Violin Beetle vs Snapping Amblyopone

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Violin Beetle Snapping Amblyopone
Scientific Name Mormolyce phyllodes Stigmatomma oregonense
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Carabidae Formicidae
Size 80-100 mm 3-5 mm
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Fungus Feeders Predators
Regions Asia Western North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Violin Beetle

An extraordinarily flat beetle shaped like a violin. Its paper-thin body allows it to squeeze between bracket fungi and under bark. Found in Southeast Asian rainforests.

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Did You Know?

The violin beetle is so flat it can slide between layers of bracket fungus like a playing card — its body is one of the most extremely flattened of any insect.

Snapping Amblyopone

A pale, blind subterranean ant of western North American forests that hunts centipedes and other soil arthropods. Like other dracula ants, it feeds on the hemolymph of its larvae.

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Did You Know?

They are specialist predators of centipedes, which they paralyze with their sting before feeding them to larvae.