Tundra & Arctic
58 species found in this habitat
Agabus Arctic Diving Beetle
Agabus arcticus
A cold-adapted diving beetle found in northern and alpine regions across the Holarctic. It thrives in frigid mountain st...
Antarctic Midge
Belgica antarctica
The only insect endemic to Antarctica and the continents largest purely terrestrial animal at 2-6 mm. Wingless, freeze-t...
Arctic Aphid
Acyrthosiphon svalbardicum
A small, pale green aphid that is one of the most northerly herbivorous insects on Earth. It feeds on the sap of Dryas o...
Arctic Click Beetle
Hypnoidus riparius
A small, brown click beetle with a distinctive snapping mechanism that allows it to flip itself upright when overturned....
Arctic Clouded Yellow
Colias tyche
A medium-sized butterfly with pale greenish-yellow wings and prominent dark borders. The underside has a silvery-white d...
Arctic Crane Fly
Tipula arctica
A large, long-legged fly with narrow wings and a slender body. Its legs break off easily when seized by predators. Larva...
Arctic Fritillary
Boloria chariclea
A small, orange-brown fritillary butterfly of arctic and alpine tundra. Its underside has distinctive silvery-white mark...
Arctic Ground Beetle
Amara alpina
A small, dark bronze ground beetle found on Arctic and alpine tundra. It has a broad, flattened body ideal for shelterin...
Arctic Hover Fly
Syrphus torvus
A medium-sized hover fly with bold yellow and black banding that mimics a wasp. It is a skilled hoverer that can remain ...
Arctic Louse Fly
Ornithomya fringillina
A flattened, wingless or short-winged parasitic fly that lives among the feathers of Arctic birds. Its laterally flatten...
Arctic Mayfly
Baetis bundyae
A small, delicate mayfly with transparent wings and two long tail filaments. Nymphs are agile swimmers in cold Arctic st...
Arctic Mosquito
Aedes nigripes
A large, dark-bodied mosquito common across the Arctic tundra. Females emerge in enormous swarms after snowmelt to blood...
Arctic Parasitic Wasp
Hyposoter horticola
A slender parasitic wasp with a black body, orange legs, and long antennae. Females search for caterpillar hosts on tund...
Arctic Psyllid
Cacopsylla brunneipennis
A tiny, winged sap-sucking insect that feeds on willow in Arctic and subarctic regions. Adults are brownish with transpa...
Arctic Ringlet
Erebia disa
A dark brown ringlet butterfly of arctic and alpine bogs. It flies low over sedge tussocks in a slow, bobbing flight pat...
Arctic Rove Beetle
Quedius boops
A medium-sized rove beetle with a sleek black body and short elytra. It has large eyes for hunting in dim conditions. Fo...
Arctic Sawfly
Amauronematus abnormis
A small, dark sawfly associated with willows in Arctic and subarctic regions. Females use their saw-like ovipositor to c...
Arctic Seed Bug
Nysius groenlandicus
A small, elongate grayish-brown seed bug with a narrow body and prominent eyes. It feeds on seeds and plant sap in Arcti...
Arctic Springtail
Megaphorura arctica
A white, eyeless springtail that lives in soil and under stones in the High Arctic. It lacks a furcula and cannot jump. ...
Arctic Sulphur
Colias nastes
A pale greenish-white butterfly with dusky wing margins and small dark discal spots. Its subdued coloration helps it abs...
Arctic Thrips
Aptinothrips rufus
A tiny, wingless thrips that feeds on grasses in Arctic and subarctic habitats. Its brown body is barely visible without...
Arctic Tiger Moth
Grammia quenseli
A striking moth with black and cream striped forewings and orange-red hindwings with black spots. The hairy caterpillar ...
Arctic Water Bug
Arctocorisa carinata
A small aquatic bug with a flattened body and oar-like hind legs for swimming. The back has fine transverse lines. It in...
Arctic Weevil
Otiorhynchus arcticus
A small, dark, flightless weevil with a short broad snout and rough-textured elytra. Adults are nocturnal and hide under...
Bronze Furrow Bee
Halictus tumulorum
A small, dark metallic furrow bee with a subtle bronze sheen widespread across the Palearctic. It is primitively eusocia...
Clock Ground Beetle
Amara aenea
A small, bronze-colored ground beetle extremely common across the Palearctic region. It is a mixed feeder consuming both...
Dingy Arctic Fritillary
Boloria improba
One of the smallest Arctic fritillaries with dull orange-brown wings and dark markings. The underside is mottled brown a...
Dusky-winged Fritillary
Boloria natazhati
A small fritillary butterfly with dark brown wings bearing orange spots and complex underside markings. It flies in remo...
Freija Fritillary
Boloria freija
A medium-small fritillary with bright orange wings bearing black zigzag markings. The hindwing underside features a dist...
Frigga Fritillary
Boloria frigga
A medium-sized fritillary with tawny-orange wings and a bold pattern of dark lines. The hindwing underside has a distinc...
Greenland Copper
Lycaena phlaeas polaris
The Arctic subspecies of the small copper butterfly, smaller and darker than its temperate counterparts. The forewings a...
Greenland Ground Beetle
Patrobus septentrionis
A dark brown to black ground beetle with long legs and a narrowly oval body. It is common under stones and moss in damp ...
Greenland Noctuid Moth
Sympistis zetterstedtii
A small, cryptically patterned moth with mottled gray and brown forewings. It is one of the few noctuid moths that has a...
Harpalus Seed-eating Ground Beetle
Harpalus rufipes
A common Palearctic ground beetle with pubescent elytra and orange-red legs. Despite being partly granivorous, it also p...
Icelandic Water Beetle
Agabus bipustulatus
A medium-sized, oval, dark brown diving beetle found in cold ponds and lakes. It carries a silvery air bubble under its ...
Lapland Bumblebee
Bombus lapponicus
A medium-sized bumblebee with a distinctive orange tail and yellow collar band. It is well adapted to cold, windy condit...
Mole-nest Rove Beetle
Quedius mesomelinus
A medium-sized, dark rove beetle commonly found in caves, cellars, and the nests of burrowing mammals. It is one of the ...
Mountain Shieldbug
Canthophorus impressus
A small, dark brown to black burrowing shieldbug found in Arctic and alpine habitats. It has a broadly oval body with a ...
Nervous Brown Lacewing
Micromus variegatus
A tiny mottled brown lacewing found across the Palearctic region. Despite its small size, it is an effective predator of...
Northern Clouded Yellow
Colias hecla
A bright orange-yellow butterfly with broad dark borders on the upperwings. The underside is greenish-yellow with a prom...
Northern Ground Beetle
Pelophila borealis
A medium-sized, dark metallic green or bronze ground beetle with long legs. It is an active predator on riverbanks and l...
Northern House Mosquito
Aedes hexodontus
A dark-colored Arctic mosquito with distinctive banding on the abdomen. It breeds in tundra pools and is a major pest sp...
Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui
The most widely distributed butterfly in the world, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. Known ...
Polar Fritillary
Boloria polaris
A small butterfly with warm orange upperwings marked with dark spots and zigzag lines. The underside has a distinctive p...
Polar Willow Gall Sawfly
Euura arcticum
A tiny sawfly that induces galls on Arctic willow stems by injecting chemicals during egg-laying. The larva develops saf...
Ross's Alpine
Erebia rossii
A dark brown butterfly with small reddish-orange eye spots on the forewings. Its cryptic coloration allows it to blend w...
Small Poplar Borer
Saperda populnea
A smaller relative of S. carcharias with yellowish-green pubescence and a row of spots along the elytral suture. It atta...
Snow Flea
Glaciopsyllus antarcticus
A flea that parasitizes petrels and survives Antarctic conditions year-round....
Striped Green Lacewing
Chrysopa pallens
A pale green lacewing with a characteristic dark stripe along the body. Widely distributed across the Palearctic region....
Subarctic Dart Moth
Agrotis gelida
A medium-sized moth with dark grayish-brown forewings marked with kidney and orbicular spots. It flies in midsummer acro...
Svalbard Springtail
Folsomia quadrioculata
A small, pale springtail with only four simple eyes, for which it is named. It is extremely common in Arctic soils where...
Terminalis Spongillafly
Sisyra terminalis
A Palearctic spongillafly with dark wing tips found near clean freshwater systems. Indicator of good water quality and h...
Tundra Blow Fly
Protophormia terraenovae
A metallic dark blue blow fly common across Arctic and subarctic regions. It is one of the first flies to become active ...
Tundra Ichneumon Wasp
Ichneumon gracilicornis
A medium-sized ichneumon wasp with a black body and conspicuous yellow-banded abdomen. It has a long, slender ovipositor...
Tundra Leaf Beetle
Chrysomela lapponica
A rounded, metallic reddish-brown leaf beetle with variable dark markings. Adults and larvae feed on willows in subarcti...
Tundra Mosquito
Aedes impiger
A small but abundant Arctic mosquito with dark body and pale leg bands. It is one of the most northerly distributed mosq...
Tundra Wolf Spider
Pardosa glacialis
A dark, medium-sized wolf spider with cryptic brown and gray patterning. Females carry their egg sacs attached to their ...
Wrinkled Rove Beetle
Oxytelus rugosus
A small, flattened rove beetle with a heavily sculptured pronotum bearing deep longitudinal furrows. It is one of the mo...