Yellow Crazy Ant vs Sand-Loving Hister Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Yellow Crazy Ant Sand-Loving Hister Beetle
Scientific Name Anoplolepis gracilipes Hypocaccus rugifrons
Order Hymenoptera Coleoptera
Family Formicidae Histeridae
Size 4-5 mm 2-4 mm
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Beaches & Coastal
Diet Fruit Feeders Predators
Regions Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, Indian Ocean Islands, Australia Europe, Mediterranean coasts
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Yellow Crazy Ant

A long-legged, fast-moving invasive ant named for its erratic running pattern. They form supercolonies with multiple queens that can devastate island ecosystems.

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Did You Know?

On Christmas Island they killed millions of native red crabs, fundamentally altering the island's entire ecosystem.

Sand-Loving Hister Beetle

A small, reddish-brown hister beetle found in sandy coastal habitats. It hunts fly larvae in seaweed wrack and stranded carrion.

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Did You Know?

It buries itself in sand beneath rotting kelp during the day and emerges at night to hunt fly larvae in the wrack.