Red-Lined Carrion Beetle vs Sonorensis Biting Midge

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Red-Lined Carrion Beetle Sonorensis Biting Midge
Scientific Name Necrodes surinamensis Culicoides sonorensis
Order Coleoptera Diptera
Family Silphidae Ceratopogonidae
Size 15-25 mm 1-3 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Carrion Feeders Blood Feeders
Regions North America North America, especially southwestern United States
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.

Sonorensis Biting Midge

A small biting midge that is the primary vector of bluetongue virus and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus in North America. It breeds in muddy margins of dairy wastewater ponds and is most abundant in the southwestern United States. It is responsible for severe livestock disease outbreaks.

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Did You Know?

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease transmitted by this midge kills thousands of white-tailed deer across North America annually.