Clifden Nonpareil Moth vs Sharp's Rove Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Clifden Nonpareil Moth Sharp's Rove Beetle
Scientific Name Catocala fraxini Philonthus sharpi
Order Lepidoptera Coleoptera
Family Erebidae Staphylinidae
Size 75-100 mm wingspan 7-10 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Herbivores Detritivores
Regions Europe, Asia Japan, Korea, Eastern China
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Clifden Nonpareil Moth

A large underwing moth with spectacular blue-black hindwings concealed at rest.

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Did You Know?

Its cryptic gray forewings hide vivid blue bands that flash during escape flights.

Sharp's Rove Beetle

A medium-sized, metallic-sheened rove beetle named after the eminent coleopterist David Sharp. It is found in woodland and forest habitats where it hunts among leaf litter.

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Did You Know?

Named after David Sharp, the Victorian entomologist who described over 3,000 staphylinid species and wrote the definitive 19th-century monograph on rove beetles.