Alderfly
The alderfly is a stocky, dark brown insect with smoky see-through wings. When it rests, it folds its wings over its back like a little roof. It is a clumsy flier and never goes far from the pond where it grew up.
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Fun facts
The grown-up alderfly lives for only two or three days and does not eat anything.
Its babies live in the mud under water for one or two years.
The baby has big jaws and feathery gills on its sides for breathing under water.
The mother lays lots of eggs on plants hanging over the water. When the babies hatch, they drop straight in.
You can see grown-ups mostly in May and June.
Most asked questions about Alderfly
?What does an alderfly eat?
Grown-ups do not eat. The larvae hunt small animals under water.
?How long does an alderfly live?
Its whole life takes one or two years, but the grown-up lives only two or three days.
?Is the alderfly dangerous?
No. It is harmless to people.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Sialis lutaria
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Other insects
- Family
- Sialidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Megaloptera > Sialidae
- Lives on
- Europe
Where the facts come from
- Sialis lutaria (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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