Cicatricosus Scarab vs Yellow Ophion

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cicatricosus Scarab Yellow Ophion
Scientific Name Scarabaeus cicatricosus Ophion obscuratus
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Ichneumonidae
Size 18-25 mm 14-18 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Dung Feeders Parasitoids
Regions Iberian Peninsula, North Africa Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Cicatricosus Scarab

A medium-sized dark roller with a rough, pitted exoskeleton that gives it a scarred appearance. It inhabits coastal sandy areas and constructs dung balls from rabbit and livestock dung. Active primarily at dusk.

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Did You Know?

The rough texture of its exoskeleton helps it grip sand as it rolls dung balls across dune habitats.

Yellow Ophion

A laterally flattened, tawny-yellow parasitoid wasp active at dusk and after dark. Its larvae develop as internal parasitoids of noctuid moth caterpillars.

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Did You Know?

Its laterally compressed abdomen is thought to help it slip between grass blades when searching for host caterpillars.