Giant Bess Beetle vs Chequered Skipper

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Giant Bess Beetle Chequered Skipper
Scientific Name Passalus punctiger Carterocephalus palaemon
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Passalidae Hesperiidae
Size 35-50 mm 26-32 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Omnivores
Regions South America Europe, temperate Asia, North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Giant Bess Beetle

A very large, robust bess beetle with a glossy black exoskeleton and strong mandibles. It creates extensive tunnel systems in large fallen trees. Multiple generations may coexist within a single log.

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Did You Know?

Larvae pupate in protective cases made from frass that parents help construct.

Chequered Skipper

A small dark butterfly with bold orange-yellow chequered spots, once found in English woodlands but now confined to western Scotland in Britain. It was successfully reintroduced to England in 2018.

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Did You Know?

It became extinct in England in 1976 but was reintroduced using stock from Belgium four decades later.