Osumi Ground Beetle vs Rugged Oil Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Osumi Ground Beetle Rugged Oil Beetle
Scientific Name Carabus osumensis Meloe rugosus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Carabidae Meloidae
Size 22-30 mm 8-25 mm
Habitat Forests Beaches & Coastal
Diet Predators Herbivores
Regions East Asia, Japan (Kyushu) Western Europe, Southern Europe
Conservation Vulnerable Endangered

Osumi Ground Beetle

An endemic ground beetle from the Osumi Peninsula in southern Kyushu, Japan. Features a beautiful metallic green-gold coloration. A nocturnal predator of forest floor invertebrates.

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Did You Know?

This beetle's restricted range on the Osumi Peninsula makes it a textbook example of geographic speciation on the Japanese archipelago.

Rugged Oil Beetle

A rare, dark and heavily wrinkled oil beetle that appears in autumn unlike its spring-emerging relatives. It is one of Britain's most endangered beetles.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the few European oil beetles that is active during the autumn and winter months.