Striped Flea Beetle vs East African Oil Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Striped Flea Beetle East African Oil Beetle
Scientific Name Phyllotreta striolata Meloe angusticollis
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Chrysomelidae Meloidae
Size 1.5-2.5 mm 15-40 mm
Habitat Farmland Grasslands
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America, Europe, Asia East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia)
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Striped Flea Beetle

A tiny jumping beetle that riddles cruciferous crop leaves with small round holes. Adults overwinter in soil and leaf litter near fields.

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Did You Know?

Flea beetles can jump up to 100 times their own body length when disturbed.

East African Oil Beetle

A large, dark blue-black beetle with a soft, swollen abdomen and short wing covers. It oozes oily orange hemolymph containing cantharidin when disturbed.

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Did You Know?

Its larvae undergo hypermetamorphosis, changing body form dramatically through their development as they transition from active hunters to sedentary parasites.