Umbrella wasps have a narrow waist between the thorax and abdomen. They range in size between 15-20 millimeters (.625-.75 inches).  They eat the nectar from flowers and live at the edges of woods, in fields, and in gardens.  Their nests consist of a paper cone, containing their larvae.
 
 

The yellow jacket  is attracted to fruit and meat, and is sometimes referred to as the "meat bee".  It is a nuisance to picnickers and campers and has a very painful sting.  They nest in trees, and also in the ground. 
 
 

Mud Daubers are not aggressive and seldom sting.  THe mud nest built by the females are stick under eves, beneath rocks, and rafters of attics and garages or where ever there is protection from the elements. Nest building and egg laying take place  in the late summer and fall, after which the female dies. 

Both Honey and Bumble Bees have hairy bodies and pollen baskets on their legs.  They range from 4-25 millimeters (.125-1 inch) in size. 
A bee sting is always potentially serious and can be life threatening.

Often responsible for causing dermatitis in people, the carpet beetle is approximately 1/16-1/8" in size. These beetles tend to infest and damage fabrics, such as carpets and furs as well as cereal and grain products. They prefer to breed in the spaces between walls and ceilings, attics, and crawl spaces and are also found around windows.  Adults hatching from indoor pupae avoid or shun light until egg laying is mostly complete, and then become attracted to light. Most outdoor adults show an attraction to light.

It' s medium size (5/8 to 3/4 inch long) and has solid blackish or dark brown color.   The abdomen has flared sides and is compressed in the center.  They normally live in the dens of woods rats, where it feeds on the blood of the rodent.  The normal food of the kissing bug is the blood of vertebrate animals, including humans,  and has a very venomous bite.  The symptoms range from simple itching, severe swelling, joint pain, nausea, chills, and dizziness.   This pest can be found in the foot hills and rural areas.

The bugs in this family are the real "stinkers" of the insect world. Glands opening  near the coxae of the hinds legs produce a strong acrid smelling vapor, which serves to discourage or repulse enemies.  Stink bug are from 3/4 to 1 inch long, and black in color.   Are common in the summer, on weedy vegetation in vacant lots and on some garden plants, and desert areas. 

Transmitters of plague and typhus, fleas bite humans and animals alike.  Approximately 1/8"  in size, they are parasitic pests that require the eating of blood to survive.  Fleas can jump about 6 inches vertically and are known to "hitch a ride" on clothing and can live for months without food -- even as much as six months or longer. Fleas are typically found where animals sleep or frequent, including along their usual avenue of travel. 

Known for transmitting Lime disease, ticks are about 1/16" in size.  They tend to climb grass and shrubs to wait for a passing host. 
A favorite feeding area for these ticks on humans is at the back of the neck, at the base of the skull; long hair makes detection more difficult. 

The bodies of adult rats range in size between 6-8 inches with an additional 7-10 inches for their tails.  Infestation is most noticed as gnaw and claw marks, droppings, and tracks.  Rats are responsible for transmitting dermatitis, food poisoning, Salmonellosis, infectious jaundice, and even bubonic plague.  They tend to be nocturnal and will eat practically anything.  For them to enter a building, the opening must be larger than half an inch. 

Approximately 1/4-1/2" in size, brown recluse spiders can be yellowish tan to dark brown in color.  Most active at night, these spiders have three pairs of eyes and a "violin shaped" dark marking right behind the eyes.  Typically they are found in undisturbed areas of the house. The bite of this spider is particularly hazardous in that its venom contains an enzyme that destroys cell membranes in the wound. Within 24 hours, the bite can erupt into a "volcano lesion" (a hole in the flesh due to damaged, gangrenous tissue).  Typically taking months from which to recover, scarring can be permanent, often requiring plastic surgery and skin grafts to repair the damage.  Antivenin is seldom readily available.

Commonly found in the desert, scorpions have four pairs of legs. Approximately 5 inches long, the scorpion is best known for  a bulb shaped structure containing the venom glands and a sharp, curved aculeus to deliver the venom.. The largest scorpions in the United States are about 5 inches in size. Scorpions are nocturnal, predatory animals that feed on a variety of insects, spiders, centipedes, and other scorpions. Despite their bad reputation, only one species in the U.S. and about 20 others worldwide have venom potent enough to be considered dangerous to humans.  The venom of this scorpion may produce severe pain and swelling at the site of the sting, numbness, frothing at the mouth, difficulties in breathing (including respiratory paralysis), muscle twitching, and convulsions. 

Scientifically known as Solpugida, sun spiders are also known as wind spiders and wind scorpions.  Although they appear to look like a spider, they don't have venom but do have four pairs of legs.  The characteristic twittering sound helps to identify this pest. A burrowing insect, the sun spider thrives in the high desert environment and are attracted by light.

Although the Black Widow is considered the most venomous spider in North America and its is 15 times as toxic as the venom of the prairie rattlesnake, they are not usually deadly especially to adults, because they inject only a small amount of venom. The female Black Widow is shiny black, usually with a reddish hourglass shape on the underside of her spherical abdomen. Her body is about 1.5 inches long. Adult males are harmless, about half the female's size, with smaller bodies, longer legs and usually have yellow and red bands and spots over the back as do the immature stages.  While the female Black Widow's fame comes because she  eats the male after mating, these spiders are shy and nocturnal, biting only when the webs are disturbed.