Red-Shouldered Aphodius vs Tobacco Thrips

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Red-Shouldered Aphodius Tobacco Thrips
Scientific Name Aphodius rufipes Frankliniella fusca
Order Coleoptera Thysanoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Thripidae
Size 10-13 mm 1-1.5 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Dung Feeders Pollen Feeders
Regions Europe North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Red-Shouldered Aphodius

A medium-sized dweller dung beetle that is entirely black except for reddish-brown leg joints. It is strongly attracted to lights at night and is one of the larger European Aphodius species. Larvae develop inside cattle dung.

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Did You Know?

On warm summer nights, large numbers can be seen flying to artificial lights near cattle pastures.

Tobacco Thrips

A major pest of tobacco, peanut, and cotton seedlings in the southeastern United States. It transmits tomato spotted wilt virus to multiple crop species.

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Did You Know?

Tobacco thrips can overwinter in soil and leaf litter, emerging in spring to attack new seedlings before natural predators become active.