South American Tortoise Beetle vs Snapping Amblyopone

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute South American Tortoise Beetle Snapping Amblyopone
Scientific Name Stolas coalita Stigmatomma oregonense
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Chrysomelidae Formicidae
Size 10-14 mm 3-5 mm
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Herbivores Predators
Regions South America Western North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

South American Tortoise Beetle

A moderately large tortoise beetle with a distinctive pattern of dark markings on a lighter background, with broadly expanded elytral margins. Found in tropical South American forests.

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Did You Know?

The broadly expanded margins of its shell-like body can be pressed flat against a leaf surface, creating a sealed edge that is nearly impossible for predators to breach.

Snapping Amblyopone

A pale, blind subterranean ant of western North American forests that hunts centipedes and other soil arthropods. Like other dracula ants, it feeds on the hemolymph of its larvae.

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Did You Know?

They are specialist predators of centipedes, which they paralyze with their sting before feeding them to larvae.