The article is devoted to people's perceptions of the world of insects. Their role is of great importance to human culture. Staying in constant contact with people, many of them left a very deep impression in mythology and folklore of various nations. Insects have a tremendous impact on the world around us. They played an important role at all stages of human existence, introducing a special section of the traditional picture of the world. In folk art the lives of insects is richly reflected. Their images can be found in myths, fairy tales, riddles, proverbs, etc. Insects are mentioned in the mythology of many peoples, such as Egyptian, Greek, Sumerian, Slavic. Their images appear on the pages of the Indian “Mahabharata”, the works of Herodotus, in the Bible. Insects are the most widely reflected in the folklore of the peoples of the tropics, because there insects are represented by the most diverse and numerous species. In the XXI century, as well as for many centuries, people continue to believe in the various omens, dreams, in many ways try to attract good luck, well-being. And this is not the last role played by insects, millions of years of living next to a human. The image of the insects is used in heraldry. Insects occupy a significant place in the history, culture and folklore of the Finno-Ugric peoples. We find the mention of them in a wide variety of folklore genres: riddles, proverbs, tales, legends, legends, etc. In folklore of Mordvins-Erzya insects are mainly associated with rites, rituals, beliefs. Apart from using the image of insects in the folklore and culture the Erzya people use them quite extensively in traditional medicine. The study, based on the classification developed by A. Gura, found that insects have some symbolic meaning, which manifested itself in a number of mythological notions about them in culture. The study examined the role of some insects (ants, bees, ladybug, cockroach, spider) in the traditions and rituals Mordvins-Erzya.