Red Soldier Beetle vs Totara Longhorn Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Red Soldier Beetle Totara Longhorn Beetle
Scientific Name Rhagonycha fulva Xylotoles costatus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Cantharidae Cerambycidae
Size 8-10 mm 1-2 cm
Habitat Underground Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Europe New Zealand
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Red Soldier Beetle

A very common soldier beetle in Europe with orange-red elytra tipped in black. It is one of the most familiar beetles on hogweed and other umbellifer flowers.

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Did You Know?

In the UK it is commonly known as the bloodsucker beetle, though it is completely harmless to humans.

Totara Longhorn Beetle

A longhorn beetle endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. It breeds in dead wood of native Dracophyllum trees.

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Did You Know?

The Chatham Islands have been so heavily deforested that many of their endemic insects are now critically rare.