Plum Curculio vs Four-ribbed Jewel Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Plum Curculio Four-ribbed Jewel Beetle
Scientific Name Conotrachelus nenuphar Polybothris quadricollis
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Curculionidae Buprestidae
Size 4-6 mm 20-30 mm
Habitat Orchards Forests
Diet Fruit Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Eastern North America from Canada to the Gulf states Madagascar
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Plum Curculio

A dark brown snout beetle covered in warty bumps that is a major pest of stone fruits. Females carve a crescent-shaped scar around each egg they lay in developing fruit.

💡

Did You Know?

The distinctive crescent-shaped scar it cuts around each egg prevents the growing fruit from crushing the larva inside.

Four-ribbed Jewel Beetle

A moderately sized jewel beetle with four distinct ridges on the pronotum, which gives it its name. The elytra shimmer with dark metallic green to bronze tones.

💡

Did You Know?

The structural color of its exoskeleton inspired biomimicry research into creating non-fade paints and coatings.