Blue Death-feigning Beetle vs Kidney-Spot Ladybird

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Blue Death-feigning Beetle Kidney-Spot Ladybird
Scientific Name Asbolus verrucosus Chilocorus renipustulatus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Tenebrionidae Coccinellidae
Size 18-21mm 4-5 mm
Habitat Deserts & Drylands Orchards
Diet Detritivores Omnivores
Regions North America Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Blue Death-feigning Beetle

A rounded blue-grey desert beetle covered in a waxy powder-blue coating. When threatened it flips onto its back and plays dead with legs extended stiffly.

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Did You Know?

Its death-feigning behavior is so convincing that predators lose interest and the beetle can remain motionless for hours.

Kidney-Spot Ladybird

A small black ladybird with two red kidney-shaped spots, found across Europe. It specializes in feeding on scale insects on tree bark.

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Did You Know?

Unlike most ladybirds, it is primarily found on bark rather than on leaves, hunting scale insects in crevices.