Lined Flat Bark Ground Beetle vs Spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Lined Flat Bark Ground Beetle Spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle
Scientific Name Platynus decentis Mordellistena pumila
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Carabidae Mordellidae
Size 10-13 mm 2-3.5 mm
Habitat Forests Farmland
Diet Predators Pollen Feeders
Regions North America Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Lined Flat Bark Ground Beetle

A medium-sized, flattened ground beetle with a sleek black body and fine striations on its elytra. It is commonly found under bark and in forest floor debris.

💡

Did You Know?

Its extremely flattened body allows it to squeeze under tight-fitting bark on fallen logs, where it hunts prey that other predators cannot reach.

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.

💡

Did You Know?

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