Dune Rove Beetle vs Cottonwood Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Dune Rove Beetle Cottonwood Borer
Scientific Name Bledius furcatus Plectrodera scalator
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Staphylinidae Cerambycidae
Size 3-5 mm 25-40 mm
Habitat Deserts & Drylands Rivers & Streams
Diet Seed Feeders Root Feeders
Regions Europe, Mediterranean coast Central and eastern United States
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Dune Rove Beetle

A small, burrowing oxytelline rove beetle specialized for life in coastal sand dunes. Males have distinctive forked projections on the head used in competition for burrow sites.

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Did You Know?

This beetle creates vertical burrows up to 10 cm deep in sand, which it maintains open even as shifting sands constantly threaten to fill them.

Cottonwood Borer

A large longhorn beetle with bold black and white patterning and long antennae. Its larvae bore into the roots and lower trunks of cottonwood and willow trees.

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Did You Know?

When handled, it produces a loud squeaking sound by rubbing parts of its thorax together.