Greenland Ground Beetle vs Spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Greenland Ground Beetle Spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle
Scientific Name Patrobus septentrionis Mordellistena pumila
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Carabidae Mordellidae
Size 8-11 mm 2-3.5 mm
Habitat Tundra & Arctic Farmland
Diet Predators Pollen Feeders
Regions Scandinavia, Finland, northern Russia, Greenland, Arctic Canada Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Greenland Ground Beetle

A dark brown to black ground beetle with long legs and a narrowly oval body. It is common under stones and moss in damp habitats across the subarctic. Adults are fast-running nocturnal predators.

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Did You Know?

Despite its common name, this beetle is one of only a handful of beetle species that can survive in Greenland's harsh climate.

Spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle

A tiny tumbling flower beetle found on composite flowers in summer. Larvae develop in plant stems. One of the smallest and most frequently encountered mordellid species.

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Did You Know?

So small that it can hide inside individual florets of composite flower heads.