Silver-Haired Tumbling Flower Beetle vs Malagasy Dracula Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Silver-Haired Tumbling Flower Beetle Malagasy Dracula Ant
Scientific Name Mordellistena argentata Mystrium voeltzkowi
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Mordellidae Formicidae
Size 2-4 mm 4-6 mm
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Pollen Feeders Omnivores
Regions Europe, Western Asia Madagascar
Conservation Least Concern Data Deficient

Silver-Haired Tumbling Flower Beetle

A tiny tumbling flower beetle covered in fine silvery pubescence across Europe. Larvae develop in the stems of various herbaceous plants.

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Did You Know?

Its covering of dense silvery hairs gives it a frosted appearance that helps it blend in on flower heads.

Malagasy Dracula Ant

An enigmatic Dracula ant endemic to Madagascar with pale yellow coloring and reduced eyes. Workers live deep underground and practice the characteristic hemolymph feeding from larvae. Colonies are small, with typically fewer than 100 workers.

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Did You Know?

They are considered living fossils, representing one of the most basal lineages of all living ants.