Polar Rove Beetle vs Wall Brown

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Polar Rove Beetle Wall Brown
Scientific Name Atheta graminicola Lasiommata megera
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Staphylinidae Nymphalidae
Size 2-4 mm Wingspan 36-50mm
Habitat Heathland Beaches & Coastal
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Scandinavia, Finland, northern Russia, Iceland, subarctic Canada Europe, Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Polar Rove Beetle

A tiny, elongate rove beetle with short wing covers and a flexible abdomen. It is dark brown to black and very agile. It lives among decaying vegetation and is a predator of mites and other small arthropods.

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Did You Know?

Rove beetles like this species can raise their abdomens like scorpions to deter predators, though they have no stinger.

Wall Brown

An orange-brown butterfly with eyespots that basks with wings open on walls, rocks and bare ground.

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Did You Know?

Named for its habit of sunbathing on warm walls and has sadly declined across much of western Europe.