Cicadas aren't really a Texas only thing either.
I was thinking along the lines of ones that occur in Texas.
Tarantulas aren't really insects if we're going to quibble.

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Cicada

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Have to go with this but do love hellgramites, centipedes, and lightning bugs.

I find tiger beetles pretty interesting, and Antlion larva are pretty cool little creatures also.

I'm tempted to start a least favorite thread. Got another Thrip welt today.

You get a reaction from thrips?

dont know that i have a favorite, but i saw one of these suckers for the first time the other day.

Yeah, I guess I'm allergic. I'll swat what I think is a gnat then whatever is in their goo reacts like a damn chigger.

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I'm surprised nobody has mentioned those cicada killing wasps. I think they are pretty cool.

I also second the walking stick. The big ones are cool. I also like daddy long legs.

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Aren't they the same thing as the wasp in the OP?

And some of you need a refresher course in "insect".

Yeah, yeah...arachnid, insect...close enough

nah, cicada killers look like a bigass bee.

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Cicadas aren't really a Texas only thing either.
I was thinking along the lines of ones that occur in Texas.
Tarantulas aren't really insects if we're going to quibble.

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Neither are Roly polys.

Okay they aren't strictly Texas but am I a ***** to pick Monarchs?

If so, I'll go with the scorpion. A mini-dinosaur, if you will.

Roly Polys are dope. ~Von Miller (not really)

Dead ones

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This has been one of my top insects since I moved down south. Looks can be deceiving!

Is that a preying mantis?

That's a mantispid.

That's why they are my favorite. It's a harmless Neuropteran.

Cicada killer

Okay... I have to admit the idea of a "favorite" insect is a little weird. Having said that, if I had to pick one... I guess I'd go with the red ant of all things. Brings back memories of my childhood playing sandlot football and baseball.

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I'm going with the one that gave me many hours of fun using a little stick when I was a kid ... the doodle bug.

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Always called these Ant Lions....LOL. I also played with these all the time too.

Velvet mites in south Texas. They always came out after a good rain.

I feel like we could start a whole new thread on the doodle bug / roly poly / pill big debate

What you call "Velvet Ants" we called "Cow Killer Ants" and are my favorite insect with the Walking Stick a close second.

Walking Sticks and Harvester Ants

Ant lion and firefly

Firefly by far.

Zelus longipes or assassin bug. Keeping my garden pest free. However, it's an equal opportunity killer and even other beneficials can be prey:

+1 for fire flies, they remind me of being a kid and we have lots of them in the woods. I like walking sticks because we get to watch them strip a chunk out of the canopy from the oak trees outside the kitchen window every year. Lady bugs, may flies, dung beetles always rolling the dung, June bugs when they simultaneously emerge from the ground, green June beetles in giant swarms, and most spiders are up there too. Not a fan of tarantula hawks for that reason. We still see brown and Mexican redknee tarantulas around the house, but haven't seen the giant swarms of black turantulas since I was a kid. Those were shocking to encounter running through the fields and weird to drive through.

As much as I rambled on, I must add the cottonwood beetle also.

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I'm going with the one that gave me many hours of fun using a little stick when I was a kid ... the doodle bug.

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I had forgotten all about Ant Lions! These things were the coolest when I was growing up.

But for pure nostalgia and for the ambiance another vote for the lightning bug.

Hercules beetles are pretty cool