Balearic Green Lizard Beetle vs Four-Spotted Hister Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Balearic Green Lizard Beetle Four-Spotted Hister Beetle
Scientific Name Timarcha balearica Hister quadrimaculatus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Chrysomelidae Histeridae
Size 10-18 mm 5-7 mm
Habitat Heathland Heathland
Diet Herbivores Dung Feeders
Regions Balearic Islands Europe
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Balearic Green Lizard Beetle

A large flightless leaf beetle endemic to the Balearic Islands. It is black with a bluish-purple sheen and exudes red hemolymph when disturbed.

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Did You Know?

When handled, it bleeds red fluid from its leg joints in a defensive behavior called reflex bleeding.

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.