Steel-blue Cricket Hunter vs Red-bellied Rove Beetle
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Steel-blue Cricket Hunter | Red-bellied Rove Beetle |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Chlorion aerarium | Tasgius melanarius |
| Order | Hymenoptera | Coleoptera |
| Family | Sphecidae | Staphylinidae |
| Size | 18-28 mm | 15-20 mm |
| Habitat | Deserts & Drylands | Gardens |
| Diet | Predators | Predators |
| Regions | North America | Europe, introduced to North America and Australia |
| Conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
Steel-blue Cricket Hunter
A large metallic blue wasp that hunts field crickets and mole crickets. It drags paralyzed prey into burrows to provision its nest cells.
Did You Know?
It enters cricket burrows headfirst to sting and extract its prey from underground.
Red-bellied Rove Beetle
A large, shiny black rove beetle with a reddish-brown abdominal tip, found in synanthropic habitats across Europe. It is commonly encountered in gardens and urban areas where it hunts at night.
Did You Know?
This beetle is one of the most synanthropic rove beetles, frequently entering houses and cellars where it is often mistaken for an earwig.