Coastal Rove Beetle vs Yellow Crazy Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Coastal Rove Beetle Yellow Crazy Ant
Scientific Name Cafius xantholoma Anoplolepis gracilipes
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Staphylinidae Formicidae
Size 6-9 mm 4-5 mm
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Beaches & Coastal
Diet Predators Fruit Feeders
Regions Atlantic coasts of Europe and North Africa Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, Indian Ocean Islands, Australia
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Coastal Rove Beetle

A medium-sized rove beetle with yellowish elytral margins, highly adapted to life on seashores. It lives under seaweed wrack on beaches where it preys on kelp fly larvae.

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Did You Know?

This beetle can survive temporary submersion in seawater during high tides by trapping an air bubble under its elytra.

Yellow Crazy Ant

A long-legged, fast-moving invasive ant named for its erratic running pattern. They form supercolonies with multiple queens that can devastate island ecosystems.

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Did You Know?

On Christmas Island they killed millions of native red crabs, fundamentally altering the island's entire ecosystem.