Margined Burying Beetle vs Snouted Harvester Termite

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Margined Burying Beetle Snouted Harvester Termite
Scientific Name Nicrophorus marginatus Trinervitermes geminatus
Order Coleoptera Blattodea
Family Silphidae Termitidae
Size 18-27 mm Workers 3-4 mm, soldiers 4-5 mm
Habitat Grasslands Grasslands
Diet Carrion Feeders Herbivores
Regions North America West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal)
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Margined Burying Beetle

A burying beetle with thin orange marginal bands along the edges of its elytra. It is common in open grasslands and prairies of North America.

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Did You Know?

It can detect a mouse carcass from over a kilometre away by following the scent plume downwind.

Snouted Harvester Termite

A nasute termite common in West African savannas that harvests dry grass in large foraging columns. Soldiers defend the colony with a chemical spray from their pointed nasus.

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Did You Know?

Foraging columns of this species can strip a patch of grassland bare overnight during peak activity.