


Top 20 Most Common Insects in Palma
Insects, treasured for their diversity and resiliency, can be found in every corner of Palma. Each geographical location within this region offers a unique environment, making it a hub for a broad range of bug species. Not only vital contributors to healthy ecosystems, these insects, both pest and beneficial, need our understanding, portraying the intricate relationship between a region's environments and its insect inhabitants. Stay tuned for our list of 'Top 20 most common insects in Palma'.

Most Common Insects

1. Asian Tiger Mosquito
The asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has recently (the 1970s) infested every corner of the world through the shipment of used tired, lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana), and other similar products. The asian Tiger Mosquito is known to transmit many deadly diseases that include West Nile Virus.

2. Speckled wood
The speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) prefers to live in damp, dark woodlands. Unlike other butterflies, it's more active in shadier habitats rather than sunny ones. Males often fight over a perch, spiraling up to the treetops until they determine a winner. These perches are where the males find passing females.

3. Red Swamp Crayfish
The economically important red Swamp Crayfish is a seasonal seafood staple around the world. It is also called the Louisiana crawfish, an apt name given that the US state produces 90-95% of all harvested specimens. The red Swamp Crayfish is invasive in the EU due to its aggressively spreading populations and competitiveness to native crayfish species. It is also known to cause damage to rice crops from its burrowing habit, which displaces the plants.

4. Copper chafer

5. Great capricorn beetle
This beetle measures between 41 and 55 mm in body length and is among the largest of the European beetle species. It has an elongated, robust body and, like all members of the longhorn family, it has long antennae. In males, these thread-like antennae are longer than the body, but in females they are only as long as the hard wing cases (the elytra). The legs and body are black, except for the elytra which are reddish-brown towards the tips.


6. Wall brown
P. megera L. [— xiphie Boisd. pt (45d). Above reddish yellow, with a black mark which traverses the distal band from the cell of the forewing to the abdominal margin of the hindwing, short black stripes crossing the disc and the cell of the forewing.


7. Old World swallowtail
The old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon) is commonly just called the "swallowtail," giving it the added title of "old world" to distinguish it and remind us that it comes from the "old world" (Asia, Africa, Europe). The upper side of them is a beautiful combination of pure white with black striping, the underside being a brownish version of the same thing. There is blue and two red dots on its back side.

8. Clouded yellow
Colias croceus has a wingspan of 46–54 millimetres (1.8–2.1 in). The upperside of the wings is golden to orange yellow with a broad black margin on all four wings and a black spot near the centre forewing. Usually these butterflies settles with its wings closed, consequently the black margin of the uppersides of the wings is difficultly visible. The underside lacks the black borders and is lighter, with a more greenish tint, particularly on the forewings. In the forewing underside is the same dark spot as on the upperside, but often with a light centre; the hindwing underside has a white centre spot, often with a smaller white or dark dot immediately above it. Sometimes, a row of black dots occurs on the underwings' outer margins, corresponding to where the black border ends on the upperside. Females differ from the males in having yellow spots along the black borders on the upperside. In flight, Colias croceus is easily identifiable by the intense yellow colouring, much brighter than that of the lemon-yellow male common brimstone which also lacks black markings. Like all Colias species they never open their wings at rest. In a small proportion of females (about 5%) the golden upperside colouration is replaced by a pale cream colour. These females have been distinguished as form helice. The pale form helice does not seem to be that distinct as intermediates exist and the variation is to some extent related to humidity during development, with dryer conditions producing paler colouration. These pale forms helice can be confused with Berger's clouded yellow (Colias alfacariensis) and the rarer Pale clouded yellow (Colias hyale). Even the palest C. croceus tends to have more black on the upperside however, in particular on the hindwings. Young caterpillars are yellow-green, with a black head. Later they become completely dark green, with a white red spotted lateral line after the third moult. The pupae are green and have a yellow side stripe. This species is rather similar to Colias myrmidone, Colias chrysotheme, Colias erate, Colias hyale, Colias alfacariensis, Colias caucasica, Colias aurorina.


9. 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.

10. Red admiral
Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is a visually striking species of butterfly. Unusually territorial, males will compete for choice areas, and females will only mate with males that maintain their own territories. This butterfly is known for being particularly patient with human interactions, even to the point of perching on clothing or flesh.
More