Cinnamon Bug vs Cape Honey Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cinnamon Bug Cape Honey Bee
Scientific Name Corizus hyoscyami Apis mellifera capensis
Order Hemiptera Hymenoptera
Family Rhopalidae Apidae
Size 7-10 mm Workers 11-13 mm
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Beaches & Coastal
Diet Seed Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe, Western Asia South Africa (Western Cape, Eastern Cape)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Cinnamon Bug

A bright red-and-black scentless plant bug that mimics fire bugs and other aposematic insects. Despite its warning coloration, it is harmless and feeds on the seeds of various weedy plants.

💡

Did You Know?

It is often mistaken for the unrelated fire bug due to its similar red-and-black pattern, a likely case of Mullerian mimicry.

Cape Honey Bee

A unique honey bee subspecies where workers can lay diploid female eggs without mating. It is restricted to the winter rainfall region of South Africa.

💡

Did You Know?

Worker bees of this subspecies can clone themselves through a rare reproductive process called thelytokous parthenogenesis.