Four-Spotted Carrion Beetle vs Tundra Wolf Spider
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Four-Spotted Carrion Beetle | Tundra Wolf Spider |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Dendroxena quadrimaculata | Pardosa glacialis |
| Order | Coleoptera | Araneae |
| Family | Silphidae | Lycosidae |
| Size | 12-16 mm | 5-8 mm body length |
| Habitat | Grasslands | Tundra & Arctic |
| Diet | Predators | Predators |
| Regions | Europe, Western Asia | Arctic Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Svalbard, Arctic Scandinavia, Siberia |
| Conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
Four-Spotted Carrion Beetle
A yellowish-brown beetle with four dark spots on its elytra, unusual for a silphid because it hunts in trees rather than on the ground. It climbs trunks searching for caterpillars.
Did You Know?
It is one of the only carrion beetles that has abandoned carrion feeding entirely, becoming an arboreal caterpillar predator.
Tundra Wolf Spider
A dark, medium-sized wolf spider with cryptic brown and gray patterning. Females carry their egg sacs attached to their spinnerets. It is one of the dominant predators on the Arctic tundra ground surface.
Did You Know?
This spider basks on dark rocks to raise its body temperature, then hunts more actively because its prey are slower in the cold.