Little bear
Paracotalpa ursina
The little bear is a beetle, not a real bear. It is covered in hairs, like a fuzzy teddy. Its head and front can shine black, blue or green, and its wing cases are reddish brown or black.
Lives in
The western United States and Mexico
Length
1 to 2.3 cm (0.39 to 0.91 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It has no sting and is not dangerous to people.
What does it eat?
It belongs to the leaf chafers, a group of scarab beetles that feed on plants.
How big is it?
How long is it?
🍚as long as 4 grains of rice in a row🍽️could run across a dinner table in 5.8 seconds
How big is Little bear 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)
Little bear about 0.62 km/h (0.39 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It can be anything from 1 to more than 2 centimetres long, so some are twice as big as others.
2
The front part of its body can have a metal shine in blue or green.
3
Scientists divide it into four slightly different kinds, called subspecies.
you asked
Most asked questions about Little bear
?Is the little bear beetle dangerous?
No. It is a harmless, hairy beetle.
?How big is a little bear beetle?
Between about 1 and 2.3 centimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Paracotalpa ursina
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Scarabaeidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Scarabaeidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Little-bear scarab beetle
Where the facts come from
- Paracotalpa ursina (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 (c) P Holroyd, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Stag beetle
Hercules beetle
Common glow-worm
Goliath beetle
Cockchafer
Mealworm beetle
Striped ladybird
Striped bush-cricket
Large leaf snail
American five-spotted lady beetle
Nettle pouch gall midge
Johnsongrass sharpshooter