Cheese Skipper vs Agabus Arctic Diving Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cheese Skipper Agabus Arctic Diving Beetle
Scientific Name Piophila casei Agabus arcticus
Order Diptera Coleoptera
Family Piophilidae Dytiscidae
Size 3-5 mm 8-10 mm
Habitat Caves Tundra & Arctic
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Cosmopolitan Scandinavia, Northern Russia, Northern Canada, Alaska
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Cheese Skipper

A small fly whose larvae infest stored cheese, cured meats, and other protein-rich foods. Larvae can leap up to 15 cm by curling and snapping their bodies.

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Did You Know?

Sardinian casu marzu cheese is deliberately infested with its larvae as a delicacy.

Agabus Arctic Diving Beetle

A cold-adapted diving beetle found in northern and alpine regions across the Holarctic. It thrives in frigid mountain streams and arctic tundra pools.

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Did You Know?

It can remain active in near-freezing water temperatures that would immobilize most other aquatic insects.