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List of vulnerable insects facts for kids

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Status iucn3.1 VU
Vulnerable (VU) species are considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

Did you know that many amazing insects around the world are in danger? The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) keeps a special list called the Red List. This list helps us understand which animals and plants are at risk of disappearing forever.

In July 2016, the IUCN looked at many insect species. They found that 608 different kinds of insects are considered "vulnerable." This means these insects face a high risk of becoming extinct in the wild. About 10% of all the insects they checked are now on this vulnerable list. There are also 15 insect subspecies (which are like different types within a species) that are vulnerable.

When the IUCN says a species is vulnerable, it means there's strong proof that it could go extinct if we don't help. Species that are "endangered" or "critically endangered" are in even more trouble. All these groups – vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered – are called "threatened species." You can learn more about them here: List of endangered insects, List of critically endangered insects.

Sometimes, there isn't enough information about an insect to decide if it's in danger. These species are called "data deficient." About 1702 insect species (28% of those checked) are in this group. Even though we don't know for sure, these insects often live in small areas or have small populations, which means they are likely to be at risk. The IUCN suggests we should pay close attention to them, just like we do with threatened species.

This article lists some of the vulnerable insect species and subspecies that the IUCN has identified.

Meet the Beetles! (Coleoptera)

Beetles are a huge group of insects. The IUCN has listed 50 different beetle species as vulnerable. Here are a few examples:

Diving Beetles (Dytiscids)

Longhorn Beetles (Cerambycidae)

These beetles are known for their very long antennae.

Scarabs (Scarabaeidae)

Scarabs are a diverse family of beetles, including dung beetles and chafers.

  • Ciervo scarab beetle (Aegialia concinna)
  • Crescent dune scarab beetle (Aegialia crescenta)
  • Ontherus hadros
  • Giuliani's dune scarab beetle (Pseudocotalpa giulianii)

Other Vulnerable Beetles

Flies and Midges (Diptera)

Three species of flies and midges are currently listed as vulnerable.

  • Belkin's dune tabanid fly (Brennania belkini)
  • Tasmanian torrent midge (Edwardsina tasmaniensis)
  • Beautiful-winged fruit fly (Scaptomyza horaeoptera)

Bees, Wasps, and Ants (Hymenoptera)

There are 155 species in the Hymenoptera order that are vulnerable. This group includes many important insects like bees, which help pollinate plants.

Ants (Formicidae)

Many ant species are vulnerable, often due to habitat loss or changes in their environment.

  • Acanthomyops latipes
  • Camponotus universitatis
  • Ravoux's slavemaker ant (Epimyrma ravouxi)
  • Formica talbotae
  • Monomorium inquilinum
  • Myrmica symbiotica
  • Polyergus lucidus
  • Solenopsis daguerrei

Vulnerable Bees

Bees are vital for our planet. Several bee species are vulnerable, including some bumblebees and a giant bee.

Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera)

Lepidoptera includes beautiful moths and butterflies. There are 128 species and ten subspecies in this group that are vulnerable.

Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilionidae)

These butterflies are known for their colorful wings, often with "tails."

Blues and Coppers (Lycaenidae)

This family includes many small, often brightly colored butterflies.

  • Aloeides dentatis
  • Hermes copper (Lycaena hermes)
  • Sierra Nevada blue (Polyommatus golgus)
  • Sinai hairstreak (Satyrium jebelia)

Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae)

This is the largest family of butterflies, with many vulnerable species and subspecies.

  • Uncompahgre fritillary (Boloria acrocnema)
  • Mascarene crow (Euploea euphon)
  • Electra's tree-nymph (Idea electra)
  • New Ireland yellow tiger (Parantica clinias)
  • Crow tiger (Tirumala euploeomorpha)
  • Danaus affinis jimiensis (a subspecies)
  • Sarangani tiger (a subspecies) (Tirumala choaspes tumanana)

Skippers (Hesperiidae)

Skippers are a group of butterflies that often have a fast, "skipping" flight.

Whites and Sulphurs (Pieridae)

This family includes many common white and yellow butterflies.

  • Canary brimstone (Gonepteryx cleobule)
  • Atewa dotted border (Mylothris atewa)

Praying Mantises (Mantodea)

Three species of mantises are vulnerable.

Ice Crawlers (Notoptera)

Only one species of ice crawler is listed as vulnerable.

  • Mount St Helens' grylloblattid (Grylloblatta chirurgica)

Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata)

Dragonflies and damselflies are fascinating insects that live near water. There are 129 species and five subspecies in this order that are vulnerable.

Jewel Damselflies (Chlorocyphids)

  • Banded jewel (Africocypha centripunctata)
  • Albertine jewel (Chlorocypha schmidti)

Threadtails and Stream-damsels (Platycnemidids)

  • Yellow-fronted threadtail (Elattoneura dorsalis)
  • Ceres stream-damsel (Spesbona angusta)

Clubtails (Gomphids)

Species

  • Top end dragon (Antipodogomphus dentosus)
  • Tennessee clubtail (Gomphus sandrius)
  • Townes's clubtail (Stylurus townesi)

Bluets and Sprites (Coenagrionids)

Species

  • Liberian wisp (Agriocnemis angustirami)
  • Yellow waxtail (Ceriagrion citrinum)
  • San Francisco forktail (Ischnura gemina)
  • Oahu damselfly (Megalagrion oahuense)
  • Harlequin sprite (Pseudagrion newtoni)

Subspecies

  • Somalian bluet (Azuragrion somalicum amitinum)
  • Frey's damselfly (Coenagrion hylas freyi)

Hawkers and Darners (Aeshnids)

  • Thylacine darner (Acanthaeschna victoria)
  • Yemen hawker (Pinheyschna yemenensis)

Skimmers (Libellulids)

  • Dark-winged groundling (Brachythemis fuscopalliata)
  • Purple skimmer (Libellula jesseana)

Other Vulnerable Dragonflies and Damselflies

  • Elegant malachite (Chlorolestes elegans)
  • Say's spiketail (Cordulegaster sayi)
  • Splendid cruiser (Macromia splendens)
  • Ringed boghaunter (Williamsonia lintneri)

Grasshoppers and Crickets (Orthoptera)

There are 137 species in the Orthoptera order that are assessed as vulnerable.

Crickets (Gryllidae)

  • Howarth's cave cricket (Caconemobius howarthi)
  • Lanzarote malpais cricket (Hymenoptila lanzarotensis)

Grasshoppers (Acrididae)

  • Usambara slant-faced grasshopper (Acrida bara)
  • Michigan bog grasshopper (Appalachia arcana)
  • Tenerife sand grasshopper (Sphingonotus picteti)

Jerusalem Crickets and Wetas (Stenopelmatidae)

  • Kelso Jerusalem cricket (Ammopelmatus kelsoensis)
  • Wetapunga (Deinacrida heteracantha)

Katydids and Bush-crickets (Tettigoniidae)

Cave Crickets (Rhaphidophoridae)

  • Kalymnos cave-cricket (Dolichopoda calidnae)
  • Kelso giant sand treader cricket (Macrobaenetes kelsoensis)

Other Vulnerable Orthoptera Species

  • Pinaleno monkey grasshopper (Eumorsea pinaleno)
  • Sierra pygmy grasshopper (Tetrix sierrana)

Stick Insects (Phasmatodea)

One species of stick insect is vulnerable.

Stoneflies (Plecoptera)

Two species of stoneflies are vulnerable.

  • Otway stonefly (Eusthenia nothofagi)
  • Mount Kosciusko wingless stonefly (Leptoperla cacuminis)

See also

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