Bugs get a bad reputation as ugly eyesores. But don't judge thousands of species by a few bad apples like cockroaches or bedbugs. Many insects (and arachnids) are breathtaking, sporting colors and shapes that would easily fit in on the most haute fashion runway in Paris or Milan.

This lime-green beauty is one of the largest moths in the U.S., emerging two or three times a year to mate at night. But such beauty is fleeting: luna moths only live for about a week once they reach the adult stage of their life cycle.

This brightly-banded wasp isn't harmful to humans. It preys on other insects, including a rival wasp known as the pigeon tremex horntail (Tremex columba). A giant ichneumon lays its eggs in tunnels bored into dead wood by the pigeon horntail and then, for good measure, stings and paralyzes the pigeon horntail's offspring so its young have a good meal waiting for them when they hatch.

This male scorpion fly's 'tail' isn't just a cosmetic addition -- it has clasping structures that allow it to grasp a female tightly during mating.

This beetle has a flashy gold wingcase thanks to a liquid layer between the layers of its cuticle. It often changes color in fall and winter, becoming more bronze and rust-colored. To appreciate its lustrous gold outfit, leave the beetle alive, if killed, it will turn dark brown as it dries. (Note: The beetle pictured here seems to have had an encounter with a predator or other obstacle that tore off part of its cuticle).

These iridescent specimens are found in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand and Malaysia. Males have much longer legs than females.

The Calligrapha family of beetles often look like they've been written on with fluid brushstrokes. This specimen here is named after its favorite food, the ninebark shrub.

These nocturnal moths have striking eyespots on their wings to scare off predators. See how they look like an owl's eyes?

This moth has fewer scales on the central parts of its wings, making them look clear and lacy. That, plus its yellow and black pattern, allow it to mimic the bumblebee -- all the better to make predators thing twice before pouncing.

The gorgeous Goliath stick insect can be found up near the tops of eucalyptus trees in Australia.

The species pictured here is just one of more than 3000 cosmopolitan species in the cuckoo wasp family. Like cuckoos, their insect namesakes lay their eggs in host nests made by other insects. Once hatched, the larva kill and eat their nestmates.

Beauty walks on eight legs just as much as it does on six! The peacock spider is very tiny -- only about 5 millimeters long. The brightly colored flaps are only on males, who raise them up as they approach prospective mates.