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The Wild Pest
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Swimming bugs

Every species in the Wild Files corpus where swimming is a defining trait.

7 on file

On File
A diving bell spider (Argyroneta aquatica) inside its silver air-filled silk dome underwater.
Curious
Six Legs79
Alias
Argyroneta aquatica

Diving Bell Spider

Only spider that lives entirely underwater. Builds its own scuba tank out of silk.

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On File
A peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus), vivid green-and-orange body with stalked compound eyes.
Apex Outlaw
Six Legs87
Alias
Odontodactylus scyllarus

Peacock Mantis Shrimp

Sees 12 colors. Punches at 50 mph. The flash is hotter than the sun's surface.

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On File
A common mayfly (Ephemera vulgata), slender body with three long tail filaments and translucent upraised wings.
Curious
Six Legs82
Alias
Ephemera vulgata

Common Mayfly

Adult life: 24 hours. Sometimes 5 minutes. The order's name means 'short-lived wing.'

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On File
A common pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare), grey segmented body curled into a partial defensive ball.
Beneficial
Six Legs76
Alias
Armadillidium vulgare

Common Pillbug

Not a bug. A land crustacean. Closer to a lobster than to anything in your garden.

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On File
An American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), large reddish-brown body with yellow pronotum margins.
Outlaw
Six Legs80
Alias
Periplaneta americana

American Cockroach

Runs 530 km/h scaled to human size. Survives a week without its head. NASA studies it.

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On File
A riffle beetle (Stenelmis crenata), tiny dark brown aquatic beetle with robust short legs and dense body hairs maintaining a thin air-layer plastron, six legs, side profile underwater.
Beneficial
Six Legs78
Alias
Stenelmis crenata

Riffle Beetle

Tiny aquatic beetle that NEVER SURFACES. Breathes underwater through PLASTRON air-layer 'physical gill'.

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On File
A water boatman (Corixa punctata), oval streamlined dark grayish-brown aquatic bug with fringed oar-like hind legs adapted for swimming, six legs, side profile underwater.
Beneficial
Six Legs75
Alias
Corixa punctata

Water Boatman

LOUDEST animal on Earth scaled to body size. 99 dB underwater calls. Calls made by rubbing PENIS against abdomen.

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