Narrow-mouth Ground Beetle vs Protermes Inquiline Termite
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Narrow-mouth Ground Beetle | Protermes Inquiline Termite |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Abax parallelepipedus | Protermes prorepens |
| Order | Coleoptera | Blattodea |
| Family | Carabidae | Termitidae |
| Size | 18-22 mm | 2-4 mm |
| Habitat | Woodlands | Woodlands |
| Diet | Predators | Fungus Feeders |
| Regions | Western and Central Europe | East Africa, Southern Africa |
| Conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
Narrow-mouth Ground Beetle
A large, shiny black ground beetle with a distinctive parallel-sided body shape. It is one of the most common large carabids in European woodlands, active at night under logs and stones.
Did You Know?
Its perfectly rectangular body shape is so precise and regular that it was given the species name 'parallelepipedus,' meaning resembling a geometric parallelepiped.
Protermes Inquiline Termite
A small inquiline termite that lives within the mounds of larger fungus-growing termite species in Africa. Colonies are tiny and discrete, occupying small chambers within the walls of the host mound. Workers feed on fungal material.
Did You Know?
Inquiline termites like this species are the cuckoos of the termite world, sneaking into other species' elaborate mounds to exploit their resources.