Flat-Headed Dung Beetle vs Cottonwood Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Flat-Headed Dung Beetle Cottonwood Borer
Scientific Name Paragymnopleurus maurus Plectrodera scalator
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Cerambycidae
Size 12-18 mm 25-40 mm
Habitat Farmland Rivers & Streams
Diet Dung Feeders Root Feeders
Regions South Asia, Southeast Asia Central and eastern United States
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Flat-Headed Dung Beetle

A medium-sized shiny black roller dung beetle with a distinctively flat clypeal margin. It is highly active during the day and rolls dung balls rapidly across open terrain. Common in tropical Asian habitats near cattle.

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Did You Know?

When the ground becomes too hot, this beetle climbs on top of its dung ball to cool its feet before continuing to roll.

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.