Colorado Soldier Beetle vs Twenty-spotted Leaf Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Colorado Soldier Beetle Twenty-spotted Leaf Beetle
Scientific Name Chauliognathus basalis Chrysomela vigintipunctata
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Cantharidae Chrysomelidae
Size 8-12mm 7-9 mm
Habitat Underground Forests
Diet Predators Herbivores
Regions North America Europe, Northern Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Colorado Soldier Beetle

A soft-bodied beetle with orange and brown elytra commonly found on flowers. It is an important pollinator and predator of small insects.

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Did You Know?

Soldier beetles produce toxic compounds called cantharidins in their blood that make them unpalatable to predators.

Twenty-spotted Leaf Beetle

A distinctive leaf beetle with reddish-brown elytra marked with twenty black spots arranged in rows. It feeds on willow and poplar in temperate forests.

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Did You Know?

Like other Chrysomela species, its larvae produce chemical defenses derived from compounds in their host plant's leaves.