Woodland Dor Beetle vs Eyed Elater Glowworm

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Woodland Dor Beetle Eyed Elater Glowworm
Scientific Name Anoplotrupes stercorosus Phengodes fusciceps
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Geotrupidae Phengodidae
Size 12-19 mm 15-25 mm (females)
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Dung Feeders Omnivores
Regions Europe Eastern United States
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Woodland Dor Beetle

A medium-sized, convex dung beetle with a steel-blue or black dorsal surface and metallic blue-violet underside. Common in European woodlands where it buries deer and fox dung. Often heard buzzing loudly in flight.

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Did You Know?

This beetle is often parasitized by phoretic mites that hitch rides to new dung sources.

Eyed Elater Glowworm

A railroad worm beetle whose larviform females emit light from paired organs along the body. Males are short-lived, winged, and do not glow.

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Did You Know?

Females produce both green light from their body segments and red light from their head, resembling a tiny railroad train at night.