Galapagos Insects and Invertebrates

Wildlife | Birds | Reptiles | Aquatic Wildlife | Mammals | Insects and Invertebrates

Because the Galapagos Islands were never part of mainland South or Central America, they are inhabited by a very limited number of invertebrate and insect species. Visitors will have the best luck spotting the different species of insects after a heavy rain or at night - ship's lights particularly catch the attention of the Islands' green hawkmoth and fringed notcuid. Butterflies are usually a popular insect and are the easiest to identify by their bright colored wings. These small creatures that inhabit the islands range from the colorful large painted grasshopper, to the peculiar giant long-horn beetle. A trip to the Galapagos Islands offers amazing wildlife viewing opportunities. The following table simply offers a sample of the insects and invertebrates found on the Islands.

Key to species' class:

Endemic: Found only in the Galapagos Islands
Endemic Sub-species: Species exists in other parts of the world, but no interbreeding with the Galapagos population. The Galapagos population may evolve into a distinct species.
Resident: Found on the Galapagos Islands and elsewhere in the world. Breeds on the islands and elsewhere. Arrived in the Islands naturally.
Visitor: Does not breed in the Galapagos. Is seen on a regular basis in the Islands.
Introduced: Brought to the Galapagos Islands by man.

Insects and Invertebrates

Species	Islands Best Viewed	Class	Characteristics
Galapagos Sulfur Butterfly	Main Islands	Endemic Sub-species	Smaller butterfly with bright yellow wings.
Monarch Butterfly	Widespread	Resident	Largest butterfly found in the Galapagos. Became residents of the islands after the introduction of the plant, milkweed.
Galapagos Blue Butterfly	Widespread	Endemic	Very small, light blue butterfly. Best found after a rain.
Large Tailed Skipper	Main Islands	Endemic	Small brown butterfly with wings reaching up to 2 inches. Found on all main islands, but are uncommon.
Green Hawkmoth	Widespread	Endemic Sub-species	Large bright green moth. Commonly found flying around ships' lights at night.
Indefatigable Hawkmoth	Santa Cruz	Endemic	Small light brown moth found only in the highlands of Santa Cruz.
Fringed Noctuid	Widespread	Resident	Largest moth on the islands with a wingspan reaching up to 6 inches. Most commonly seen at night near lights.
Longhorn Ant	Widespread	Introduced	Small ant, distinguished by its very long antennae.
Galapagos Greeneyed Horsefly	Widespread	Endemic	Largest fly in the islands. Common pests to tortoises, sea turtles, iguanas and humans. They bite!
Galapagos Carpenter Bee	Widespread - save northern islands	Endemic	The only bee in the islands.
Yellow Paper Wasp	Widespread - coastal	Introduced	Distinguished by striped black and yellow body. First recorded in islands in 1988, is now widespread.
Spotless Ladybug	Main islands	Endemic	Bright red, spotless ladybug. Important little insect that helps control the population of alphids and scale bugs.
Giant Long-horn Beetle	Widespread	Resident	Largest beetle in the islands with a pair of large and obvious pinches - nearly a 1/2 inch long.
Cockroaches	Widespread	Endemic and Introduced	Out of the eighteen species of cockroaches on the islands, 5 of these are endemic. Are particularly fond of ships.
Galapagos Field Cricket	Isabela, Santiago, San Cristobal, Espanola, Floreana, Santa Cruz	Endemic	A large, dark cricket with a sharp, pointed back end. 8 different species of field crickets are found in the Galapagos.
Large Painted Locus	Widespread - save Espanola	Endemic	Colorful and large grasshopper. Most commonly found after a heavy rain.
Spot-winged Glider	Widespread	Resident	Dragonfly with a bright red abdomen. Large - roughly 3.5 inches. Commonly found hunting over lagoons and ponds.
Squeak Bug	Widespread	Resident	Can "squeak" when picked up or threatened. Has very long antennae and back legs.
Galapagos Black Widow	Widespread	Endemic	Solid, very dark spider with a blubous abdomen. Lives under logs or in rock crevices. Best to avoid.
Zig-zag Spider	Main islands	Endemic	Spider commonly sits in the center of its webs. Has a tendency to build its webs across trails and paths.
Galapagos Centipede	Widespread	Endemic	Large centipede, reaching nearly a foot long, with a powerful set of poisonous fangs. Eats other invertebrates, lizards and small birds.
Galapagos Scorpion	Widespread - Coastal and Arid Regions	Endemic Sub-species	This small, light brown scorpion is a favorite food of lava lizards.
Galapagos flightless grasshopper	Widespread	Endemic	Small grasshopper, without wings. Their brown coloring make them very hard to find.
Star Spider	Widespread - coastal regions	Resident	Easily distinguished by its yellow and black shell-like abdomen. Look for this spider in mangroves in coastal regions.

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