Malagasy Aquatic Beetle vs Cicada Killer Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Malagasy Aquatic Beetle Cicada Killer Wasp
Scientific Name Hydrophilus madagascariensis Sphecius speciosus
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Hydrophilidae Crabronidae
Size 30-40 mm 30-50 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Deserts & Drylands
Diet Predators Predators
Regions Madagascar North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Malagasy Aquatic Beetle

A large, shiny black aquatic beetle with a streamlined oval body. It carries a bubble of air beneath its body for underwater breathing and swims with alternating leg strokes.

💡

Did You Know?

Despite being called water scavenger beetles, the larvae are fierce predators of snails, tadpoles, and other aquatic invertebrates.

Cicada Killer Wasp

A large solitary wasp that provisions its burrow with paralyzed cicadas.

💡

Did You Know?

A female can carry a cicada weighing more than herself in flight back to her burrow.