Long-horned Ant-loving Beetle vs American Rubyspot

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Long-horned Ant-loving Beetle American Rubyspot
Scientific Name Claviger longicornis Hetaerina americana
Order Coleoptera Odonata
Family Staphylinidae Calopterygidae
Size 2-3 mm 40-50 mm
Habitat Underground Rivers & Streams
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Central and Southern Europe North America, Central America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Long-horned Ant-loving Beetle

A minute, blind pselaphine rove beetle with elongate antennae relative to its body size. Like its congeners, it is an obligate myrmecophile entirely dependent on host ants for nutrition.

💡

Did You Know?

The elongate antennae of this blind beetle serve as its primary sensory organs for navigating the total darkness of its underground ant-nest home.

American Rubyspot

A graceful damselfly with brilliant ruby-red patches at the base of the wings in males. Its metallic red-bronze body gleams in sunlight along stream banks.

💡

Did You Know?

Males aggressively defend stream territories, clashing with rivals by displaying their ruby wing patches.