Rainbow Stag Beetle vs Elm Bark Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Rainbow Stag Beetle Elm Bark Beetle
Scientific Name Phalacrognathus muelleri Scolytus multistriatus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Lucanidae Curculionidae (Scolytinae)
Size 25-70 mm 2–3.5 mm
Habitat Forests Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Oceania Europe, North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Rainbow Stag Beetle

Australias most spectacularly colored beetle, with iridescent green, red, gold, and purple metallic coloring. Males have large curved mandibles with internal teeth.

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Did You Know?

This is widely considered the most beautiful stag beetle in the world — its rainbow metallic sheen shifts through green, gold, red, and purple depending on the angle of light.

Elm Bark Beetle

A small bark beetle that is the primary vector of Dutch elm disease in North America. It creates distinctive brood galleries under elm bark.

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Did You Know?

It spreads the fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, which has wiped out millions of elm trees worldwide.