African Rhinoceros Beetle vs Four-Spotted Hister Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute African Rhinoceros Beetle Four-Spotted Hister Beetle
Scientific Name Oryctes boas Hister quadrimaculatus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Histeridae
Size 35-55 mm 5-7 mm
Habitat Gardens Heathland
Diet Sap Feeders Dung Feeders
Regions West Africa, Central Africa Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

African Rhinoceros Beetle

A large dark brown dynastine beetle with a prominent recurved horn on the male's head. Larvae develop in decaying palm trunks and compost.

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Did You Know?

Males use their horns to pry rivals out of feeding holes on palm trees in fierce pushing contests.

Four-Spotted Hister Beetle

A glossy black hister beetle with four orange-red spots on its wing cases. It is associated with mammal dung in pastures and heathlands.

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Did You Know?

It typically arrives at fresh dung within the first hour and remains for several days until the pat dries out.