Asian Trap-jaw Ant vs American Bumble Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Asian Trap-jaw Ant American Bumble Bee
Scientific Name Odontomachus rixosus Bombus pensylvanicus
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Formicidae Apidae
Size 8-11 mm 15-25 mm
Habitat Forests Farmland
Diet Detritivores Nectar Feeders
Regions Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand Eastern and central United States, now declining across its range
Conservation Least Concern Vulnerable

Asian Trap-jaw Ant

A Southeast Asian trap-jaw ant found in forest leaf litter with distinctive elongated mandibles. It is a specialist predator that ambushes small soil arthropods.

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Did You Know?

Its mandible strike generates forces exceeding 300 times its own body weight in under a millisecond.

American Bumble Bee

A large bumble bee with a yellow thorax, black band between the wings, and a mostly yellow abdomen. Once one of the most common bumble bees in North America, it has experienced significant population declines.

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Did You Know?

Its populations have declined by nearly 90 percent in some regions, prompting conservation concern across its entire range.