Obtuse Rove Beetle vs Grizzled Skipper

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Obtuse Rove Beetle Grizzled Skipper
Scientific Name Tachyporus obtusus Pyrgus malvae
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Staphylinidae Hesperiidae
Size 3-4 mm 23-29 mm wingspan
Habitat Grasslands Grasslands
Diet Predators Omnivores
Regions Europe, Western Asia Europe, temperate Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern (declining in northern range)

Obtuse Rove Beetle

A tiny, boat-shaped rove beetle with a yellow-brown pronotum and darker elytra. It is common in grasslands and meadows where it hunts among the grass tussocks for small invertebrates.

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Did You Know?

This beetle overwinters in grass tussocks at field margins, emerging in spring to colonize crop fields where it provides early-season pest control.

Grizzled Skipper

A tiny butterfly with dark brown wings chequered with white spots, resembling a small moth. It basks with wings spread flat in sheltered spots on warm spring days.

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Did You Know?

Its caterpillar lives inside a tiny tent made by folding and silk-binding the edge of a leaf.