Water Boatman vs Southwestern Corn Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Water Boatman Southwestern Corn Borer
Scientific Name Corixa punctata Diatraea grandiosella
Order Hemiptera Lepidoptera
Family Corixidae Crambidae
Size 6-10 mm 25-35 mm wingspan
Habitat Ponds & Lakes Farmland
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Europe Southern United States, Mexico
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Water Boatman

A small, oval aquatic bug with oar-like hind legs fringed with swimming hairs. Unlike most aquatic bugs, water boatmen are primarily herbivores that scrape algae from underwater surfaces.

💡

Did You Know?

Male water boatmen produce the loudest sound relative to body size of any animal on Earth, singing at 99 decibels by rubbing a ridge on their genitalia against their abdomen.

Southwestern Corn Borer

A pale moth whose larvae bore into corn stalks and girdle stems from the inside, causing extensive lodging. It is a major corn pest in the southern Great Plains of the United States.

💡

Did You Know?

Overwintering larvae girdle the corn stalk from the inside, deliberately weakening it so the stalk falls and provides insulated shelter.