Fire-tailed Cuckoo Wasp vs Neotropical Rove Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Fire-tailed Cuckoo Wasp Neotropical Rove Beetle
Scientific Name Chrysis viridula Xanthopygus cognatus
Order Hymenoptera Coleoptera
Family Chrysididae Staphylinidae
Size 6-10 mm 12-18 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Parasites Fruit Feeders
Regions Europe, Western Asia Central and South America, Brazil to Mexico
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Fire-tailed Cuckoo Wasp

A metallic green cuckoo wasp with a distinctive red-gold abdomen tipped with four small teeth. It parasitizes the nests of cavity-nesting solitary wasps.

💡

Did You Know?

The number of teeth on the tip of the abdomen is a key feature used to identify different cuckoo wasp species.

Neotropical Rove Beetle

A large, strikingly colored rove beetle with a bright orange pronotum contrasting with black elytra and head. It is one of the most conspicuous staphylinids in the Neotropical region.

💡

Did You Know?

The bright orange and black coloration of this beetle is thought to be aposematic, warning predators of its unpalatable defensive secretions.