Clown Beetle vs Russian Wheat Aphid

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Clown Beetle Russian Wheat Aphid
Scientific Name Hister unicolor Diuraphis noxia
Order Coleoptera Hemiptera
Family Histeridae Aphididae
Size 6-9 mm 1.5-2 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Scavengers Sap Feeders
Regions Europe, North America Worldwide cereal-growing regions
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Clown Beetle

A small, shiny black beetle with a compact, rounded body. It is a predator of fly larvae found in dung and decaying matter.

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Did You Know?

It can retract its legs and antennae into grooves on its body, making it nearly spherical.

Russian Wheat Aphid

A pale elongated aphid that causes leaf rolling and white streaking on wheat and barley. It injects toxins while feeding that are uniquely damaging to cereal crops.

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Did You Know?

It caused over $1 billion in damage to U.S. wheat crops within just a few years of its arrival in 1986.