Top 19 Most Common Insects in Durban

1. Julia skimmer

The species is on the IUCN Red List as not endangered, year of assessment 2009.

2. Western honey bee

Western honey bee（Apis mellifera） is the most common species of honeybee in the world. Among the first domesticated insects, its cultural and economic impact on humanity has been vast and far-reaching, providing honey, wax and its services as a pollinator. Western honey bee faces challenges worldwide, such as colony collapse disorder, and populations are thought to be decreasing.

3. Gaudy commodore

It has a wet season form, which is orange with a pinkish flush and black markings on the upperside, and a dry season form which is shining blue with a vivid red band on the hindwing.

4. Plain tiger butterfly

D. chrysippus is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 7–8 cm (2.8–3.1 in). The body is black with many white spots. The wings are orange, the upperside brighter and richer than the underside. The apical half of the forewing is black with a white band. The hindwing has three black spots in the center. The wings are bordered in black and outlined with semicircular white spots. This species exhibits slight sexual dimorphism, as the Male has large scent glands on his hindwings, which the female lacks. They appear as a large black spot with a white centre if viewed from the underside D. chrysippus is a polymorphic species, so the exact coloring and patterning vary within and between populations. It is similar in appearance to the Indian fritillary (Argynnis hyperbius), which may coexist with it.

5. Blue pansy

The wingspan is 4 - 5 cm. The upper surface of the forewings is black with white markings towards the apex. The upper surface of the hindwings is black with white markings on the outer edge, and a characteristic large metallic-blue spot. This blue spot is smaller and more a dull purple in females. The underside of the forewings is brown with white markings corresponding to those on the upper surface. The under surface of the hindwings is almost uniform brown.

6. Dark grass blue

The wingspan is 1.8 - 2.5 cm for males and 2 - 2.5 cm for females.

7. Spiny flower mantis

Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi, or spiny flower mantis, is a small Flower Mantis (4 cm) native to southern and eastern Africa.

8. Citrus swallowtail

Papilio demodocus , also known under the English name Citrus Swallowtail ("Citrus Swallowtail"), is a butterfly from the family of the knight butterflies (Papilionidae).

9. Goldtail

The species is on the IUCN Red List as not endangered, assessment year 2008, the trend of the population is stable according to the IUCN.

10. Painted lady

The painted lady is a migratory butterfly that spends part of the year in Northern Africa and then migrates to Europe during the warmer months. Although the adults feed on nectar from flowers, the larvae feed on the leaves of nettles and thistles.

11. African common white

The wingspan is 4 - 4.5 cm. The sexes are dimorphic. For males, the uppersides are white with black or brown marginal borders and veins in forewing apex. A black spot exists in the upperside cell instead of a bar as in the brown-veined white (B. aurota).Females have broader dark upperside borders on both wings. Underwings are yellow during the wet season.

12. Edible monkey

Striphnopteryx edulis is a butterfly from the Eupterotidae family. The scientific name of the species was first validly published in 1847 by Boisduval.

13. Lang's short-tailed blue

Leptotes pirithous is a small butterfly with a wingspan of 21–29 mm in males and 24–30 mm in females. The uppersides of the wings are purple bluish in males, bluish brown in female. The undersides are dark beige striped with white lines. The hindwings show marginal orange and black spots and two small tails.

14. Red-veined dropwing

The face of the mature male is deep red, the vertex and top of the frons having a purple sheen. The eyes are deep red and the labium deep yellow with a dark brown stripe in the centre. The synthorax is red with black stripes; mature males often have a purple bloom on the upper thorax.The wings have bright red veins and orange makings at their bases. The pterostigmas are 2.5 - 2.5 mm long and dark brown. The slender abdomen is bright red; S6-S8 have black wedges on each side; S9 and S10 are black. Females have similar markings, but the abdomen and face are yellow to yellowish brown. The sides of the synthorax are pale yellow-brown, as are the lower sides of S1-S3.

15. Phymateus leprosus

16. Scarlet dragonfly

Crocothemis erythraea can reach a length of 3.5 - 4.5 cm. These dragonflies haves a flattened and rather broad abdomen. The adult male scarlet dragonfly has a bright scarlet red, widened abdomen, with small amber patches at the bases of the hindwings. Also the veins on the leading edges of the wings are red. Females and immatures are yellow-brown and have a conspicuous pale stripe along the top of the thorax.

17. Danaid eggfly

The danaid eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus) is a unique butterfly where females tend to have a strong advantage. Males are identified by being blackish with white spots. Females exhibit polymorphism, or the ability to have multiple forms. This means that they can resemble males in some cases, but also resemble toxic butterflies like the Monarch butterfly.

18. Elegant grasshopper

Zonocerus elegans is a right-wing insect from the Pyrgomorphidae family. The scientific name of this species was first validly published in 1815 by Thunberg.

19. Golden piper

Wingspan is 40–50 mm in males and 45–55 mm in females. The male and female are very similar in appearance. The upperside of the wings is dark brown with a wide, yellow-orange band in the lower two-thirds of the forewing margin and the outer half of the hindwing. The underside of the wings is variegated in shades of brown.

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