Blackburn Earth-Boring Beetle vs Crimson Saltflat Tiger Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Blackburn Earth-Boring Beetle Crimson Saltflat Tiger Beetle
Scientific Name Blackburnium reichei Cicindela theatina
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Geotrupidae Cicindelidae
Size 8-12 mm 11-13 mm
Habitat Heathland Beaches & Coastal
Diet Dung Feeders Omnivores
Regions Australia Colorado, United States
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Blackburn Earth-Boring Beetle

A small, globular earth-boring dung beetle with a dark brown to black body. Endemic to Australia, it processes marsupial dung. It constructs deep burrows in sandy soils provisioned with dung for larvae.

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Did You Know?

This is one of the few native Australian dung beetles adapted to process the dry, fibrous dung of marsupials.

Crimson Saltflat Tiger Beetle

A rare tiger beetle endemic to the salt flats of southern Colorado. It has a distinctive dark reddish-brown coloration with faint white markings.

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Did You Know?

It was only described as a distinct species in 2002 and is known from just a handful of sites.