New Zealand Peripatus vs Tan Spotted Sedge

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute New Zealand Peripatus Tan Spotted Sedge
Scientific Name Peripatoides novaezealandiae Hydropsyche instabilis
Order Onychophora Trichoptera
Family Peripatopsidae Hydropsychidae
Size 30-80 mm 11-15 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Rivers & Streams
Diet Wood Feeders Omnivores
Regions Oceania (New Zealand) Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

New Zealand Peripatus

A velvet worm native to New Zealand, representing one of the most ancient terrestrial animal lineages. Although not an insect, it is closely related and is a fascinating part of New Zealand's invertebrate fauna. It captures prey by shooting streams of sticky slime.

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Did You Know?

Velvet worms shoot jets of quick-hardening slime up to 30 centimetres to entangle prey, a hunting technique virtually unchanged for hundreds of millions of years.

Tan Spotted Sedge

A medium-sized caddisfly whose larvae construct net retreats in fast-flowing upland streams. Adults are tan with spotted wings.

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Did You Know?

Larvae aggressively defend their net territories from neighboring caddisflies.