Bolboceras Dung Beetle vs Milkweed Assassin Bug

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Bolboceras Dung Beetle Milkweed Assassin Bug
Scientific Name Bolboceras armiger Zelus longipes
Order Coleoptera Hemiptera
Family Geotrupidae Reduviidae
Size 10-18 mm 16-20 mm
Habitat Gardens Gardens
Diet Dung Feeders Predators
Regions Australia North America, Central America, South America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Bolboceras Dung Beetle

A stout, rounded earth-boring beetle with a yellowish-brown body and a prominent horn on the male head. It digs deep burrows to cultivate subterranean fungal gardens rather than provisioning with dung. Adults are attracted to lights.

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Did You Know?

Rather than eating dung, this earth-boring beetle cultivates underground fungal gardens in its burrows.

Milkweed Assassin Bug

A slender, brightly colored assassin bug with red and black markings. It is a generalist predator common in gardens and agricultural fields.

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Did You Know?

It coats its legs with sticky resin to trap small insects, functioning as a living flypaper strip.