Indian White Grub vs Common Thick-headed Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Indian White Grub Common Thick-headed Fly
Scientific Name Holotrichia consanguinea Sicus ferrugineus
Order Coleoptera Diptera
Family Scarabaeidae Conopidae
Size 20-25 mm 8-12 mm
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Root Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions South Asia (India, particularly Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra; also Pakistan, Nepal) Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Indian White Grub

A brown, robust chafer beetle whose C-shaped white larvae live underground and feed on plant roots. Adults emerge in large numbers after the first monsoon rains and are attracted to lights in huge swarms.

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Did You Know?

Adult beetles emerge in synchronous mass flights after the first monsoon rain, creating spectacular swarms around lights in rural India.

Common Thick-headed Fly

A distinctive orange-brown fly with a disproportionately large, inflated head and a curved abdomen. It perches conspicuously on flowers waiting to intercept passing bumblebees.

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Did You Know?

The parasitized bumblebee eventually dies and buries itself in the ground, where the fly larva pupates inside the bee.