Pipe-organ Mud Wasp vs Pleasing Fungus Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Pipe-organ Mud Wasp Pleasing Fungus Beetle
Scientific Name Trypoxylon figulus Gibbifer californicus
Order Hymenoptera Coleoptera
Family Crabronidae Erotylidae
Size 8-12 mm 10-20 mm
Habitat Underground Forests
Diet Predators Predators
Regions Europe North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Pipe-organ Mud Wasp

A slender black solitary wasp that builds mud-tube nests in hollow stems and holes, provisioning them with paralyzed spiders. Named for the organ-pipe arrangement of its mud cells.

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Did You Know?

Builds multiple tube-shaped mud cells arranged like the pipes of a church organ.

Pleasing Fungus Beetle

A brightly colored beetle that feeds exclusively on bracket fungi on dead trees. Its warning colors signal chemical defenses to predators.

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Did You Know?

Large aggregations of dozens of adults sometimes gather on a single large shelf fungus to feed and mate communally.