Mango Bark Beetle vs Lesser Bullet Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Mango Bark Beetle Lesser Bullet Ant
Scientific Name Plocaederus ferrugineus Neoponera villosa
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Cerambycidae Formicidae
Size 20-32 mm 10-14 mm
Habitat Orchards Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh Southern United States, Central America, South America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Mango Bark Beetle

A rusty-brown cerambycid that attacks the bark and cambium of mango trees in South Asia. Adults are strong fliers and are attracted to freshly pruned or damaged trees. Larvae girdle branches by feeding circumferentially under the bark.

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Did You Know?

Mango growers paint tree trunks with lime or coal tar to deter this beetle from laying eggs on the bark.

Lesser Bullet Ant

A large black ponerine ant found from Texas through South America with a powerful sting. It nests in tree hollows and dead wood, foraging arboreally at night.

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Did You Know?

It is sometimes called the 'false bullet ant' because its sting, while very painful, is less severe than that of Paraponera.