Western Balsam Bark Beetle vs Scissor Grinder Cicada

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Western Balsam Bark Beetle Scissor Grinder Cicada
Scientific Name Dryocoetes confusus Neotibicen pruinosus
Order Coleoptera Hemiptera
Family Curculionidae (Scolytinae) Cicadidae
Size 3.2–4.5 mm 33-40 mm
Habitat Mountains Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Western North America North America
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Western Balsam Bark Beetle

A bark beetle that primarily attacks subalpine fir in western North America. It often colonizes trees already weakened by root disease.

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Did You Know?

It produces a pheromone called exo-brevicomin that attracts other beetles to mass-attack weakened trees.

Scissor Grinder Cicada

A large North American annual cicada with a buzzing call resembling a grinding wheel. Its body is coated in a whitish waxy pruinose layer.

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Did You Know?

Its common name comes from the call's resemblance to the sound of a knife sharpener at work.