Smooth carrion-beetle
Ablattaria laevigata
The smooth carrion-beetle belongs to the carrion beetles, a family of beetles that mostly eat dead animals. But this one is a snail hunter. It can even break into a snail's shell to get its dinner.
Lives in
Most of Europe and the Near East
Length
1.2 to 1.8 cm (0.47 to 0.71 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It is only dangerous if you are a snail.
What does it eat?
It hunts land snails and gets through their shells to eat them.
How big is it?
How long is it?
🍚as long as 3 grains of rice in a row🍽️could run across a dinner table in 6.5 seconds
How big is Smooth carrion-beetle compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
Smooth carrion-beetle about 0.55 km/h (0.34 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It is about 12 to 18 millimetres long.
2
It has a flat, rounded shield behind its head that is not narrowed at the back.
3
It can get through a snail's shell to reach the snail inside.
you asked
Most asked questions about Smooth carrion-beetle
?What does the smooth carrion-beetle eat?
Land snails. It can get through their shells.
?Is the smooth carrion-beetle dangerous?
No. It is harmless to people.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Ablattaria laevigata
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Silphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Silphidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Ablattaria laevigata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Fritz Geller-Grimm. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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