20 insects ending with the letter Y — each with origin, classification, and notes.
This page lists insects that end with Y. 20 insects are detailed below. Each entry below is a doorway into a full profile — not just a name on a list.
A metallic blue-green fly whose larvae (maggots) are the primary decomposers of carrion — ecologically vital as recyclers of dead matter, useful in forensic entomology, and controversial as both medical tool and livestock pest.
The sulphur-yellow butterfly that heralds spring — males are an unmistakable lemon-yellow, females a paler greenish-white; one of the longest-lived British butterflies, spending the winter as an adult hibernating among ivy and evergreen leaves, then emerging on warm February days to become the first butterfly many people see each year.
A large orange-and-black butterfly famous for an annual multi-generation migration of up to 4,800 km between Canada and central Mexico.
An aquatic insect whose larvae build elaborate protective cases from pebbles, sand, twigs, or leaf fragments cemented with silk — a key indicator of clean water quality and the inspiration for fly-fishing artificial lures.
A ragged-winged butterfly of woodland edges and hedgerows — named for the small white comma-shaped mark on the underside of its hindwing; the scalloped, jagged wing outline gives roosting adults a dead-leaf appearance of startling realism; common in England and Wales, the comma has expanded its range northward in recent decades.
A long-legged, gangly fly often mistaken for a giant mosquito — harmless as an adult, but whose larvae (leatherjackets) are significant lawn and turf pests that consume grass roots from below.
A slender relative of the dragonfly that holds its wings folded together over its back at rest — graceful aerial hunters of stream and pond edges, distinguishable from dragonflies by their delicate build.
A large, prehistoric-looking aquatic insect with enormous sickle-shaped jaws (in males) whose larvae spend up to three years in clean streams before emerging for a brief, non-feeding adult life of 3–7 days.
A large, fast-flying dragonfly that migrates thousands of kilometers across North America in a multi-generational journey, an ancient predator with extraordinary aerial agility.
A bioluminescent beetle whose flashing courtship signals light up summer evenings, with each species using a distinctive flash pattern to find mates.
A small fly species (Drosophila melanogaster) that became the most important laboratory animal in genetics research — the workhorse of 20th-century genetics, with much of modern biology built on fruit fly studies.
A large biting fly with painful blood-feeding females — capable of cutting through skin with scissor-like mouthparts, leaving wounds that bleed freely and persist for hours, with major impacts on livestock and outdoor activities.
The master mimics of the insect world — hoverflies are entirely harmless flies that mimic the yellow-and-black warning patterns of bees and wasps with remarkable accuracy; they hover motionless mid-air and visit flowers as important pollinators; the larvae include important aphid predators and the bizarre "rat-tailed maggot" that breathes through a snorkel tube while living in polluted water.
Aquatic insects with brief winged adult lives — some species live just 24 hours, with massive synchronized emergences sometimes blanketing entire towns and serving as the model for fly fishing imitation flies.
A delicate white butterfly of spring hedgerows — males have vivid orange wingtips that give the species its name, while females are white with black tips, easily mistaken for other whites; the underside of both sexes is marbled green and white, providing perfect camouflage on cow parsley flowers where they roost.
A dragonfly-like insect with massive owl-like compound eyes and clubbed antennae, related to lacewings, that hunts mosquitoes and small flying insects on the wing at dusk.
The apex predators of the insect world — powerfully built flies that hunt other insects on the wing, seizing prey mid-air with spiny legs and injecting a paralysing venom, then sucking the prey dry; they tackle prey larger than themselves including wasps, bees, and dragonflies.
A bizarre-looking woodland insect named for the male's upturned, scorpion-like tail — actually the genitalia, not a sting; scorpionflies have a long, beak-like rostrum, mottled brown and yellow wings, and a peculiar habit of stealing prey from spider webs; they are significant scavengers of dead insects and small animals, and are among the oldest winged insect lineages.
An ancient aquatic insect whose larvae are the gold standard of clean water — stonefly larvae require highly oxygenated, cold, unpolluted streams to survive, making them invaluable biological indicators of water quality; adults are drab, flat-winged insects that rest on bankside stones and vegetation, rarely flying far from the stream where they developed; one of the most ancient insect orders, with fossils over 300 million years old.
A tiny sap-sucking insect pest that colonizes the undersides of leaves, weakening plants and transmitting viruses — a major problem in greenhouse agriculture and tropical food crops worldwide.
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