Cowpea Weevil vs Yellow-shouldered Christmas Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cowpea Weevil Yellow-shouldered Christmas Beetle
Scientific Name Callosobruchus maculatus Anoplognathus chloropyrus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Chrysomelidae Scarabaeidae
Size 2-4 mm 16-22 mm
Habitat Farmland Forests
Diet Seed Feeders Root Feeders
Regions Africa (native), pantropical, cosmopolitan Australia, Oceania
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.

Yellow-shouldered Christmas Beetle

A medium-sized Christmas beetle recognisable by its yellowish-green pronotum contrasting with darker brown elytra. It is widespread in eastern Australian eucalyptus forests.

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Did You Know?

Like other Christmas beetles, the larvae spend up to two years underground before emerging as adults in summer.