Red-Spotted Rove Beetle vs Pale-Footed Birch Sawfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Red-Spotted Rove Beetle Pale-Footed Birch Sawfly
Scientific Name Staphylinus dimidiaticornis Profenusa thomsoni
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Staphylinidae Tenthredinidae
Size 15-22 mm 3-5 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Detritivores Herbivores
Regions Europe, Western Asia Europe, introduced to North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Red-Spotted Rove Beetle

A large, dark rove beetle with bicolored antennae and red-tinged wing cases. It hunts actively in leaf litter at dusk.

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Did You Know?

Its bicolored antennae—dark at the base and pale at the tip—help distinguish it from similar large rove beetles.

Pale-Footed Birch Sawfly

A tiny black sawfly whose larvae create distinctive blotch mines within birch leaves. Mined leaves develop brown, papery patches.

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Did You Know?

Heavy infestations can cause over 80 percent of birch leaves to become mined, giving trees a scorched appearance by late summer.