Wide-Headed Dung Beetle vs Large Elm Bark Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Wide-Headed Dung Beetle Large Elm Bark Beetle
Scientific Name Onthophagus nigriventris Scolytus scolytus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Curculionidae (Scolytinae)
Size 7-12 mm 3.5–6 mm
Habitat Grasslands Hedgerows
Diet Dung Feeders Fungus Feeders
Regions East Africa Europe, Western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Wide-Headed Dung Beetle

A small, greenish-bronze tunneling dung beetle from East Africa with a very wide head in major males. The broad head is used to block tunnel entrances against rivals. It is common in savanna grasslands.

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Did You Know?

Minor males, which lack the wide head, instead dig sneaky side tunnels to bypass the guarding major male.

Large Elm Bark Beetle

The principal vector of Dutch elm disease in Europe. Adults feed in twig crotches of healthy elms, transmitting the deadly fungus.

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Did You Know?

It was responsible for the near-total loss of mature English elms across the United Kingdom in the 1970s.