Headlight Click Beetle vs Common Burying Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Headlight Click Beetle Common Burying Beetle
Scientific Name Ignelater havaniensis Nicrophorus vespillo
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Elateridae Silphidae
Size 15-25 mm 12-22 mm
Habitat Farmland Underground
Diet Wood Feeders Carrion Feeders
Regions Caribbean, Cuba Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Headlight Click Beetle

A medium-sized bioluminescent click beetle from Cuba with bright greenish pronotal lights. It belongs to a genus of luminous elaterids found throughout the Caribbean region.

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Did You Know?

Like other luminous click beetles in the Caribbean, this species was historically collected by indigenous Taino people for illumination.

Common Burying Beetle

A large orange-and-black beetle that buries small animal carcasses for its larvae. Uses chemical cues to locate corpses from great distances. Shows remarkable parental care with both parents tending larvae.

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Did You Know?

Can bury a dead mouse completely underground in just a few hours by excavating soil from beneath the carcass.