Sulphur Beetle vs Helm's Stag Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Sulphur Beetle Helm's Stag Beetle
Scientific Name Cteniopus sulphureus Geodorcus helmsi
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Tenebrionidae Lucanidae
Size 7-10mm 25-40 mm
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Forests
Diet Pollen Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Europe Oceania (New Zealand - South Island)
Conservation Least Concern Near Threatened

Sulphur Beetle

A bright sulphur-yellow beetle that looks more like a flower beetle than a typical darkling beetle. It is common on coastal flowers in summer.

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Did You Know?

Despite belonging to the typically dark darkling beetle family it is one of the few members that is brightly colored.

Helm's Stag Beetle

An endemic New Zealand stag beetle found in the forests of the South Island. Males have enlarged mandibles used in fighting. It is a large, flightless beetle that lives in rotting logs in native bush. Several Geodorcus species are found only in New Zealand.

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Did You Know?

New Zealand stag beetles are flightless, having lost their ability to fly in the absence of land mammal predators over millions of years of island evolution.