Create a Buzz With These 24 Bug-Themed Birthday Party Ideas

If planning the perfect insect theme party has you buggin’, take a deep breath. There’s no need to get your antenna in a twist.

By the time you get to the end of this party planning guide, you will have picked out an insect invite, dreamed up some decor, planned a party menu, and mentally assembled your goodie bags.

So, let’s get this party started! We’ve rounded up bug-themed birthday party ideas for every part of the party planning process. These invitations, decorations, menu items, and favors will help your celebration take flight.

7 Bug-Themed Birthday Party Invitations

Start the party buzz by sending out insect invites or beautiful butterfly invitations. Choose digital invitations so you can customize the card’s wording and color scheme to match your party theme.

With these seven customizable designs, you can transform a kid’s party invite into a classy adult invitation, or even update a baby shower or Halloween-themed design to announce your birthday bash. Then, send them directly to your guest’s inboxes — because even insects are too advanced for snail mail.

1. Whimsical Bugs Invitations

Design: Snow + Ivy

This illustrated design is a whimsical way to introduce your bug party. The bumblebee and butterfly flutter among flowers in eye-catching colors, making this an ideal spring or summer birthday party invite. The design is playful enough for a kid’s party, but elegant enough for an adult birthday.

2. Sweet Honeycomb Invitation

Design: Signature Greenvelope

For a design that’s all grown-up, customize the text on this invitation to transform it into an insect birthday party invite. Simply swap the words “baby shower” for “birthday party” and change “momma-to-be“ to “guest of honor.” Guests won’t bee-lieve how classy your invites look.

3. Crazy Bugs Invitations

Design: Noonday Design

If you prefer your bugs to be of the creepy crawly variety, send out this Crazy Bugs invitation in one of five preset color schemes or customized in the birthday girl or boy’s favorite hue. With beetles, cicadas, and flies, this design doesn’t discriminate against any of nature’s smallest creatures.

4. Abstract Dragonfly Invitations

Design: Phrosne Ras

This pastel-hued invitation proves that insects are elegant. Although this is another baby shower invite, you can change the text in the party details to announce a birthday party instead. The abstract painted dragonfly on the soft peach background will establish a soft, peaceful color scheme for your party.

5. Bee Our Guest Invitations

Design: Claudia Owen

With a playful black and yellow color scheme and an illustrated bee, this bold invite is a sweet way to introduce your little honey’s birthday. Customize the text with your party details and send it flitting off to your guests.

6. Spooky Soiree Invitations

Design: Paper Raven Co.

For an adult birthday party with an edge, customize this Halloween invitation to suit your bug-themed birthday party. Just change the words “Spooky Soiree” to “Birthday Soiree” and change “Boos, Booze & Finger Foods” to “Cake, Booze & Finger Foods.” With just a few updates, this design will be the perfect way to kick off your birthday moth … errrr, month.

7. Ladybugs Invitations

Design: Snow + Ivy

Kick off your little bug-a-boo’s birthday with this adorable illustrated invitation. Colorful ladybugs surround your party details, and you can choose between three preset color schemes or customize it to match your party decor.

6 Bug-Themed Birthday Party Decorations

Time to round up all the bug party supplies the internet has to offer! Whether you’re throwing a backyard party, decking out picnic tables at the park, or renting a party space, these decorations will make it feel like an insect-centric celebration.

1. A birthday banner: Find a birthday banner with a bee, ladybug, butterfly, or dragonfly theme that spells out “Happy birthday!“ or personalize it with the guest of honor’s name. There are even printable versions to help you DIY your own bug bunting.
2. Matching paper plates, cups, napkins, and tablecloths: Make party planning easier by getting all of your birthday party supplies as part of a matched set.
3. Butterfly or firefly centerpieces: Place a mason jar on the center of each table with either a butterfly or firefly display inside. There’s no need to capture live bugs. You can get a realistic-looking animated butterfly in a jar from Amazon, or you can fill a jar with string lights to create the look of fireflies.
4. Bug confetti: Sprinkle some insect-themed confetti across your tablecloths in cut-out shapes of bumblebees or ladybugs.
5. Leaf-shaped balloons: Make your guests feel like insects hiding under the foliage with some leaf-shaped balloons floating overhead.
6. An insect piñata: The one piece of festive decor that also serves as a fun party activity, try filling your piñata with packets of gummy worms, plastic bugs, and bug stickers.

8 Bug-Themed Menu Items

We know it’s normally bad to find a bug in your food, but at a bug-themed birthday party, it’s all part of the ambiance. Try making one of these recipes that feature plenty of honey (an ode to our honey bee friends), plus an occasional gummy worm. You can turn your menu into a party activity by hiding a plastic bug in one of the dishes and offering a prize to the person who finds it. And since sweets attract all the bugs at the picnic, we’ve also included lots of ideas for your dessert table.

1. Lavender and fennel pollen goat cheese: This cheese would bring all the pollinators to the table with its subtle floral notes of dried lavender and fennel pollen.
2. Warm brie with honey: Celebrate everything the bees have given us with this irresistible flavor combination.
3. Honey-garlic chicken wings: A honey-themed interpretation of classic party food, these wings will go flying off the plate.
4. Honey-glazed carrots: Don’t let your party guests leave without eating their vegetables. This veggie recipe is so good even the little ones will love it.
5. Lavender lemonade: Insects love flowers, so bring more of these flavors to your meal with this refreshing summer beverage.
6. Baklava: For a dessert table addition that’s more original than cupcakes, try baklava. With honey and rose water, this sweet treat would be irresistible to insects and invitees alike.
7. Cup of dirt: This childhood classic is a must-have at a bug-themed kid’s party. Simply top a cup of chocolate pudding with crushed Oreos and gummy worms.
8. Beehive birthday cake: It’s not a birthday without cake. To embrace the bug theme, try making this easy-to-decorate bee hive cake. For an adult’s birthday party, you can top your birthday cake with plenty of fresh flowers instead.

3 Bug-Themed Party Favors

Send your guests home with something to help them remember their insect-y evening. These items make perfect additions to bug-themed favor bags. Give guests one or a collection of a few of these party favor ideas.

1. Plastic bugs: Kids will love leaving these toys around to startle their elders. More realistic toys can also help them learn a little entomology.
2. Magnifying glass: Encourage all your guests to go on their own bug hunt with a magnifying glass. They’ll be able to see hundreds of little creatures they never noticed before.
3. Antenna headbands: Play dress-up — dragonfly style — with a set of matching antennae for your guests.

There’s No Need to Wing It

When it’s time to plan a bug-themed birthday party, we’re here for you. We’ve got invitations that will have everyone on your guest list feeling aflutter with excitement.

When you choose online invitations, you’re doing what’s best for all of earth’s critters — from the biggest bear to the smallest bumblebee.

Online invites help the environment (no more paper invitations littering landfills) and save you time. They get delivered to your guests’ inboxes the same day you send them out, so you don’t have to plan for extra time in the post. Plus, you can keep track of all your RSVPs digitally so you don’t have to reach out to guests one by one. Basically, all the things that bugged you about paper invites are gone!

Now all you have to do is get out there and be a social butterfly. We hope your bug-themed birthday party is the bee’s knees!