Top 20 Most Common Insects in Samoa

Adults can grow up to 3.5 cm.

The largest of the crabs to inhabit the African mangroves, the land crab can often be seen scurrying across roadways and making their way into residents' gardens. They form burrows about 1.8 m deep where the larvae complete six stages of growth.

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is the most recognizable butterfly in North America. It is best known for its appearance, but should be better known for the fact that it has a 3000-mile migration that takes the butterfly 4 generations to complete. Their diet is also a natural deterrent for predators, as they eat milkweed, a poison that induces vomiting.

The coral-tailed cloud wing (Tholymis tillarga) is known for having a wide variety of interesting names that include the Old world twister. However, the "cloud wing" name is the most identifiable due to the cloudy section of their hindwing. It has a bright, red abdomen and frequents around humid areas so that it may produce offspring in standing pools of water.

The giant Crab Spider is a large spider native to the tropics; the largest reported individual had a leg span of 30 cm. This cosmopolitan spider is highly valued in some areas, as it's able to catch cockroaches and other indoor pests. Reportedly, it hunts even scorpions and bats. This spider is venomous and sometimes bites humans, but it's considered harmless.

Tramea members typically have coloured bases to their hindwings. When they fly, this creates the impression of them carrying bags at the top of the abdomen; hence they are commonly known as saddlebags gliders. In general, adult males have a dark thorax and bright abdomen.

Male upperside, forewing: velvety jet black; base deep blue, beautifully metallic and shining, measured on the dorsum this colour occupies three-fourths of its length from base, its outer margin then curves upwards just past the apex of the cell, entera into the bases of interspaces 10, 11 and 12 and fills the whole of the cell. Hindwing: costal margin above subcostal vein and vein 7, and dorsal margin narrowly fuscous black, a medial longitudinal pale streak on the former; terminal margin narrowly edged with velvety black, inside which in interspaces 1 and 2 is a slender transverse whitish line, with an elongate irregular transverse black spot above it in interspace 1 and a more obscure similar spot in interspace 2; traces of such spots also are present in some specimens in the anterior interspaces. Cilia of both forewings and hindwings black; filamentous tail at apex of vein 2 black tipped with white. Underside: dark chocolate brown. Forewings and hindwings; transversely crossed by the following very slender white hues all more or less broken into short pieces: Forewing: a short pair one on each side of and parallel to the discocellulars, a pale streak along the discocellulars themselves; a single line in continuation of the outer of the discocellular lines, extends down to vein 1; an upper discal pair of lines that form a more or less catenulated (chain-like) short band extend from the costa to vein 3, the inner line of the two continued to vein 1; two more obscure subterminal and a single terminal line, the area enclosed between the subterminal lines and between them and the terminal line darker in the interspaces, giving the appearance of two obscure subterminal lines of spots edged inwardly and outwardly by white lines. Hindwing: crossed by nine very broken and irregular lines; tracing them from the costa downwards their middle short pieces are found to be shifted outwards and a few are short and not complete, the inner two are posteriorly bent abruptly upwards, the subterminal two are lunular and the terminal line nearly continuous; posteriorly between the subterminal pair of lines in interspace 1 there is a small black spot inwardly edged with dark ochraceous, and in interspace 2a much larger round black spot, both black spots are touched with metallic blue scales. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black, the shafts of the antennae speckled with white; beneath: palpi, thorax and abdomen narrowly white down the middle. Female,similar to the male generally but with the following differences: upperside, forewing: ground colour fuscous opaque black, not velvety black, blue basal area more restricted and not so deep a blue nor at all metallic. Hindwing: the black costal and terminal margins very much broader, the blue on the basal area consequently much restricted and of the same shade as the blue on the forewing; terminal margin with a subterminal anteriorly obsolescent series of spots of a shade darker than that of the terminal black area on which they are superposed; these spots posteriorly more or less distinctly encircled with slender lines of bluish white, anteriorly these lines are almost obsolete. Cilia of both forewings and hindwings and the filamentous short tail as in the male. Underside: similar to that of the cf but the ground colour generally paler and duller; the transverse white lines broader and more dearly defined. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male.

Male upperside is dull violet blue, which changes to a brighter tint of violet in certain lights. Forewing: the costa very narrowly, the termen much more broadly dull brown; this edging to the termen in most specimens decreases in width from apex to tornus, and is outwardly followed by an anteciliary darker brown line. Cilia brownish anteriorly, posteriorly brownish at the base with the apical portions white. Hindwing: the ground colour brighter than on the forewing, the costal and terminal margins much more narrowly edged with brown, which edging is merged in the anteciliary dark brown line. Cilia: brown along their basal halves, white apically. Underside: grey. Forewing: a dusky brown lunular line on the discocellulars; two subcostal spots above the cell, one on either side of the discocellular lunule; a very strongly curved discal series of five spots, of which the posterior three are somewhat lunular in shape and placed obliquely en echelon, the next above these hook shaped, the anterior spot round; both the subcostal spots and the spots of the discal series are black, each narrowly encircled with white; beyond these are inner and outer subterminal dusky lines, which anteriorly are continuous, posteriorly somewhat broken and macular, followed by a very conspicuous jet-black anteciliary slender line. Cilia greyish white, traversed by a medial transverse blackish-brown line. Hindwing: with the following small white-encircled black spots: a subbasal transverse series of three, followed by a highly curved series of eight spots, that curve across the disc of the wing to the costa and along the latter towards the base; discocellulars with a dusky short lunular line as on the forewing; terminal markings and cilia similar, but the outer and broader subterminal line more broken and macular than on the forewing. Antennae black, the shafts ringed with white; head, thorax and abdomen dark brown, with a little violet pubescence on the head and thorax; beneath: palpi, thorax and abdomen greyish white. Female upperside: glossy brown, without any violet tint whatever; the anteciliary darker brown lines on both forewings and hindwings well marked. Underside: very similar to that of the male, the ground colour a shade darker, the markings slightly larger and more prominent. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male, but the latter three without a trace of violet or blue on the upperside.