Variegated Grasshopper vs Nettle Root Weevil

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Variegated Grasshopper Nettle Root Weevil
Scientific Name Zonocerus variegatus Phyllobius virideaeris
Order Orthoptera Coleoptera
Family Pyrgomorphidae Curculionidae
Size 30-50mm 3-5 mm
Habitat Farmland Hedgerows
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Africa Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Variegated Grasshopper

A brightly colored grasshopper with striking patterns of yellow, green, black, and orange. It feeds on toxic plants and sequesters the toxins for defense. It forms large aggregations.

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Did You Know?

It deliberately eats toxic plants to make itself poisonous, and its bright colors warn predators of this.

Nettle Root Weevil

A bright green-scaled weevil found on nettles and other vegetation in spring. Extremely common but the scales wear off with age revealing black cuticle. Adults chew leaf edges.

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Did You Know?

Fresh specimens are brilliant metallic green, but old worn individuals look like completely different black beetles.