Elephant Dung Beetle vs Puritan Tiger Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Elephant Dung Beetle Puritan Tiger Beetle
Scientific Name Heliocopris dilloni Cicindela puritana
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Cicindelidae
Size 35-55 mm 11-14mm
Habitat Grasslands Beaches & Coastal
Diet Dung Feeders Predators
Regions East Africa, Southern Africa North America
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Elephant Dung Beetle

A very large black dung beetle that specializes in elephant dung. Males have a prominent curved horn on the thorax.

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Did You Know?

A single elephant dropping can attract over 4,000 dung beetles within 15 minutes of being deposited.

Puritan Tiger Beetle

A bronze-green tiger beetle with white markings found only on sandy riverbanks and beaches. It is one of the rarest insects in North America.

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Did You Know?

It exists in only two known populations in Massachusetts and Connecticut making it a focus of intense conservation efforts.