虫
chóng
Many legs or none at all, it still gets 虫
The picture One small thin thing bending its body along the ground as it crawls. 虫 crawls low and small; 鸟 climbs high on feathers.
Where the picture shows up in 虫
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the small crawler
菜里有一只虫子。
cài lǐ yǒu yì zhī chóngzi
There's a bug in the vegetables.
A small body wriggling out from between the leaves of a vegetable
The 子 in 虫子 is a meaningless tail on the name.
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it whines in and bites
夏天蚊子太多了。
xiàtiān wénzi tài duō le
There are far too many mosquitoes in summer.
A whine at the ear, then a landing on the forearm and a red welt rising
The left half of 蚊 is 虫.
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no legs, all winding
山里小心有蛇。
shān lǐ xiǎoxīn yǒu shé
Watch out for snakes up in the hills.
A whole body bending side to side as it slides off through the grass
A snake has no legs, but its body bends — so it belongs to the 虫 family.
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swarming after flowers
院子里来了一群蜜蜂。
yuànzi lǐ lái le yì qún mìfēng
A swarm of bees came into the yard.
Small wings circling the blossoms, pollen packed onto their hind legs
群 is the measure word for a swarm or herd.
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folding and unfolding wings
花上停着一只蝴蝶。
huā shàng tíngzhe yì zhī húdié
There's a butterfly resting on the flower.
Broad wings closing slowly on a petal, then opening again
Both characters of 蝴蝶 carry 虫.
All of it in one picture
虫 is a small thing bending its body to crawl. Give it wings and a taste for blood and it is a mosquito; take all its legs away and let it wind along and it is a snake. Send it out in swarms after flowers and it is a bee; let it fold and unfold broad wings on a petal and it is a butterfly. So when 虫 sits on the left of a character, read it as: something far smaller than you, with a body that bends.