Red-Brown Click Beetle vs Sumac Gall Aphid

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Red-Brown Click Beetle Sumac Gall Aphid
Scientific Name Ampedus sanguineus Melaphis rhois
Order Coleoptera Hemiptera
Family Elateridae Pemphigidae
Size 11-16 mm 1-3 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Gall Makers
Regions Europe, Northern Asia Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Red-Brown Click Beetle

A handsome click beetle with vivid red elytra and a black head and thorax. Larvae develop in rotting conifer wood.

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Did You Know?

Despite its blood-red colour, it is harmless—the coloration is thought to mimic toxic beetles to deter predators.

Sumac Gall Aphid

A gall-forming aphid that produces large hollow galls on sumac trees in which colonies live and reproduce. Soldier nymphs defend the gall from invaders using their thickened front legs.

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Did You Know?

Their soldier caste is composed of sterile first-instar nymphs that sacrifice their development to protect the colony.