Yellow-banded Eucalyptus Longhorn vs Army Ant Rove Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Yellow-banded Eucalyptus Longhorn Army Ant Rove Beetle
Scientific Name Phoracantha recurva Ecitomorpha arachnoides
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Cerambycidae Staphylinidae
Size 14-28 mm 4-6 mm
Habitat Farmland Underground
Diet Wood Feeders Omnivores
Regions Australia; invasive in California, Mediterranean, South America Central America, South America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Yellow-banded Eucalyptus Longhorn

An Australian cerambycid similar to P. semipunctata but with more pronounced yellowish bands and recurved elytral apices. It has also become invasive worldwide in eucalyptus plantations and often outcompetes its congener.

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Did You Know?

Where both Phoracantha species co-occur, P. recurva often displaces P. semipunctata through larval competition.

Army Ant Rove Beetle

An extraordinary myrmecophilous rove beetle whose body remarkably mimics the shape of its host army ants. It lives exclusively among New World army ant colonies, marching with them on raids.

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Did You Know?

Its body shape so closely mimics that of its host ant that early entomologists initially classified it as an ant rather than a beetle.