Cowpea Weevil vs Arctic Seed Bug

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cowpea Weevil Arctic Seed Bug
Scientific Name Callosobruchus maculatus Nysius groenlandicus
Order Coleoptera Hemiptera
Family Chrysomelidae Lygaeidae
Size 2-4 mm 3-5 mm
Habitat Farmland Tundra & Arctic
Diet Seed Feeders Seed Feeders
Regions Africa (native), pantropical, cosmopolitan Greenland, Arctic Canada, Iceland, Svalbard
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Cowpea Weevil

A small, reddish-brown to dark beetle with mottled elytra and a prominent pygidium bearing two dark spots. It is one of the most destructive pests of stored cowpeas and other pulses.

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Did You Know?

Females glue their eggs directly onto the surface of bean seeds, and the larvae bore into the seed immediately upon hatching.

Arctic Seed Bug

A small, elongate grayish-brown seed bug with a narrow body and prominent eyes. It feeds on seeds and plant sap in Arctic tundra. Adults can tolerate freezing temperatures and are active throughout the short summer.

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Did You Know?

This is one of the very few true bugs found in Greenland, where it survives on seeds of the limited Arctic flora.