White Admiral vs Termitophilous Rove Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute White Admiral Termitophilous Rove Beetle
Scientific Name Limenitis camilla Corotoca melantho
Order Lepidoptera Coleoptera
Family Nymphalidae Staphylinidae
Size 52-64 mm wingspan 5-8 mm (body length without physogastric abdomen)
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Europe, temperate Asia, Japan Brazil, tropical South America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

White Admiral

An elegant woodland butterfly with dark brown wings crossed by a broad white band, noted for its graceful gliding flight. It has expanded northward in Britain in recent decades.

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Did You Know?

It has one of the most elegant flight patterns of any European butterfly, alternating glides with short wing beats.

Termitophilous Rove Beetle

A bizarre, physogastric rove beetle that lives inside termite nests in Brazil. The female's abdomen becomes enormously swollen and translucent, resembling a termite queen in miniature.

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Did You Know?

This is one of the only beetles known to give live birth (viviparity); fully formed larvae emerge from the female rather than eggs.