Striped Alder Sawfly vs Polar Rove Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Striped Alder Sawfly Polar Rove Beetle
Scientific Name Hemichroa crocea Atheta graminicola
Order Hymenoptera Coleoptera
Family Tenthredinidae Staphylinidae
Size 7-9 mm 2-4 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Heathland
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America, Europe Scandinavia, Finland, northern Russia, Iceland, subarctic Canada
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Striped Alder Sawfly

A brightly colored sawfly with an orange body and black markings on the thorax. Larvae are pale yellowish-green with dark dorsal stripes and feed on alder and birch.

💡

Did You Know?

This species can reproduce both sexually and parthenogenetically, with unfertilized eggs developing into males.

Polar Rove Beetle

A tiny, elongate rove beetle with short wing covers and a flexible abdomen. It is dark brown to black and very agile. It lives among decaying vegetation and is a predator of mites and other small arthropods.

💡

Did You Know?

Rove beetles like this species can raise their abdomens like scorpions to deter predators, though they have no stinger.