North American Hide Beetle vs Spider Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute North American Hide Beetle Spider Wasp
Scientific Name Trox scaber Cryptocheilus bicolor
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Trogidae Pompilidae
Size 5-9 mm 20-35 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Carrion Feeders Predators
Regions North America, Europe Oceania
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

North American Hide Beetle

A small, oval, grayish-brown beetle with heavily sculptured elytra covered in rows of bumps and encrusted soil. It specializes in consuming dried keratin-rich animal remains. Found in owl pellets, bird nests, and old carcasses.

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Did You Know?

Forensic entomologists use the presence of hide beetles to estimate time since death in very old remains.

Spider Wasp

A large orange and black wasp that hunts huntsman spiders for its larvae.

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Did You Know?

It paralyzes spiders many times its own weight and drags them to a burrow.