Arctic Blue vs common horse fly

Agriades aquilo compared with Haematopota pluvialis

Key Differences

• Arctic Blue is Near Threatened while common horse fly is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Blue	common horse fly
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Lycaenidae	Tabanidae
Genus	Agriades	Haematopota
Species	Agriades aquilo	Haematopota pluvialis

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Arctic Blue

NT — Near Threatened

common horse fly

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Blue	common horse fly
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Blue

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

common horse fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Arctic Blue

The Arctic Blue (Agriades aquilo) is a species in the genus Agriades. It is currently classified as Near Threatened 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 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden