Glacier Beetle vs Lunar Hornet Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Glacier Beetle Lunar Hornet Moth
Scientific Name Nebria castanea Sesia bembeciformis
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Carabidae Sesiidae
Size 9-13 mm 30–42 mm wingspan
Habitat Farmland Rivers & Streams
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Alps, Central Europe Europe, Western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Glacier Beetle

A chestnut-brown ground beetle inhabiting the edges of glaciers and permanent snowfields. It feeds on wind-blown insects deposited on ice surfaces.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the few beetles that actively forages on glacier ice surfaces.

Lunar Hornet Moth

A large clearwing moth that mimics a hornet and bores into willow and sallow trunks. Adults emerge in midsummer and are active in sunshine.

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Did You Know?

The empty pupal skin can be found protruding from the exit hole on willow trunks long after the moth has emerged.