Common Burying Beetle vs African Migrant Butterfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Burying Beetle African Migrant Butterfly
Scientific Name Nicrophorus vespillo Catopsilia florella
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Silphidae Pieridae
Size 12-22 mm 55-70 mm wingspan
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Carrion Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Common Burying Beetle

A large orange-and-black beetle that buries small animal carcasses for its larvae. Uses chemical cues to locate corpses from great distances. Shows remarkable parental care with both parents tending larvae.

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Did You Know?

Can bury a dead mouse completely underground in just a few hours by excavating soil from beneath the carcass.

African Migrant Butterfly

A large white to greenish-yellow pierid butterfly that undertakes massive migrations across Africa. Males are white while females are often greenish.

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Did You Know?

Migrating swarms can be so dense they have been reported to delay trains and cause traffic accidents.