Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle vs Japanese Earwig

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle Japanese Earwig
Scientific Name Labidomera clivicollis Anechura harmandi
Order Coleoptera Dermaptera
Family Chrysomelidae Forficulidae
Size 8-12 mm 12-18 mm
Habitat Grasslands Mountains
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

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.

Japanese Earwig

A montane earwig found in the mountains of Japan, known for extreme maternal care. Females guard eggs and first-instar nymphs in burrows under stones.

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Did You Know?

Japanese earwig mothers sacrifice their own bodies as food for their young — the nymphs consume the mother after she dies.