Corn Flea Beetle vs Mediterranean Stick Insect

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Corn Flea Beetle Mediterranean Stick Insect
Scientific Name Chaetocnema pulicaria Bacillus rossius
Order Coleoptera Phasmatodea
Family Chrysomelidae Bacillidae
Size 1.5-2 mm 60-105mm
Habitat Farmland Heathland
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America Europe
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.

Mediterranean Stick Insect

A slender brown or green stick insect common around the Mediterranean. It is one of the few stick insects native to Europe. Some populations are entirely female, reproducing by parthenogenesis.

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Did You Know?

It is one of only a handful of stick insect species native to Europe, most being tropical.