Long-horned Ant-loving Beetle vs Elephant Dung Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Long-horned Ant-loving Beetle Elephant Dung Beetle
Scientific Name Claviger longicornis Heliocopris dilloni
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Staphylinidae Scarabaeidae
Size 2-3 mm 35-55 mm
Habitat Underground Grasslands
Diet Omnivores Dung Feeders
Regions Central and Southern Europe East Africa, Southern Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Long-horned Ant-loving Beetle

A minute, blind pselaphine rove beetle with elongate antennae relative to its body size. Like its congeners, it is an obligate myrmecophile entirely dependent on host ants for nutrition.

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Did You Know?

The elongate antennae of this blind beetle serve as its primary sensory organs for navigating the total darkness of its underground ant-nest home.

Elephant Dung Beetle

A very large black dung beetle that specializes in elephant dung. Males have a prominent curved horn on the thorax.

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Did You Know?

A single elephant dropping can attract over 4,000 dung beetles within 15 minutes of being deposited.