Large Gold Rove Beetle vs Small Australian Tunneler

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Large Gold Rove Beetle Small Australian Tunneler
Scientific Name Staphylinus caesareus Onthophagus parvus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Staphylinidae Scarabaeidae
Size 17-25 mm 4-6 mm
Habitat Farmland Woodlands
Diet Predators Dung Feeders
Regions Europe, Western Asia Australia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Large Gold Rove Beetle

A large and handsome rove beetle with golden pubescence on its thorax and bright orange abdominal bands. It is an aggressive predator of carrion-feeding insects.

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Did You Know?

Its species name caesareus means imperial, referring to its regal golden markings.

Small Australian Tunneler

A tiny, brown tunneling dung beetle native to Australia. It is one of the few native Australian species adapted to process the dry, pellet-like dung of marsupials. Found in eucalyptus woodland across the continent.

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Did You Know?

Native Australian dung beetles evolved with marsupial pellet dung and were ill-equipped to handle the wet dung of introduced cattle.