Black Bean Aphid vs Sculpted Rove Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Black Bean Aphid Sculpted Rove Beetle
Scientific Name Aphis fabae Anotylus sculpturatus
Order Hemiptera Coleoptera
Family Aphididae Staphylinidae
Size 1.5-3 mm 3-4 mm
Habitat Gardens Gardens
Diet Sap Feeders Detritivores
Regions Europe, North America, Asia, Africa Europe, Western Asia, introduced globally
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Black Bean Aphid

A soft-bodied black aphid that forms dense colonies on beans, sugar beet, and many garden plants. It overwinters as eggs on spindle trees and migrates to crops in spring.

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Did You Know?

A single aphid can produce billions of descendants in one growing season through rapid asexual reproduction.

Sculpted Rove Beetle

A small, stout oxytelline rove beetle with deeply sculptured integument and a distinctively broad, flat body. It is a very common species in agricultural and garden compost across Europe.

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Did You Know?

Enormous swarms of this beetle sometimes emerge from compost heaps and can be seen flying in dense clouds at dusk.