopfler | Dire Straits | 1991 | Rock | |||
| The Bug Collector | Insects-general | Haley Heynderickx | Haley Heynderickx | 2018 | Folk music | |||
| I am the Fly | Diptera | Graham Lewis / Colin Newman | Wire | 1978 | Punk rock | |||
| Centipede | Chilopoda | Rebbie Jackson | Centipede (album) | 1983 | RnB | |||
| Human Fly | Diptera | Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach | The Cramps | 1979 | Punk rock | |||
| Fly on the Wall | Diptera | Miley Cyrus A/ntonina Armato, T /m James, v/rim Karaoglu | Miley Cyrus | 2009 | Pop rock | |||
| Fly on the Wall | Diptera | Malcolm Young A/ngus Young /Brian Johnson | ACDC | 1983 | Rock | |||
| Fly on the Wall | Diptera | Luke Morley | Thunder | 1995 | Rock | Second track of the album Behind Closed Doors | ||
| Fly on the Wall | Diptera | The Jesus Lizard | The Jesus Lizard | 1994 | Rock | |||
| Fly on a Windshield | Diptera | Tony Banks Phil Collins Peter Gabriel Steve Hackett Mike Rutherford | Genesis | 1974 | Progressive Rock | |||
| Insect Hospital | Insects-general | They Might Be Giants | 2013 | Rock | ||||
| March of the Fire Ants | Hymenoptera | Mastodon | Mastodon | 2002 | Heavy metal | |||
| Beetle | Coleoptera | Mooi Wark | Rock | |||||
| Beetle in the Box | Coleoptera | Louis Abbott | Admiral Fallow | 2012 | Indie pop | |||
| Black Beetle Pies | Coleoptera | Trad / arr Flood | Bellowhead | 2012 | Folk | |||
| Dragonfly Keeper | Odonata | Phildel | Phildel | 2010 | Neoclassical | Instrumental | ||
| Durability | Insects-general | Tribes of Neurot | 2002 | Experimental | The entire album Adaptation and Survival, on which this track is found, is composed entirely of manipulated insect sounds. | |||
| Silverfish | Thysanura | Sounds of System Breakdown[9] | 2013 | Electronic music | Instrumental | |||
| Pediculosis (Mommy, I Have Lice) | Phthiraptera | Fumigation | 2015 | Metal | ||||
| The Dreaded Sea Lice Have Come Aboard | Phthiraptera | Guttermouth | 1999 | Rock | ||||
| Rats and Mice and Swarms of Lice | Phthiraptera | Thou | 2014 | Sludge Metal | ||||
| Love Lice | Phthiraptera | Fake Shark - Real Zombie! | 2009 | Rock | ||||
| Earwigs To Eternity | Dermaptera | Alice Cooper | 2009 | Rock | ||||
| Catfood On The Earwig | Dermaptera | Guided by Voices | 1994 | Rock | ||||
| Earwig Town Lyric | Dermaptera | Chairlift | 2008 | Rock | ||||
| Earwig | Dermaptera | The Dead Milkmen | 1986 | Rock | ||||
| The Louse House of Kilkenny | Phthiraptera | The Dubliners | 1978 | Irish folk | ||||
| Earwig | Dermaptera | Public Memory | 2016 | Electronic, Music | ||||
| Lacewing | Neuroptera | Lacewing | 1970 | Rock | ||||
| Lacewings | Neuroptera | Alasdair MacLean and The Clientele | The Clientele | 2014 | Indie Pop | |||
| Head Lice | Phthiraptera | 18 | Razor Jane | 2008 | Pop | |||
| Locust | Orthoptera | Robb Flynn/ Philip Demmel | Machine Head | 2011 | Thrash | |||
| Day of the Locusts | Orthoptera | Bob Dylan | Bob Dylan | 1970 | Folk rock | The song's lyrics refer to Brood X of the 17-year periodical cicada (often misidentified as "locusts"), per New Morning explanation | ||
| Cricket Orchestra | Orthoptera | Smallpeople | Smallpeople | techno | ||||
| Crickets | Orthoptera | Damon Thomas Santo/ Allan Craig Iida/ Christopher Daniel Goodman/ Jonathan Rotem/ Anthony Vincent Cozzo/ Christian Scott Condo | Drop City Yacht Club | 2013 | Hip hop | |||
| Crickets | Orthoptera | Jaron Boyer/ Colt Ford/ Jeffery Don Hyde | Colt Ford | 2014 | Country | |||
| Cricketz | Orthoptera | Earl Benjamin/ Keith Brown/ Dominic Thomas/ Michael Stevenson | New Boyz | 2009 | Hip hop | |||
| Cricket On A Line | Orthoptera | Christopher Wongwon/ Jared Sciullo Riley/ Luther Roderick Campbell/ Justin N. Spillner/ Rhett Akins/ Colt Ford | Colt Ford | 2010 | Country | |||
| Crickets | Orthoptera | Brent Baxter/ Lisa Shaffer/ Bill Whyte | Joe Nichols | 2013 | Country | |||
| Bug Rain | Insects-general | Looper | Hip Hop / Rap | |||||
| Cicada | Hemiptera | Liam Titcomb | 2012 | Rock | ||||
| Sicka Cicadas | Hemiptera | Kathy Ashworth | 2011 | Country | ||||
| Sassy Cicada | Hemiptera | Kristin Jerger | Kristin Jerger | Kids | English & Spanish language | |||
| Stick Insect Song | Phasmatodea | The Stick Insects | 2009 | Electronica | Instrumental, stick insect animation | |||
| Song to the Cicadas | Hemiptera | The Greenhouse Culture Band, CS Luxem | 2015 | Collaboration to celebrate the cicada | ||||
| Aphids | Hemiptera | Hum | 2010 | lyrics | ||||
| Night of the Cicada | Hemiptera | The People's Republic of Europe | 2014 | Electronic | Netherlands | |||
| Mayfly | Ephemeroptera | Belle & Sebastian | 2003 | Indie pop | ||||
| Mayfly | Ephemeroptera | Rasputina | 1998 | Rock | ||||
| Mayfly | Ephemeroptera | Ben Winship & David Thompson | 2009 | Acoustic Folk | ||||
| Mayfly | Ephemeroptera | Andrew Chalk & Tom James Scott | 2013 | Electronic | ||||
| Mayfly Waltz (for Dilly) | Ephemeroptera | Michael Hoppe | various artists | 2013 | New Age | |||
| Flea | Siphonaptera | Clazziquai | 2008 | Pop | ||||
| Flea Brain | Siphonaptera | Vincent Gene | 2005 | Country | ||||
| Flea Fly | Siphonaptera | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Red Hot Chili Peppers | 1994 | Rock | |||
| Flea Versus MIte | Siphonaptera | The Presidents of the United States of America | The Presidents of the United States of America | 2014 | Alternative Rock | |||
| Sabrina Sabrina, Flea Ballerina | Siphonaptera | Mr. Billy | Mr. Billy | 2008 | Children's Music | |||
| Fifi the Flea | Siphonaptera | Mary Black | Mary Black | 2011 | New Age | |||
| Fifi the Flea | Siphonaptera | The Hollies | The Hollies | 1998 | Rock | |||
| Spanish Flea | Siphonaptera | Allan Sherman | 2005 | Miscellaneous | ||||
| Spanish Flea | Siphonaptera | Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass | 1965 | Jazz | ||||
| Flea in Your Ear | Siphonaptera | Simian Mobile Disco | 2008 | Electronic | ||||
| Madama Butterfly | Lepidoptera | Giacomo Puccini | 1903 | Opera | ||||
| Butterflies and Hurricanes | Lepidoptera | Muse | Muse | 2004 | Alternative Rock | |||
| Butterfly Kisses | Lepidoptera | Bob Carlisle | Bob Carlisle | 1997 | Contemporary | |||
| Cockroaches | Blattodea | Necro | Necro | 2000 | hip-hop | |||
| I Hate Cockroaches | Blattodea | Bananas at Large | Bananas at Large | 1993 | Parody | |||
| Butterfly | Lepidoptera | Bassnectar | Bassnectar | 2012 | Electronic | |||
| Termite | Blattodea | Jungle by Night | Jungle by Night | 2011 | instrumental | |||
| The termite song | Blattodea | The Woodbox Gang | The Woodbox Gang | 2001 | Bluegrass | |||
| Odonata | Odonata | Stuart Masters[10] | 2013 | Folk | Instrumental | |||
| Oh, Odonata | Odonata | The Brave Optimistic | 2015 | Indie rock | Title track of album | |||
| The Wasps | Hymenoptera | Ralph Vaughan Williams | 1909 | Incidental music | For Aristophanes' play The Wasps[11] | |||
| Mosquito | Diptera | Ingrid Michaelson | Ingrid Michaelson | 2005 | Pop | |||
| Mosquito | Diptera | Bomfunk MC | Bomfunk MC | 2004 | Electronic | |||
| Mosquito | Diptera | Franck Langolff | Vanessa Paradis | 1988 | French Pop | |||
| Butterfly Bleu | Lepidoptera | Iron Butterfly | Iron Butterfly | 1970 | Rock | |||
| Iron Butterfly Theme | Lepidoptera | Iron Butterfly | Iron Butterfly | 1968 | Rock | |||
| Springtail Boogie | Collembola | Kenneth Johnston | Instrumental Music from the Horsehead Point Community | 2007 | Rock | |||
| Thrips | Thysanoptera | Egret Sylvie | Carpe Diem | 2016 | Electronic | |||
| Airplane Mode | Collembola | Flobots | Survival Story | 2010 | Rock | |||
| Intro with Cicadas | Hemiptera | The Firefly Choir | The Insect Songbook Vol. 1 | 2016 | Electronic | Entire album is inspired by various orders of insects. | ||
| Flea Bitten Annie | Siphonaptera | The A-Bones | 1993 | Garage rock | ||||
| Dropping Like Flies | Diptera | The Accüsed | 1990 | Thrash metal | ||||
| Scream of the Butterfly | Lepidoptera | Acid Bath | 1994 | Sludge metal | ||||
| Cassie Eats Cockroaches[12] | Blattodea | Acid Bath | 1994 | Sludge metal | ||||
| Ants Invasion | Hymenoptera | Adam Ant/Marco Pirroni | Adam and the Ants | 1980 | New wave | |||
| Antmusic | Hymenoptera | Adam Ant/Marco Pirroni | Adam and the Ants | 1980 | New wave | |||
| Ant Rap | Hymenoptera | Adam Ant/Marco Pirroni | Adam and the Ants | 1981 | New wave | |||
| Rap de las Hormigas | Hymenoptera | Charly García | Charly García | 1987 | New wave | |||
| King Wasp | Hymenoptera | Add N to (X) | 1998 | Electroclash | ||||
| Butterfly | Lepidoptera | Admiral Bailey | 1992 | Dancehall | ||||
| Joanie's Butterfly | Lepidoptera | Steven Tyler/Jimmy Crespo/Jack Douglas | Aerosmith | 1982 | Hard rock | |||
| Empire Ants | Hymenoptera | Damon Albarn | Gorillaz | 2010 | Electro-funk / Alternative Dance | Features the vocals of Little Dragon's Yukumi Nagano | ||
| Insects Are All Around Us | Orthoptera | Mark Ramos-Nishita | Money Mark | 1994 | Lo-Fi Downtempo / Funk | Contains spoken word sample relating to Crickets. | ||
| Cicada Love Call[13] | Hemiptera | F. Anderson / T. Swift | Toby Swift Music | 2021 | Country / Novelty | Contains spoken word | ||
| Hey There, Little Insect | Insecta | Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers | 1976 | Lyrics[14] | ||||
| The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us! | Hymenoptera | Sufjan Stevens | Sufjan Stevens | 2005 | Lyrics[15] | |||
| Bees | Hymenoptera | Laura Cantrell | Laura Cantrell | 2005 | Lyrics[16] | |||
| Praying Mantis | Mantodea | Don Dixon | Don Dixon | 1985 | Lyrics[17] | |||
| Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues | Coleoptera | Charley Patton | Charley Patton | 1929 | Lyrics[18] | |||
| Escapism (Gettin’ Free) | Insecta | Digable Planets | Digable Planets | 1993 | Lyrics[19] | |||
| Frelon Brun (Brown Hornet) | Hymenoptera | Miles Davis | 1961 | Jazz | Instrumental | |||
| El Grillo | Orthoptera | Josquin des Prez | many performers | 1505 | Lyrics[20] | |||
| Sex Jam Two: Insect Incest | Hymenoptera | Milemarker | 2000 | Rock / Post-hardcore | ||||
| Venus' Flytrap And The Bug | Insecta | Stevie Wonder | 1979 | Pop / Jazz-Funk | From the POV of an insect being coerced and preyed upon by a Venus Flytrap. | |||
| Cicada Days | Hemiptera | Will Wood | Will Wood | 2022 | Folk rock | Single from Will Wood's album, In Case I Make It, and partially inspired by cicadas' brooding patterns.[21] | ||
| The Mayfly Dance | Ephemeroptera | Switchback | Switchback | 2010 | Folk | |||
| Wings Off Flies | Diptera | Nick Cave/JG Thirlwell | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | 1984 | Post-punk / Experimental rock | Lyrics[22] | ||
| Cockroach Waltz | Blattodea | Jack Off Jill | Jack Off Jill | 1996 | Goth rock | Lyrics | ||
| Hornet's Heart | Hymenoptera | Brian Hageman | Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 | 1992 | Experimental rock | Lyrics[23] | ||
| Hive | Hymenoptera | Mark Davies | Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 | 1992 | Experimental rock | Lyrics[24] | ||
| Being Boiled | Bombyx mori | Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh | The Human League | 1978 | Electronic, synthpop | A protest against sericulture | ||
| I'm Nature's Mosquito | Hemiptera | Jonathan Richman | Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers | 1979 | Rock | [25] | ||
| Kabutomushi | Allomyrina | Aiko Yanai | aiko | 1999 | J-Pop | Lyrics[26] | ||
| Outdoor Miner | Agromyzidae | Colin Newman / Graham Lewis | Wire | 1979 | Post-punk / jangle pop | Song is about the life cycle of the serpentine leaf miner, and inspired by co-writer Lewis' fascination with this insect. [27] | ||
| Flohwalzer | Siphonaptera | traditional | many artists | Classical | Simple piano piece, also known as 'the Flea Waltz'. | |||
| Butterfly | Lepidoptera | Robert Uhlmann | Smile.dk | 1998 | Eurodance / bubblegum pop | |||
| I wanna be a one day fly | Ephemeroptera | Viggo Waas / Owen Schumacher / Joep van Deutekom / Peter Heerschop / Peter Schön / Hans Sibbel / Daan van Rijsbergen / Jack Spijkerman / Hans Riemens | One Day Fly (Kopspijkers) | 2001 | Pop / Satire | Band name is a play on 'eendagsvlieg', the Dutch word for both 'mayfly' and 'one-hit wonder' | ||
| Eurhopalathrix | Hymenoptera | AxExHxCx | AxExHxCx | 2023 | Gorenoise/Goregrind/Rock | Single from"HYPOPOMYRMEX" It was released by GxMxPx & AxExHxCx[28] and the album is based entirely around ants. |