Horned Aphid vs Neotropical Backswimmer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Horned Aphid Neotropical Backswimmer
Scientific Name Tuberaphis styraci Buenoa antigone
Order Hemiptera Hemiptera
Family Hormaphididae Notonectidae
Size 1-2.5 mm 5-9 mm
Habitat Forests Ponds & Lakes
Diet Sap Feeders Omnivores
Regions Japan, East Asia Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Horned Aphid

A social aphid from East Asia that forms colonies defended by sterile soldier nymphs with horned heads. They live on styrax trees and produce a single soldier caste.

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Did You Know?

Soldiers stab intruders with their sharp horns and inject a toxic secretion, dying in the process like a honeybee's suicide sting.

Neotropical Backswimmer

A small aquatic bug that swims upside-down using its long oar-like hind legs. Its pale ventral surface provides camouflage when viewed from below against the sky.

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Did You Know?

It carries a silvery air bubble on its belly that functions like a physical gill, extracting dissolved oxygen from the water.