#4036 · 🦗 bugs, crickets & other insects
Eurasian Water Stick Insect
🇳🇱 Staafwants ·Ranatra linearis
🦗 Bugs, crickets & other insects 📍 in the Netherlands
📍 Heiloo, Nederland
📍 Numansdorp
📍 9321 Peize, Nederland
📍 9971 CT Ulrum, Nederland
📍 Weerribben - Woldlakebos
📍 4307 Oosterland, Netherlands
📍 Lytse Wielen, Leeuwarden, Friesland, NL
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Полина Яковлевна Нехаева (Лихачева) · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Wolfram Sondermann · CC BY-ND 4.0
- 3. © Vadim Prokhorov · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. Heiloo, Nederland:© Joost . · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. Numansdorp:© ivoa · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. 9321 Peize, Nederland:© Rik Nienhuis · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. 9971 CT Ulrum, Nederland:© Rob Olivier · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. Weerribben - Woldlakebos:© Andre Hosper · CC BY 4.0
- 9. 4307 Oosterland, Netherlands:© Jan Meerman · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. Lytse Wielen, Leeuwarden, Friesland, NL:© kransjes · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
Ranatra linearis is a species of aquatic bug in the Nepidae family. They are typically five centimeters long. The breathing tube tail is often half the length of the insect. Their habitat is usually shallow water in weedy ponds. They are swimming insects, and the adults can fly.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 73 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 2,533 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Eurasian Water Stick Insect
- Nederlands
- Staafwants
- scientific name
- Ranatra linearis
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Hemiptera
- family
- Nepidae
- sightings in NL
- 73
- sightings in Europe
- 2,385
- sightings worldwide
- 2,533
- GBIF records in NL
- 5,854
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
relatives· Nepidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 362340, Wikidata Q839307, GBIF 5152464, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.