House Longhorn Beetle vs Flat-footed Scuttle Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute House Longhorn Beetle Flat-footed Scuttle Fly
Scientific Name Hylotrupes bajulus Metopina oligoneura
Order Coleoptera Diptera
Family Cerambycidae Phoridae
Size 8–25 mm 1-2 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Detritivores
Regions Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia Europe, Asia
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

House Longhorn Beetle

A serious structural pest of softwood timber in buildings worldwide. Larvae can feed inside roof timbers for up to ten years before emerging.

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Did You Know?

Larvae can be heard chewing inside timber, making rasping sounds that are audible through walls.

Flat-footed Scuttle Fly

A minute brown phorid fly with broad flattened tarsi and reduced wing venation. It is associated with ant nests where it scavenges on refuse and dead ants.

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Did You Know?

It lives inside ant colonies as a tolerated guest, feeding on the waste materials that ants discard in their refuse chambers.