Top 20 Most Common Insects in Peru

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.

Ischnura verticalis can reach a body length of 2 - 3 cm. These small green, black and blue damselflies have a slender body with four wings folding over the back. The thorax of the males is black above, with pale green sides and green shoulder stripes. Eyes are dark above, greenish below. Abdomen is mainly black, with thin pale rings. The top of the abdomen (eighth and ninth abdominal segments) is blue, with black markings on sides. The males' abdomens shows tiny projections off the tip (hence the common name verticalis of this species). Females are usually grayish-blue, with greyish markings on the abdomen. In the immature female thorax is bright orange with black dorsal and shoulder stripes. The abdomen is black above and orange below. Eyes are dark above, orange below. The pterostigma is white to light brown. The females may be less commonly yellow-green like the male.

The eastern pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) has much in common with American fishermen, they love living near the sides of ponds. They are a beautiful insect that is easy to distinguish when it comes to different genders. Females are bright green with bands around the abdomen and the males are bright blue with a green face.

The eastern amberwing (Perithemis tenera) is a beautiful insect that is amber in color. The amber coloring even includes its wings. It is also one of the few dragonflies that mimic wasps. This mimicry encourages potential predators to second guess their actions when considering this insect as a meal.

The widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is a large insect that grows to be incredibly large with a bulbous head and body. As they age, they are known to grow whitish, much like our grandparents' hair. They live in the water until their final molt, where they reveal their wings, it is at this point it reveals why it has part of a group called the king skimmers.

The name Pachydiplax longipennis implies that the blue dasher has long wings due to the "longipennis" section literally translating to it. But this would be misleading, as the insect does not have particularly long wings. Instead, they stick out with vibrant blue colors. The dasher part of their name may be in reference to their voracious diet, as they can eat up to 10 percent of their body weight daily.

Common whitetail skimmer has black bands on its translucent wings which make it easy to identify. The common whitetail skimmer is found throughout North America and serves a vital ecological purpose. The dragonfly’s compound eyes provide it with a 360-degree field of vision, allowing it to spot prey like spiders and other nuisance insects.

Often confused for the ladybug, multicolored asian ladybeetle (Harmonia axyridis) is a separate species that, unlike the ladybug, is a household pest. It is considered particularly annoying for its habit of returning to places from which it is removed. One of the most variable species in the world, there are many different colors and patterns multicolored asian ladybeetle may display, making identification potentially difficult.

The scientific name of the species was first validly published in 1861 by Hagen.

Ischnura posita, the fragile forktail, is a species of damselfly in the genus Ischnura. It is 21 to 29 mm long. It is native to most all of eastern North America.