Red-Tipped Tumbling Flower Beetle vs Spruce Budworm Parasite

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Red-Tipped Tumbling Flower Beetle Spruce Budworm Parasite
Scientific Name Mordellina pustulata Meteorus trachynotus
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Mordellidae Braconidae
Size 3-5 mm 3-5 mm
Habitat Meadows Forests
Diet Parasitoids Parasitoids
Regions Europe North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Red-Tipped Tumbling Flower Beetle

A small tumbling flower beetle with dark elytra bearing reddish markings, found across Europe. Larvae develop inside the stems of composite plants.

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Did You Know?

Its larvae bore through the pith of thistle stems, pupating inside and emerging as adults through a neat exit hole.

Spruce Budworm Parasite

A small brown braconid wasp that is a key natural enemy of the spruce budworm in North American boreal forests. It suspends its cocoon on a silk thread from the host.

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Did You Know?

Its cocoon dangles from a silk thread like a tiny pendulum, which may protect it from ground-dwelling predators.