Two-Spotted Hister Beetle vs Vedalia Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Two-Spotted Hister Beetle Vedalia Beetle
Scientific Name Hister bipustulatus Novius cardinalis
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Histeridae Coccinellidae
Size 4-6 mm 3-4 mm
Habitat Farmland Orchards
Diet Predators Omnivores
Regions Europe, Western Asia Australia, Worldwide (introduced)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Two-Spotted Hister Beetle

A small, globular black beetle with two red-orange spots on its truncated elytra. It is commonly found in dung where it hunts fly larvae.

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Did You Know?

Its truncated wing cases leave the last two abdominal segments permanently exposed, a characteristic shared by all histerids.

Vedalia Beetle

A small red-and-black ladybird famous as the first successful biological control agent in history. It saved the California citrus industry from the cottony cushion scale in 1889.

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Did You Know?

Its introduction to California is considered the founding event of modern biological pest control.