Black Aphodius vs Giant Silk Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Black Aphodius Giant Silk Moth
Scientific Name Aphodius fimetarius Hyalophora euryalus
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Saturniidae
Size 5-8 mm 90-130 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Dung Feeders Omnivores
Regions Europe, North America, Asia Western North America, from British Columbia to Baja California
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Black Aphodius

A small dweller dung beetle with a black head and pronotum and reddish-brown elytra. It lives directly within dung pats rather than tunneling or rolling. One of the most common and widespread dung beetles in the Northern Hemisphere.

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Did You Know?

Unlike roller and tunneler species, dwellers complete their entire life cycle within the dung pat itself.

Giant Silk Moth

A large western North American silk moth with reddish-brown wings featuring bold white crescent markings and a red-and-white banded body. It is the Pacific coast counterpart of the cecropia moth.

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Did You Know?

Hyalophora euryalus can hybridize with the cecropia moth where their ranges overlap, producing fertile offspring in a zone of intergradation.