Two-clawed Mole Cricket vs Pictured Rove Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Two-clawed Mole Cricket Pictured Rove Beetle
Scientific Name Neoscapteriscus didactylus Paederus littoralis
Order Orthoptera Coleoptera
Family Gryllotalpidae Staphylinidae
Size 28-38 mm 7-10mm
Habitat Deserts & Drylands Wetlands
Diet Predators Predators
Regions South America, Caribbean Europe, Asia, Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Two-clawed Mole Cricket

A large South American mole cricket recognized by its two-clawed digging foreleg. It is both a turf pest and a predator of soil insects.

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Did You Know?

The two large claws on its forelegs work like scissors, making it one of the most efficient diggers among mole crickets.

Pictured Rove Beetle

A slender black and orange rove beetle with short elytra exposing most of its abdomen. It contains the toxin pederin which causes severe skin blisters.

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Did You Know?

Pederin produced by symbiotic bacteria in the beetle is more potent drop for drop than cobra venom but is only released when the beetle is crushed on skin.