Western Plant Bug vs Yellow-Clubbed Burying Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Western Plant Bug Yellow-Clubbed Burying Beetle
Scientific Name Lygus hesperus Nicrophorus investigator
Order Hemiptera Coleoptera
Family Miridae Silphidae
Size 5-6 mm 15-22 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Sap Feeders Carrion Feeders
Regions Western North America Europe, Northern Asia, North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Western Plant Bug

A small, oval plant bug that is one of the most important cotton pests in the western United States. It is variable in color from pale green to dark brown. Feeding on cotton squares causes them to abscise, resulting in yield losses.

💡

Did You Know?

When alfalfa hay is harvested, millions of these bugs take flight simultaneously and can migrate en masse to nearby cotton fields, causing sudden severe damage.

Yellow-Clubbed Burying Beetle

A burying beetle distinguished by its orange-tipped antennal clubs and broad orange elytral bands. It is found across the Northern Hemisphere.

💡

Did You Know?

Rival pairs of beetles will fight viciously over a carcass, with the larger pair typically winning and evicting the losers.