Corn Flea Beetle vs African Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Corn Flea Beetle African Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle
Scientific Name Chaetocnema pulicaria Oryctes monoceros
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Chrysomelidae Scarabaeidae
Size 1.5-2 mm 30-50 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America East Africa (Kenya coast, Tanzania coast, Uganda)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Corn Flea Beetle

A very small, shiny black to bronze flea beetle with a compact, oval body. It vectors Stewart's wilt bacterium, making it both a direct and indirect pest of sweet corn.

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Did You Know?

The severity of Stewart's wilt in a given year can be predicted by winter temperatures, since cold winters reduce overwintering beetle populations.

African Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle

A robust, dark chestnut-brown beetle with a single curved horn on the male's head. It is a significant pest of coconut and oil palm plantations along the East African coast.

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Did You Know?

Adults are primarily active at night and are strongly attracted to lights, which is used as a basis for light-trap monitoring programs.