Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle vs Bordered Great Diving Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle Bordered Great Diving Beetle
Scientific Name Labidomera clivicollis Dytiscus circumflexus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Chrysomelidae Dytiscidae
Size 8-12 mm 28-34 mm
Habitat Grasslands Ponds & Lakes
Diet Herbivores Omnivores
Regions North America Europe
Conservation Least Concern Near Threatened

Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle

A large, handsome beetle with blue-black elytra marked with orange to cream-colored spots and a blue-black pronotum. It is commonly found on milkweed plants across North America.

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Did You Know?

Like monarch butterflies, this beetle sequesters toxic cardiac glycosides from milkweed, and its bold coloration warns predators of its unpalatability.

Bordered Great Diving Beetle

A large British diving beetle similar to D. marginalis but with expanded yellow margins. It prefers larger, more permanent water bodies.

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Did You Know?

Females have deeply grooved elytra while males have smooth ones, making the sexes easy to distinguish.