Splendid Earth-boring Beetle vs Plum Curculio

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Splendid Earth-boring Beetle Plum Curculio
Scientific Name Bolbocerosoma farctum Conotrachelus nenuphar
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Geotrupidae Curculionidae
Size 8-14mm 4-6 mm
Habitat Deserts & Drylands Orchards
Diet Fungus Feeders Fruit Feeders
Regions North America Eastern North America from Canada to the Gulf states
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Splendid Earth-boring Beetle

A stout rotund beetle with a polished amber-brown body. It digs deep burrows in sandy soil and is attracted to lights at night.

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Did You Know?

It helps propagate underground fungi by carrying fungal spores between burrows acting as a subterranean gardener.

Plum Curculio

A dark brown snout beetle covered in warty bumps that is a major pest of stone fruits. Females carve a crescent-shaped scar around each egg they lay in developing fruit.

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Did You Know?

The distinctive crescent-shaped scar it cuts around each egg prevents the growing fruit from crushing the larva inside.