Giant Agave Bug vs Hairy-saddled Colletes

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Giant Agave Bug Hairy-saddled Colletes
Scientific Name Acanthocephala thomasi Colletes succinctus
Order Hemiptera Hymenoptera
Family Coreidae Colletidae
Size 20-30 mm 10-13 mm
Habitat Heathland Heathland
Diet Sap Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions North America, Mexico Europe, Western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Near Threatened

Giant Agave Bug

A large coreid bug from the southwestern US and Mexico that feeds on agave and cacti. Males have impressively swollen hind femora used in combat.

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Did You Know?

Males use their muscular hind legs like clubs, wrestling rival males off branches to win mating rights.

Hairy-saddled Colletes

A late-summer plasterer bee that is a specialist on heather, secreting a cellophane-like lining in its underground nest cells. It is an important heathland indicator species.

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Did You Know?

The cellophane-like substance it secretes to waterproof its nest cells is a unique biopolymer not found in any other group of animals.