Common Burying Beetle vs Phasia Tachinid

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Burying Beetle Phasia Tachinid
Scientific Name Nicrophorus vespillo Phasia hemiptera
Order Coleoptera Diptera
Family Silphidae Tachinidae
Size 12-22 mm 7-10 mm
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Carrion Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe Europe
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.

Phasia Tachinid

A parasitic fly with distinctive dark-tipped wings that parasitizes shieldbug species. Males have broader wings than females. Adults visit flowers for nectar.

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Did You Know?

Larvae develop inside living shieldbugs, eventually consuming and killing their hosts.