South American Spittlebug vs Spangled Ground Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute South American Spittlebug Spangled Ground Beetle
Scientific Name Deois flavopicta Callisthenes luxatus
Order Hemiptera Coleoptera
Family Cercopidae Carabidae
Size 8-12 mm 20-28 mm
Habitat Grasslands Grasslands
Diet Sap Feeders Predators
Regions Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela Central Asia, Middle East (Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

South American Spittlebug

A dark brown and yellow spittlebug that is a major pest of tropical pasture grasses in Brazil. Nymphs produce protective frothy spittle masses on grass stems.

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Did You Know?

Outbreaks can damage millions of hectares of Brazilian pasture, causing estimated annual losses of over $2 billion.

Spangled Ground Beetle

A striking caterpillar hunter with dark elytra covered in rows of metallic golden or copper pits. It is a nocturnal predator found in arid grasslands of central Asia and the Middle East.

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Did You Know?

Like its relative Calosoma, it climbs vegetation at night to find caterpillars but is adapted to the harsh, dry environments of the Central Asian steppe.