Farmyard Midge vs Fluted-horn Dung Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Farmyard Midge Fluted-horn Dung Beetle
Scientific Name Culicoides nubeculosus Copris elphenor
Order Diptera Coleoptera
Family Ceratopogonidae Scarabaeidae
Size 2 mm 20-35 mm
Habitat Farmland Grasslands
Diet Dung Feeders Dung Feeders
Regions Europe East Africa, Southern Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Farmyard Midge

A tiny biting midge that breeds in mud contaminated by dung or sewage. Adults suck blood from horses and cattle. Can transmit bluetongue virus and African horse sickness.

💡

Did You Know?

Despite being only 2mm long, it is the primary vector of bluetongue virus, a devastating livestock disease.

Fluted-horn Dung Beetle

A large black dung beetle with a prominent curved horn on the male's head. It buries dung balls underground to provision its brood.

💡

Did You Know?

A single pair can bury a dung ball weighing over 200 times their own body weight in one night.