Alder Spittlebug vs common horse fly

Aphrophora alni compared with Haematopota pluvialis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alder Spittlebug	common horse fly
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Hemiptera (Hemiptera)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Aphrophoridae	Tabanidae
Genus	Aphrophora	Haematopota
Species	Aphrophora alni	Haematopota pluvialis

Evolutionary Relationship

Alder Spittlebug and common horse fly share a common ancestor at the Class level: Insecta. (Insects)

Conservation Status

Alder Spittlebug

LC — Least Concern

common horse fly

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alder Spittlebug	common horse fly
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alder Spittlebug

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

common horse fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Alder Spittlebug

The Alder Spittlebug (Aphrophora alni) is a species in the genus Aphrophora. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

common horse fly

<em>Haematopota pluvialis</em>, commonly known as the common horse fly, is a blood-feeding dipteran insect in the family Tabanidae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The species is recorded from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, with a distribution centered in northwestern Europe, where it typically inhabits moist, vegetated areas near water bodies, woodland margins, and pastures. Female horse flies are well known as ectoparasites of large mammals, while males are primarily nectar feeders. Diet information beyond this general feeding ecology is not available in current species records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden