The series is set in "Sunny Patch", populated by anthropomorphic bugs, and primarily centers around the Spider family. The episodes follow the children's adventures playing in Sunny Patch and learning life lessons, such as being kind to others, being imaginative, having responsibility, and being curious about the world around them.
Episodes
Characters
Main
Miss Spider – Like three of her children, Miss Spider is an adoptee, adopted by Betty Beetle when she could not find her biological mother. Miss Spider tries to be a kind and caring mom and give equal time to all of her many children. She strongly believes that "We have to be good to bugs; all bugs."
Squirt – A curious and adventurous green spider, Squirt is considered to be the leader of the children and as such, more stories center around him than any other. He enjoys surfing the air on his webs, dreams of flying like Shimmer or Dragon, and is often ready to take the lead in an adventure. Because of his impulsive and curious personality, he often needs the advice of his parents to help him with situations.
Shimmer – A pinkjewel beetle with an interest in sports and games, Shimmer is different from the rest of the family as she has abilities the others do not. She is one of Miss Spider and Holley's adoptive children.
Dragon – A purple dragonfly who is one of Miss Spider and Holley's adoptive children. He is the eldest of the Spider children and often assumes the role of an antagonist, especially towards Squirt. In several episodes, Dragon serves as an example of peer pressure. For example, in "Cry Buggie," Dragon pokes fun at Squirt when he explains his feelings.
Bounce – A blue bedbug who is one of Miss Spider and Holley's adoptive children. He is a two-legged, high-energy bug and the only bug character in the series to have teeth. He and Dragon have been "best bug buddies" ever since they met because of their similar experiences regarding their original families.
Supporting
Holley – Miss Spider's husband. Holley is a musician who loves to play the guitar. He has a special thinking stone where he makes decisions.
Spinner – A yellow spider sporting very large eyeglasses, he looks almost exactly like his father, Holley. He is a smart and wise bug often looked to for advice. While he is not great at physical activities, he has a wonderful talent for the "bugpipes".
Pansy and Snowdrop - Yellow spiders who are identical twins. Their only distinguishing features are different colored bows on their head; Pansy wears a pink bow, while Snowdrop wears a green bow. Pansy sings well, but not as naturally as Snowdrop.
Wiggle – A blue spider who tends to be the worrier of the group, and is quite emotional.
Ned and Ted – A pair of red ant brothers. Ned speaks with an Australian accent and has a tuft of hair between his antenna and Ted speaks with a New York accent. The both of them are scheming and deceptive and have only two main interests: food and getting more of it. A common running gag is that when one bug mistakes Ted for Ned or vice versa, they would correct the bug by saying "I'm Ted. He's Ned." or vice versa.
Stinky – A green stinkbug who takes up detective work in his free time. He speaks with a New York accent and he is also talented at playing the xylophone.
Felix – A frog who was introduced in the three-part special "A Froggy Day in Sunny Patch." Felix longed to be a bug himself and refuses to eat bugs, as he does not find them tasty. Instead, he eats only berries.
Spiderus Reeves – A whiny, conniving, cowardly spider. He lives with his mate Spindella in a crack at the bottom of the Hollow Tree.
Recurring
Betty Beetle - Betty is Miss Spider's adoptive mother, the kids' maternal grandmother, and Holley's mother-in-law. It's revealed that when Miss Spider couldn't find her real mom, Betty decided to adopt her.
Uncle Asparagus "Gus" - - A red-and-green beetle who is Miss Spider's adoptive brother, Betty's son, Holley's brother-in-law, and the kids' maternal uncle. He loves to stargaze with his nephews and nieces.
Shelley - - A snail who is friends with the Spider family. He is also part of the Sunny Patch Bug Scouts and is a good helper, as he once helped Bounce get his berry ball back.
Spindella Reeves - Spiderus's wife who he met in the Snakey Woods near the farm. They have 3 kids named Mandrake, Belladonna, and Poison Ivy.
Grub - A white grub that has told Squirt about the Snakey Woods.
Whiffy - A light green stinkbug who is Stinky's sister.
Grace - A little lost ladybug who is currently with Stinky and Spiffy until her real family comes.
Lily - A grown-up ladybug.
Snack - A juvenile ladybug.
Eunice Earwig - One of the Spider family's neighbors and the mother of Eddie and Little Sis.
* Eddie Earwig - Eunice Earwig's son and eldest child. He is good friends with Squirt.
* Little Sis - Eunice's youngest child and Eddie's younger sister.
Mr. Mantis - - The teacher of the kids' class.
Beetrice - A queen bee in a hive part of the hollow tree.
Production and broadcast
The series was first announced on December 17, 2003, as part of a Callaway Arts & Entertainment press release. On March 19 of the same year, it was reported that the show was slated to premiere in January 2004 and that Ontario-based animation studioNelvana was currently producing it. The series premiered in January 2004 on Teletoon in Canada and in February 2004 on Nickelodeon in the United States. On June 20, 2005, Nickelodeon ordered a 25-episode second season of the series. The second season premiered on March 13, 2006, with the episode "Captain Sunny Patch." A third season followed and Teletoon aired the show's last episode in June 2007. The series' final episodes did not air in the United States until 2008 when several episodes which had yet to be broadcast in the country were aired on Noggin. The show continued to air on Nick Jr. after its cancellation until September 12, 2014, when the show was pulled from the channel's daily lineup. The show would then be available on the Noggin streaming service until 2018. The same year, Qubo announced they would start airing reruns of the show beginning October 1.
