Insect

Insect
Creature Type
(Subtype for creature/tribal cards)
Statistics	179 cards 1.7% 1.7% 2.2% 25.1% 8.9% 41.9% 1.1% 1.1% 0.6% 2.8% 0.6% 0.6% 2.2% 9.5% as of Zendikar Rising
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type:"Insect"

Insect is a catch-all creature type used for crawling or flying little creatures, as well as larger and/or humanoid variants thereof. The first creature to bear the type was Yavimaya Gnats in Ice Age (though the Carrion Ants from Legends was later issued errata to become an insect.) Insects are printed in all colors, but most prevalent in green and black.

Types of insects

Imago

• Ant (Army Ants, Ant Queen)
• Bee (Killer Bees, Unyaro Bees)
• Beetle (Carrion Beetles, Scavenging Scarab, Monstrous Carabid)
• Butterfly (Giant Caterpillar produces Insect tokens named Butterfly)
• Cockroach (Brood of Cockroaches)
• Dragonfly (Bayou Dragonfly)
• Firefly (Firefly)
• Fly (Robber Fly)
• Gnat (Yavimaya Gnats)
• Grasshopper (Acridian)
• Hornet (Hornet Queen)
• Locust (Locust Swarm)
• Mantis (Giant Mantis)
• Mosquito (Swamp Mosquito)
• Moth (Hawkeater Moth)
• Solifuge (Giant Solifuge; actually an arachnid)
• Wasp (Caustic Wasps)
• Walking Stick (Twigwalker)
• Weevil (Brain Weevil)

Larva

• Beetle (Deadly Grub, Coiling Woodworm)
• Butterfly (Giant Caterpillar)
• Fly (Flow of Maggots)

Artifact

• Clockwork Beetle
• Clockwork Swarm
• Hornet Cannon (produces Insect artifact creature tokens named Hornet)
• Jhoira's Toolbox
• Rust Tick
• Wirefly Hive (produces Insect artifact creature tokens named Wirefly)
• The Hive (produces Insect artifact creature tokens named Wasp)

Plagues

Amonkhet

• The Locust God released a swarm of locusts on an unprepared Amonkhet.

Grixis

Banewasps are omnivorous insects that nest in reeflike hives that tower over Grixis's sea. Banewasps prefer decaying flesh to other food and will swarm in great numbers in search of freshly dead corpses. However, sometimes the larvae feed on the flesh of zombies or living humans.

Mirrodin / New Phyrexia

Pistus flies are mosquito-like flying insects that feed on the fluids of living beasts on Mirrodin. A sufficiently hungry swarm of pistus flies can even take down a dragon.In recent times they've become an unwitting ally of New Phyrexia, as they are capable of slurping up and then spreading the Phyrexian contagion to other creatures.

Sapient insects

Dominaria

Emerald dragonflies

Emerald dragonflies are insects native to the White Woods of Corondor. They were used by the Calthyn elves in their battles against the Lieryn elves.

Eumidians

Eumidians are humanoid wasps with brilliant gold exoskeletons, four transparent wings, and large green compound eyes.

Eumidians originally lived in a hive society, somewhere in Jamuraa. However, individuals with particularly powerful minds, such as Xira Arien, were able to break free and live independently.

Nantuko

The Nantuko are a sapient race of mostly benevolent man-sized insects, who lived a life of strong respect for nature and protected the Krosan Forest. Nantuko are most commonly found in Krosa on Otaria, but have appeared on Urborg as well. During the time of major climate change in Sarpadia following The Brothers' War, the Thelonite Order included humanoid insects who may have been Nantuko.

The current fate of the Nantuko race is unknown, as Krosa has been all but destroyed after the machinations of Karona, the Mirari, and the time rifts. In the Time Spiral novel, there are mentions of Nantukos still living in Urborg, and serving Lord Windgrace.

Notable Nantuko include:

• Thriss

Innistrad

Although the plane of Innistrad has no known natural species of sentient insect, there have been cases documented of mad scientists delving into the dark arts and becoming nightmarish aberrations.

Ravnica

Kraul

The sapient Kraul inhabit the Undercity, far below the main streets of Ravnica. Living on the periphery, some felt a sense of loyalty and kinship toward the Golgari Swarm, while others rejected the guilds. These six-legged insectile beings are hard-headed and literal-minded. Some of them possess a set of functional wings and are capable of flight. These creatures lay their eggs in the body of another species. The giant "mother" is eaten alive when the eggs gestate. Highest in rank are the death priests, followed by the necromancers. The majority occupy various role of soldiery, from commanders to lowliest infantry. Their current leader is the death priest Mazirek.

After Vraska became guildmaster, the Kraul gained a more important role, and became loyal to her personally instead of to the Swarm.

Use of insects

Dominaria

The Windgrace Acolytes of Urborg used trained insects, called gladehunters, to track down artifice and artificers alike.

Kamigawa

Some samurai of Eiganjo on Kamigawa ride gigantic trained moths into combat. Nezumi shamans are known to use incantations that summon and control insects, to swarm and distract their enemies.

Ravnica

The Golgari Swarm of Ravnica ride bizarre insects called stiltstriders or longlegs, which are gangly, stilt-legged creatures as tall as a building.

Tarkir

At the isolated Highspire Stronghold on Tarkir, monks of the Jeskai Way are trained to control and ride wild mantises. These mantises make for dangerous mounts, never forming a sense of loyalty toward their riders, who must take care to always be on their guard.

Grand Creature Type Update

In (and before) the Grand Creature Type Update the creature types Ant, Bee, Butterfly, Caterpillar, Dragonfly, Hornet, Mosquito, Swarm, Wasp and Wirefly were changed to Insect. In Magic, centipedes are also considered insects.

Notable Insects

Dominaria

• Thriss
• Xira Arien

Ikoria

• Kathril

Ravnica

• Mazirek

Triva

• Swarmyard is a land that regenerates insects.

Tokens

Token Name	Color	Type Line	P/T	Text Box	Source	Printings
Insect	Black	Creature — Insect	0/1		Carrion
	Black	Creature — Insect	1/1		Nest of Scarabs
	Black	Creature — Insect	1/1	Flying	Xira, the Golden Sting
	Green	Creature — Insect	1/1		Ant Queen Beacon of Creation Broodhatch Nantuko Crawling Infestation Crawling Sensation Dragonlair Spider Hiveheart Shaman Infestation Expert Infested Werewolf Infested Roothold A-Iridescent Hornbeetle Iridescent Hornbeetle It of the Horrid Swarm Living Hive Old Rutstein One Dozen Eyes Saber Ants Scute Swarm Swarm Shambler Symbiotic Beast Symbiotic Elf Symbiotic Wurm Vilespawn Spider Vitality Charm Wirewood Hivemaster
	Green	Creature — Insect	1/1	Flying, deathtouch	Hornet Nest Hornet Queen
	Green	Creature — Insect	3/3		Rise of the Ants
	Green	Creature — Insect	6/1	Shroud	Deadly Grub
	Black/​Green	Creature — Insect	1/1		Grist, the Hunger Tide Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
	Blue/​Red	Creature — Insect	1/1	Flying, haste	The Locust God
	Colorless	Artifact Creature — Insect	1/1	Flying	Canoptek Scarab Swarm
Butterfly	Green	Creature — Insect	1/1	Flying	Giant Caterpillar Megaflora Jungle
Hornet	Colorless	Artifact Creature — Insect	1/1	Flying, haste	Hornet Cannon
Wasp	Colorless	Artifact Creature — Insect	1/1	Flying	The Hive
Wirefly	Colorless	Artifact Creature — Insect	2/2	Flying	Wirefly Hive
Alien Insect	Green/​White	Creature — Alien Insect	1/1	Flying	Vrestin, Menoptra Leader
Phyrexian Insect	Green	Creature — Phyrexian Insect	1/1	Infect	Carrion Call Phyrexian Swarmlord Trigon of Infestation
Inchblade Companion	White	Artifact Creature — Equipment Insect	1/1	Equipped creature gets +1/+1. Reconfigure	Inchblade Companion
Giant Adephage	Green	Creature — Insect	7/7	Trample Whenever Giant Adephage deals combat damage to a player, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of Giant Adephage.	Giant Adephage
Scute Swarm	Green	Creature — Insect	1/1	Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, create a 1/1 green Insect creature token. If you control six or more lands, create a token that's a copy of Scute Swarm instead.	Scute Swarm

Test cards

Token Name	Color	Type Line	P/T	Text Box	Source	Printings
Insect	Black	Creature — Insect	1/1		Celestine Cave Witch

Manlands

• Nantuko Monastery — 4/4 Insect Monk creature with first strike

Manstones

• Golgari Keyrune — 2/2 Insect artifact creature with deathtouch