Collective Nouns, Similes, Idioms, Metaphors and Expressions

Beetles, Bugs and Insects

BUSH COCKROACH

HORNET

CICADA

DUNG BEETLE

COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Ants

•      An army of ants
•      A bike of ants
•      A colony of ants
•      A swarm of ants

Bacteria

•     A culture of bacteria (bug)   

Bluebottles

• A fluther of bluebottles          

Cockroaches

•     A crunch of cockroaches
•     An intrusion of cockroaches
•     A swarm of cockroaches

Crickets

•    A concerto of crickets
•    A crackle of crickets
•    An orchestra of crickets

Dragonflies

•    A cluster of dragonfly
•    A flight of dragonfly

Flies

•       A business of flies
•       A cloud of flies
•       A grist of flies
•       A hatch of flies
•       A pack of flies     
•       A swarm of flies      

Gnats

•      A cloud of gnats
•      A horde of gnats
•      A rabble of gnats
•      A swarm of gnats

Grasshoppers

•      A cloud of grasshoppers
•      A cluster of grasshoppers
•      A swarm of grasshoppers     

Hornets

•       A bike of hornets
•       A nest of hornets
•       A swarm of hornets      

Insects

•       A cloud of insects      
•       A flight of insects
•       A horde of insects
•       A plague of insects
•       A rabble of insects
•       A swarm of insects      

Ladybirds

•       A loveliness of ladybirds

Lice

•       A colony of lice
•       A flock of lice
•       An infestation of lice

Locusts

•       A cloud of locusts
•       A plague of locusts
•       A swarm of locusts      

Midges

•        A bite of midges
•        An infestation of mites
•        A mite of mites  

Mosquitoes

•      A cloud of mosquitoes
•      An infestation of mosquitoes
•      A scourge of mosquitoes
•      A swarm of mosquitoes

Mites

•      An infestation of mites
•      A mite of mites

Stag Beetles

• A fondness of stag beetles 

Termites

•       A brood of termites
•       A colony of termites
•       A nest of termites
•       A swarm of termites     

Wasps

•       A bike of wasps
•       A colony of wasps
•       A hive of wasps
•       A nest of wasps
•       A swarm of wasps
•       A willow of wasps

IDIOMS, METAPHORS AND EXPRESSIONS
General

• Hatches, matches and dispatches
• To beetle along
• To grub along
• To grub up

Bugs

• A big bug
• A fire bug
• A litter bug
• Bitten by the same bug
• Don't bug me
• Don't let the bed bugs bite
• Love bug
• Put a bug in my ear
• Snug as a bug in a rug
• To have a room bugged
• To bug off
• To bug out

Fleas

• A mere flea bite
• A flea in your ear

Flies

• A fly in the ointment
• A fly on the wall
• Catching flies
• Die like flies
• Dropping like flies
• Happy as a fly in a pie
• Like flies
• No flies on him / her
• The spider and the fly
• You can catch more flies with honey that with vinegar
• You must lose a fly to catch a trout
• Would not hurt a fly

Grasshopper

• Grasshopper mind
• Knee high to a grasshopper

Hornet

• Bring a hornets' nest about one's ears
• To stir up a hornet's nest

Lice

• A flock of lice

Locusts

• To swarm like locusts

Moths

• Like a moth flies round a light
• Moth-eaten ideas

Nits

• Nit-picking

SIMILES

• As angry as a hornet
• As chirpy as a cricket
• As crazy as a June bug
• As full as a tick
• As merry as a cricket
• As snug as a bug in a rug
• As tight as a tick