Wetlands

105 species found in this habitat

Lepidoptera

African Sugarcane Borer

Eldana saccharina

The most important pest of sugarcane in sub-Saharan Africa. Larvae bore into sugarcane stalks, reducing sugar content an...

Coleoptera

Agonum Marsh Ground Beetle

Agonum marginatum

A medium-sized metallic green ground beetle with pale-margined elytra found exclusively in wetland habitats. It runs rap...

Odonata

Aldabra Giant Dragonfly

Hemianax ephippiger

A powerful migratory dragonfly found on Aldabra Atoll and across the Indian Ocean region. It undertakes long-distance fl...

Hemiptera

American Marsh Treader

Hydrometra martini

A very thin, elongate bug with a head nearly as long as its thorax. It creeps slowly along floating debris and sphagnum ...

Odonata

Ancient Greenling

Hemiphlebia mirabilis

The sole surviving member of one of the most ancient damselfly families on Earth....

Diptera

Aquatic Snail-killing Fly

Sepedon sphegea

A slender marsh fly with a distinctly pointed abdomen and yellowish-brown coloring. Larvae are aquatic predators of fres...

Coleoptera

Bethany Beach Firefly

Photuris bethaniensis

A predatory firefly known from a narrow range along the mid-Atlantic coast. Females mimic the flash patterns of other fi...

Diptera

Black-Tailed Deer Fly

Chrysops niger

A small dark deer fly with mostly blackened wings and green iridescent eyes. It is an aggressive daytime biter commonly ...

Coleoptera

Blue Margined Ground Beetle

Chlaenius impunctifrons

A brilliantly colored ground beetle with bright metallic blue-green elytra and a velvety texture from fine pubescence. I...

Hemiptera

Blue Shieldbug

Zicrona caerulea

A metallic blue-green predatory stink bug found across Europe and Asia. It specializes in hunting flea beetles and other...

Coleoptera

Borneo Pulsing Firefly

Pteroptyx tener

A synchronous firefly of Southeast Asian mangroves that produces green flashes in unison with thousands of others. Massi...

Lepidoptera

Brazilian Skipper

Calpodes ethlius

A robust brown skipper butterfly with translucent white spots on the forewings. Its larvae build leaf shelters on canna ...

Coleoptera

Bronze Flea Beetle

Altica ambiens

A metallic bronze to greenish flea beetle with prominent hind leg development. It feeds on alder leaves in wetland habit...

Hemiptera

Brown Planthopper

Nilaparvata lugens

The most destructive insect pest of rice in Asia, capable of causing 'hopper burn' that destroys entire fields. It feeds...

Coleoptera

Claudius Ground Beetle

Carabus clathratus

A large bronze or coppery-black ground beetle with distinctive chain-like patterning on its elytra formed by rows of rai...

Lepidoptera

Common Birdwing

Troides helena

A large birdwing butterfly with velvety black forewings and bright golden-yellow hindwings in males. Females are larger ...

Orthoptera

Common Cone-head

Conocephalus fuscus

A small slender katydid with a pointed head and brown body. It lives low in tall grasses near wetlands. Its song is a fa...

Diptera

Common House Mosquito

Culex pipiens

A ubiquitous pale brown mosquito found in urban and suburban environments. It is the primary vector of West Nile virus i...

Orthoptera

Cone-headed Katydid

Neoconocephalus ensiger

A long, slender katydid with a distinctive pointed cone on the top of its head. It hides among tall grasses and reeds, w...

Odonata

Congo Basin Dragonfly

Palpopleura lucia

A small but strikingly colored dragonfly with a broad, flattened abdomen. Males are bright blue with black wing markings...

Lepidoptera

Corvus Skipper

Trapezites symmomus

A robust dark skipper butterfly with orange-spotted wings found in sedge-rich wetlands. It is endemic to southeastern Au...

Odonata

Crimson Marsh Glider

Trithemis aurora

A dazzling dragonfly where males are vivid crimson-pink with rose-tinted wing bases. Females are olive-brown. It perches...

Lepidoptera

Cuban Dagger Moth

Acronicta oblinita

A moth found in Cuba and North America whose caterpillars bear dense tufts of hair. Adults are grayish with subtle dagge...

Coleoptera

Delta Green Ground Beetle

Elaphrus viridis

A small metallic green ground beetle found only near vernal pools in Solano County, California. It is threatened by urba...

Lepidoptera

Dingy Footman Moth

Eilema griseola

A small pale straw-yellow moth with slightly darker forewing edges. It rests flat-winged unlike many other footman moths...

Diptera

Downlooker Fly

Rhagio tringarius

A slender predatory fly with spotted wings that perches head-downward on vegetation waiting for prey....

Lepidoptera

Drinker Moth

Euthrix potatoria

A large golden-brown moth named because its caterpillar was observed drinking drops of dew from grass blades....

Lepidoptera

Ear Moth

Amphipoea oculea

A small brown moth whose larvae bore inside grass and rush stems. Very variable in appearance. Part of a species complex...

Hemiptera

European Chinch Bug

Ischnodemus sabuleti

A small, elongate seed bug that feeds on rushes and grasses in wetland habitats across Europe. It has both winged and wi...

Lepidoptera

False Ringlet

Coenonympha oedippus

A small, drab brown butterfly with a row of striking silver-centred eyespots on the hindwing underside. It is one of the...

Coleoptera

Fen Rove Beetle

Stenus providus

A tiny rove beetle of wetland margins with exceptionally large eyes for a beetle its size. Uses a retractable sticky lab...

Coleoptera

Fleabane Tortoise Beetle

Cassida murraea

A striking red-brown and black tortoise beetle associated with fleabane plants. Has characteristic dark markings on the ...

Coleoptera

Florida Predatory Firefly

Photuris frontalis

A large predatory firefly found in the southeastern United States that exhibits synchronous flashing behavior. Males pro...

Odonata

Giant Petaltail Dragonfly

Petalura ingentissima

Australias largest dragonfly and one of the most primitive living species, belonging to a family dating back to the Jura...

Coleoptera

Giant Swamp Leaf Beetle

Donacia provostii

One of the larger species of reed beetle, with a metallic golden-green to coppery body and distinctive long antennae. Ad...

Coleoptera

Golden Reed Beetle

Donacia vulgaris

A slender, metallic beetle with golden to coppery-green coloration and elongated antennae. It is commonly found resting ...

Lepidoptera

Golden-headed Micropterix

Micropterix aruncella

A tiny, metallic-headed moth that is among the most primitive living Lepidoptera. Adults have functional jaws instead of...

Coleoptera

Granulated Ground Beetle

Carabus granulatus

A widespread dark bronze ground beetle with distinctly ridged and granulated wing cases. It thrives in damp habitats nea...

Odonata

Graphic Flutterer

Rhyothemis graphiptera

A stunning dragonfly with dark patterned wings that give it a butterfly-like appearance in flight. It flies with a disti...

Coleoptera

Green Mangrove Tiger Beetle

Myriochila mastersi

A metallic green tiger beetle that inhabits mangrove mud flats and tidal zones along the northern Australian coast. It i...

Neuroptera

Green Mantidfly

Zeugomantispa minuta

A small green mantidfly found in the southeastern United States. It has enlarged raptorial forelegs and a long prothorax...

Hemiptera

Green Rice Leafhopper

Nephotettix virescens

A major pest of rice in tropical Asia, transmitting tungro virus disease. It is one of the most economically damaging le...

Coleoptera

Green Tortoise Beetle

Cassida viridis

A broadly oval, flattened beetle that is bright green in life, with transparent margins around the pronotum and elytra. ...

Odonata

Hairy Dragonfly

Brachytron pratense

The earliest-emerging hawker dragonfly in Europe, with a distinctively hairy thorax. Males have blue and green markings ...

Odonata

Hawaiian Orangeblack Damselfly

Megalagrion xanthomelas

A strikingly coloured Hawaiian damselfly with orange and black markings. It was once widespread in lowland wetlands but ...

Odonata

Hine's Emerald Dragonfly

Somatochlora hineana

A brilliant green-eyed emerald dragonfly found in calcareous spring-fed wetlands. It is one of the most endangered drago...

Diptera

Horn-faced Marsh Fly

Dictya umbrarum

A small yellowish marsh fly with patterned wings and prominent facial ridges. Larvae feed on decomposing aquatic snails ...

Diptera

Horse Fly

Tabanus bovinus

A large, stout fly with huge iridescent compound eyes that display rainbow patterns. Only females bite, using scissor-li...

Coleoptera

Iris Flea Beetle

Aphthona nonstriata

A small blue-green flea beetle associated with yellow iris in wetland habitats. Larvae feed on iris roots underwater. A ...

Odonata

Japanese Emperor Dragonfly

Anax parthenope julius

A large hawker dragonfly and one of the most powerful aerial predators in Japanese wetlands. Known as 'gin-yanma' for it...

Lepidoptera

Large Copper Butterfly

Lycaena dispar

Once widespread across European wetlands, the English subspecies went extinct in the 1850s. Remaining populations are de...

Hymenoptera

Large Sallow Mining Bee

Andrena apicata

A rare, early-spring mining bee that specializes on sallow and willow catkins. It has declined significantly across Euro...

Diptera

Latrine Fly

Fannia scalaris

A small fly that breeds in excrement and decaying organic matter in latrines and drains. It can cause urogenital myiasis...

Orthoptera

Long-horned Grasshopper

Ruspolia nitidula

A cone-headed katydid with an elongated fastigium and long antennae. It can be green or brown. It is a popular edible in...

Orthoptera

Long-winged Conehead

Conocephalus discolor

A slim green bush-cricket with a pointed head that has dramatically expanded its range northward in Britain. Produces a ...

Hymenoptera

Lythrum Bee

Melitta nigricans

A specialist bee that collects pollen from purple loosestrife along rivers and wetland margins. It is a ground-nesting s...

Coleoptera

Malagasy Firefly

Luciola madagascariensis

A soft-bodied beetle with a yellowish pronotum and dark elytra, producing a steady green bioluminescent glow from its ab...

Collembola

Marsh Springtail

Isotomurus palustris

A colorful elongate springtail found near ponds, streams, and marshy areas. Its color varies from green to orange depend...

Coleoptera

Metallic Green Leaf Beetle

Plagiodera versicolora

A small, rounded beetle with shiny metallic blue-green to dark green elytra. It is one of the most common willow-feeding...

Lepidoptera

Micropterix Moth

Micropterix calthella

One of the most primitive moths with functional mandibles that chew pollen. Lacks the typical coiled proboscis of other ...

Orthoptera

Migratory Locust

Locusta migratoria

The most widespread locust species in the world, found across Africa, Asia, and Oceania. It exhibits dramatic phase poly...

Coleoptera

Mint Leaf Beetle

Chrysolina herbacea

A brilliant metallic green beetle that feeds exclusively on mint plants. Its coppery-green sheen makes it one of the mos...

Coleoptera

Miyako Firefly

Luciola filiformis

A small Japanese firefly found on Miyako Island with a slender body and greenish-yellow luminescence. It has a limited d...

Lepidoptera

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth

Hemaris tityus

A bumblebee mimic with largely transparent wings and a furry olive-and-brown body. It flies by day, hovering at flowers ...

Odonata

Norfolk Damselfly

Coenagrion armatum

A critically rare damselfly once found in the Norfolk Broads of England, now extinct in Britain. Small populations persi...

Odonata

Norfolk Hawker

Anaciaeschna isosceles

A large brown hawker dragonfly with distinctive green eyes and a yellow triangle on the second abdominal segment. It is ...

Hemiptera

North American Water Scorpion

Ranatra fusca

A stick-like aquatic predator found in ponds and marshes across eastern North America. It walks slowly on submerged vege...

Odonata

Northern Damselfly

Coenagrion johanssoni

A delicate blue and black damselfly with narrow wings held together above the body at rest. Males have a distinctive blu...

Diptera

Phantom Crane Fly

Bittacomorpha clavipes

A delicate fly with swollen black and white banded tarsi that acts as a tiny parachute, allowing it to float effortlessl...

Coleoptera

Pictured Rove Beetle

Paederus littoralis

A slender black and orange rove beetle with short elytra exposing most of its abdomen. It contains the toxin pederin whi...

Strepsiptera

Planthopper Strepsipteran

Halictophagus australensis

An Australian strepsipteran parasite of delphacid planthoppers. It alters the host's reproductive development and morpho...

Coleoptera

Purple Loosestrife Beetle

Galerucella calmariensis

A small, yellowish-brown beetle deliberately introduced as a biocontrol agent against invasive purple loosestrife. Adult...

Lepidoptera

Reed Leopard Moth

Phragmataecia castaneae

A cossid moth whose larvae bore into the stems of common reed and bulrush. It is widespread across European wetlands and...

Lepidoptera

Rice Stem Borer

Scirpophaga incertulas

A small white moth whose larvae bore into rice stems, causing the devastating symptoms known as 'dead heart' in vegetati...

Hemiptera

Rice Stink Bug

Oebalus pugnax

A slender, straw-colored stink bug that is the most damaging hemipteran pest of rice in the Americas. It feeds on develo...

Coleoptera

Rice Water Weevil

Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus

A small, grey-brown weevil that feeds on rice roots as a larva and on rice leaves as an adult. Adults create distinctive...

Odonata

Roseate Skimmer

Orthemis ferruginea

A dragonfly where mature males develop a beautiful rosy-pink to violet abdomen. Females are brown with a pale dorsal str...

Lepidoptera

Round-winged Muslin Moth

Thumatha senex

A tiny moth with rounded translucent whitish wings marked with faint grey spots. It is among the smallest of the footman...

Diptera

Sand Gnat

Culicoides furens

A very small biting midge commonly known as a no-see-um due to its near-invisible size. Despite being barely visible, it...

Coleoptera

Say's Firefly

Pyractomena angulata

An early-season firefly with amber-orange flashes seen in spring across eastern North America. It is among the first fir...

Odonata

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly

Ischnura pumilio

One of Europe's smallest damselflies, with a black body and a single blue segment near the tail tip. Females come in a r...

Coleoptera

Shore Rove Beetle

Philonthus quisquiliarius

A small metallic greenish rove beetle found along pond and river margins in marshy habitats. Hunts small invertebrates i...

Coleoptera

Shoreline Rove Beetle

Bledius spectabilis

A burrowing rove beetle that constructs vertical tunnels in salt marsh mud. It feeds on algae scraped from wet sediment ...

Lepidoptera

Sleepy Orange

Eurema nicippe

Bright orange butterfly with irregular black borders and a small dark spot on the forewing. Named for a sleepy-eye-shape...

Orthoptera

Slender Groundhopper

Tetrix subulata

A small, fully-winged pygmy grasshopper found near water in marshy and boggy habitats across the Northern Hemisphere. Un...

Diptera

Snail-killing Fly

Tetanocera elata

A wetland fly whose larvae are specialized predators or parasitoids of land snails. It has been investigated as a biocon...

Hymenoptera

Spotted-eye Hover Fly

Eristalinus taeniops

A large hover fly with distinctively striped compound eyes and a bee-like body. It is an excellent pollinator found thro...

Coleoptera

Striped Crawling Water Beetle

Haliplus lineaticollis

A small yellowish-brown beetle with distinctive dark longitudinal stripes on the pronotum. It is commonly found in weedy...

Diptera

Subarctic Crane Fly

Prionocera turcica

A medium-sized crane fly with distinctive patterned wings and long, slender legs. Larvae develop in wet peatland soils. ...

Hemiptera

Swamp Cicada

Neotibicen tibicen

A large dark cicada with green markings and a loud droning call heard in late summer. It is often called the morning cic...

Lepidoptera

Swamp Metalmark

Calephelis mutica

A rare and localized metalmark butterfly of midwestern wetlands with warm rusty-brown wings marked with fine metallic li...

Lepidoptera

Sweetbay Silk Moth

Callosamia securifera

A large silk moth similar to the promethea but associated with sweetbay magnolia in the southeastern United States. Male...

Coleoptera

Synchronous Firefly of India

Pteroptyx maipo

A small firefly known for its remarkable ability to synchronize its flashing with neighboring individuals. Mangrove tree...

Diptera

Tapered Drone Fly

Eristalis pertinax

A large hoverfly resembling a honeybee but distinguished by its yellow-tipped front tarsi. It is active from early sprin...

Coleoptera

Thai Synchronous Firefly

Pteroptyx malaccae

A synchronous firefly of Southeast Asian mangroves that gathers in large congregations. Males synchronize their flashes ...

Coleoptera

Tropical Rove Beetle

Erichsonius cinerascens

A small, greyish rove beetle found in marshy habitats and pond margins. It is a useful bioindicator of wetland health....

Diptera

Twin-lobed Deer Fly

Chrysops relictus

A golden-green eyed deer fly with distinctive dark wing markings. It breeds in peaty wetlands and bogs across northern r...

Coleoptera

Two-spotted Jet Beetle

Stenus bipunctatus

A small black rove beetle with two distinctive reddish spots on its elytra and greatly enlarged compound eyes. It is an ...

Coleoptera

Water Spinach Flea Beetle

Chaetocnema basalis

A tiny, shiny dark bronze to black flea beetle that is a significant pest of rice seedlings and water spinach across tro...

Diptera

Western Encephalitis Mosquito

Culex tarsalis

A medium-sized mosquito with a distinctive white band on the proboscis and banded legs. It is the most important vector ...

Hymenoptera

Willow Bean-Gall Sawfly

Pontania proxima

A tiny sawfly that induces distinctive bean-shaped galls on the leaves of various willow species. Each gall contains a s...

Coleoptera

Willow Calligrapha

Calligrapha multipunctata bigsbyana

A subspecies of Calligrapha with pale elytra marked with elongated dark spots and dashes. It is associated with willow t...

Hymenoptera

Willow Sawfly

Nematus salicis

A defoliator of willows across Europe found in wetlands and riparian areas. Larvae feed gregariously on willow leaves fr...

Odonata

Yellow-striped Flutterer

Rhyothemis phyllis

A small dragonfly with bold yellow and black stripes on its wings. It flies in a distinctive fluttering manner, resembli...

Odonata

Yellow-winged Darter

Sympetrum flaveolum

A medium-sized darter with extensive saffron-yellow patches at the base of all four wings. Males are red-bodied while fe...