Red-Lined Carrion Beetle vs Bee Killer Robber Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Red-Lined Carrion Beetle Bee Killer Robber Fly
Scientific Name Necrodes surinamensis Mallophora bomboides
Order Coleoptera Diptera
Family Silphidae Asilidae
Size 15-25 mm 20-28 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Carrion Feeders Herbivores
Regions North America Eastern United States from New England to Florida
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Red-Lined Carrion Beetle

A dark, flattened carrion beetle with reddish markings on the tips of its elytra. It is one of the first beetles to arrive at large carcasses.

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Did You Know?

It feeds more on the maggots found on a carcass than on the carcass itself.

Bee Killer Robber Fly

A large fuzzy robber fly that closely resembles a bumble bee in both appearance and buzzing flight. It perches on vegetation and launches aerial attacks on passing insects.

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Did You Know?

Its bumble bee mimicry is so convincing that it can sit among real bees at flowers without being recognized as a predator.