This is a list of the known wild biota of the Isle of Man.
Non-native species are marked *, extinct species are marked †. If this status is uncertain the species is also marked ?.
Each listing follows the following format: English name (where one exists), binomial/trinomial scientific name with authorities for uncommon species, Manx name (where one exists), status.
- Chrysops vulgaris
- Chrysops ventralis
- Hemerobius lutescens
- Micromus veriegatus
- Limnophilus auricula
- Limnophilus flavicornis
- Limnophilus elegans
Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)
Updated July 2023
- Common hawker, Aeshna juncea
- Brown hawker, Aeshna grandis
- Migrant hawker, Aeshna mixta - recent arrival, thought to be breeding (2022) at around 7 sites
- Common darter, Sympetrum striolatum
- Black darter, Sympetrum danae - possibly endangered by drier springs drying out its upland pools
- Red-veined darter, Sympetrum fonscolombi
- Ruddy darter, Sympetrum sanguineum
- Four-spotted chaser, Libellula quadrimaculata
- Black-tailed skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum - single, photographed record
- Emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator - recent arrival
- Lesser emperor dragonfly, Anax parthenope - recent arrival
- Vagrant emperor dragonfly, Anax ephippiger
- Common blue damselfly, Enallagma cyathigerum
- Blue-tailed damselfly, Ischnura elegans
- Large red damselfly, Pyrrhosoma nymphula
- Emerald damselfly, Lestes sponsa
- Azure damselfly, Coenagrion puella - thought extinct as it was recorded in just two years from Poyll Dhooie, Ramsey but refound at Ballaugh Plantation/Glen Shoggle on 10 June 2023.[1]
Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets)
- Dark bush-cricket, Pholidoptera griseoaptera - Found only on the Lonan coast and around the Glen Maye ASSI - protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Act 1990
- Speckled bush-cricket, Leptophyes punctatissima - Found only along south coast, including Glen Chass, Port St. Mary and in the west at Glen Maye ASSI - protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Act 1990[2]
- Lesser mottled grasshopper, Stenobothrus stigmaticus - Found only on the Langness ASSI, the only locality in the British Isles - protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Act 1990
- Common green grasshopper, Omocestus viridulus - common
- Mottled grasshopper, Myrmeleotettix maculatus
- Field grasshopper, Chorthippus brunneus
- Common ground-hopper, Tetrix undulata
Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants)
Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)
As of 2023 the Isle of Man has 20 regularly occurring migrant and resident species of butterfly, with a total of 23 all-time records in the wild.
- Large white, Pieris brassicae (fairly common resident)
- Small white, Pieris rapae (common resident)
- Green-veined white, Pieris napi (common resident)
- Orange tip, Anthocharis cardamines (fairly common resident)
- Clouded yellow, Colias croceus (irregular migrant - an immigration year occurring in 1947.[4] 107 records of NBN Atlas Isle of Man as of May 2022[5])
- Brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni (very rare migrant)
- Small copper, Lycaena phlaeas (common resident)
- Common blue, Polyommatus icarus (common resident)
- Holly blue, Celastrina argiolus (fairly common and widespread resident)
- Grayling, Hipparchia semele (residential restricted to grassy, rocky cliffs and The Ayres - 355 records of NBN Atlas Isle of Man as of May 2022[5])
- Speckled wood, Pararge aegeria (recent coloniser, since 2005 on the east coast, reaching the west coast by 2009, now very common and widespread[6])
- Meadow brown, Maniola jurtina (common and widespread resident)
- Wall, Lasiommata megera (relatively common and widespread but in reduced number)
- Small heath, Coenonympha pamphilus (common and widespread, particularly on rabbit-grazed coastal grassland an in uplands)
Nymphalidae (fritillaries and aristocrats)
- Dark green fritillary, Speyeria aglaja (widespread resident along Manx coast but local. Inland population at Sulby Glen)
- Red admiral, Vanessa atalanta (common annual migrant)
- Small tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae (widespread and common, but declining)
- Peacock, Aglais io (fairly common resident)
- Comma, Polygonia c-album (fairly recent coloniser, since 1990s, local, mainly in north[6] - rare)
- Painted lady, Vanessa cardui (annual migrant)
- Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus (extremely rare vagrant - NBN Atlas Isle of Man contains only a single record from 1937 in Peel)
- Scotch argus, Erebia aethiops (extremely rare vagrant[4])
- Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (extremely rare vagrant[4] - 4 records of NBN Atlas Isle of Man as of May 2022[7])
- Scarce Crimson and Gold moth, Pyrausta sanguinalis, a small distinctively marked moth, dark yellow with crimson bands across the forewings merging with crimson edging. It is scarce and local in the British Isles and appears to be confined to areas of Northern Ireland, the Burren in the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. Here, it is only found along the northern coast at The Ayres National Nature Reserve, where its larvae live in silken tubes and feed on the flowers of wild thyme growing in the former sand pits. At The Ayres adults fly during the day mostly in June but have been recorded in July and into early August. The species was once more widespread in Britain but has declined in recent years and is thought to be extinct in its former range in north-west England and Scotland.[8]
Arctiidae (woolly worm moths)
As of 2020 research by the Manx Bat Group has found that there are at least nine species of Chiroptera found on the Isle of Man:
- Mountain hare, Lepus timidus †* (once extinct but now reintroduced, found only on the Northern Hills) (Mwaagh Slieu)
- European hare, Lepus europaeus * (uncertain if introduced, found locally across the Isle of Man but not the Calf of Man) (Mwaagh Dhone)
- European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus * (found across the Island and on the Calf of Man in good numbers) (Conning)
- European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus *(accidental introduction) * (Arkan Sonney)
- Pygmy shrew, Sorex minutus (Thollag Airhey) (the common shrew is not found in the Isle of Man as commonly thought). Also found on the Calf of Man.
- Irish elk, Megaloceros giganteus (Feeaih Mooar) †
Pinnipedia (seals and walruses)
- Grey seal, Halichoerus grypus (Raun Glass)
- Common seal, Phoca vitulina (Raun) (occasional, not known to breed)
Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates or hoofed mammals)
Cetacea (whales and dolphins)
Note that Manx nomenclature traditionally did not differentiate between species. Most whales are known as 'Muc Varrey' (sea pigs) or 'Perkin Mooar' and small dolphins as 'Doraid'.
Regularly seen species
Rarely seen species
Vagrant species
Extinct populations
Domestic animals
All sorts of domesticated species have been brought to the Isle of Man by humans over the millennia. Two notable landrace breeds have evolved distinctively on the island:
- Manx cat, a domestic cat (Felis catus) with genetic abbreviation of the tail, which may range from no tail at all to essentially full-size. Developed as a standardised breed in the late 19th century, the Manx cat has become a popular breed worldwide, but is in danger of disappearing on the island itself, as it is being out-bred by other cats imported over the last century by primarily English immigrants. The long-haired variety is called the Cymric cat in some breed registries, and was primarily developed in Canada, not the Isle of Man.
- Manx Loaghtan, a variety of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) with brown wool and four horns, rare outside the island and considered "at risk" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
As of September 2022, 1801 distinct species from the Kingdom Fungi have been recorded on NBN Atlas Isle of Man.[30]
- Hymenoscyphus fraxineus ash dieback fungus (previously known as Chalara fraxinea). First identified on Great Britain in 2012 and the Isle of Man in 2017. Since then the fungus has rapidly spread throughout the island.[31]
Sixty-two species of dung fungi have been recorded in the Isle of Man as of 13 April 2009 by Michael J. Richardson, a British mycologist. The following are from a sample of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) pellets collected at The Ayres on 6 January 2008.
- Coprotus sexdecimsporus
- Iodophanus carneus
- Delitschia winteri
- Sporormiella australis
- Sporormiella grandispora
- Sporormiella intermedia
- Trichodelitschia minuta
- Coprinus miser
- Coprinus stercoreus