the essentials in brief
- Bed bugs aren't bugs.
- Bugs have proboscis, wings, and scent glands, feed exclusively in liquid form and produce nymphs as offspring.
- Beetles have biting and chewing tools, armored wings, eat solid and liquid food, do not smell and produce larvae as offspring.
Bedbugs aren't bugs - 5 differences.
Just take a look at the table below and you will never lump bugs and beetles together again. According to a common classification as insects (Insecta), subclass flying insects (Pterygota), the paths of the two hexipedes are already separating into bedbugs (Heteroptera) and beetles (Coleoptera). This botanical categorization is reflected in 5 significant differences, which even a layperson cannot hide.
also read
- Identify red-black beetles - recognize 10 native species
- Identifying Red Beetles - Are They Harmful, Annoying, or Useful?
- Green beetle - How to determine the type of beetle
| differences | Bed bugs | Beetle |
|---|---|---|
| Mouthparts | proboscis | Biting and chewing tools |
| Flying machine | wing | Tanks cover wings |
| Scent glands | Yes | no |
| food | fluid | solid and liquid |
| progeny | Nymphs | Larvae |
Please note that this table does not claim to be scientifically relevant. There are numerous exceptions to the rule among more than 40,000 species of bugs and 360,000 species of beetles on our planet. The aim of this table is to provide an informative overview for insect amateurs on the outstanding differences between bed bugs and beetles.
Distinguishing feature of the oral tool
Bedbugs have a proboscis that they use to ingest their food
Bed bugs have a proboscis. The so-called rostrum consists of two thin tubes and is usually folded under the body. The proboscis extends in order to take in food. The bug injects digestive juice into its food through one of the tubes. The food decomposes and is absorbed through the second tube.
Beetles use biting and chewing tools to eat.
Flying machine makes the difference
The main difference between bedbugs and beetles is the flying apparatus. The wing structure of the beetle is made up of two pairs of wings. The solid, armor-like or soft cover wings protect a filigree, transparent pair of wings. The skin wings are only visible when the beetles are flying. In flightless beetles, the hardened cover wings have often grown together, as in most or some ground beetles Weevils.
In contrast, the wings of bedbugs are always visible and are made up of two parts. The front wings are soft at the back, slightly horny at the front and are therefore called half-coverts. The soft hind wings can unfold bugs in a fan shape.
Tell-tale scent glands
Bedbugs communicate via and persist with scent glands
Typical for bed bugs is a special smell. The built-in scent glands fulfill several tasks. In the event of danger, the attacker is countered with a defense secretion that can stink badly. Numerous bugs give off a fruity scent in order to communicate with conspecifics in this way.
Food intake criterion
The structure of their mouthparts already suggests it. Bed bugs only consume liquid food. Beetles also eat solid foods. For many types of bedbugs, plant saps are on the menu, often the nutritious liquid of ripe seeds. Only the dreaded bed bugs feed on blood. The diet of beetles is much more variable. The spectrum ranges from herbaceous plants to wood, leather and food to carrion and living insects.
Different offspring
Little nymphs hatch from bug eggs. With each molt, the mini bugs become more like their parents. In contrast, beetle offspring go through a complete change called metamorphosis. Tiny larvae hatch from the eggs, which do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the type of beetle parent. Only after pupation does a finished beetle emerge from the shell.
Digression
Bugs ugh the devil? - because of vermin
Identify domestic bug-look bugs.
A number of domestic bugs lead the layman on the black ice and come in a beetle outfit. Leading beetle doppelgangers in Germany are five types of bedbugs that have either always been native or have been introduced. The following table shows which characteristics you can use to reliably identify bedbugs:
| Beetle-like bugs | Fire bug | Strip bug | Marbled stink bug | Green stink bug | American Bug Beetles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| size | 6-12 mm | 8-12 mm | 12-17 mm | 10-14 mm | 16-21 mm |
| colour | fire red | Red | Marbled ocher | green | Brown |
| Color legs | black | black | ocher to brown | greenish brown | Brown |
| body shape | oval | flat, rounded | flat, leaf-shaped | broad-oval | oblong-oval |
| Special feature | black pattern | red-black striped | long, white-ringed antennae | abdomen with dark spots | white zigzag drawing |
| Botanical name | Pyrrhocoris apterus | Graphosoma lineatum | Halyomorpha halys | Palomena prasina | Leptoglossus occidentalis |
| Middle name | Fire beetle | Striped beetle | Stink bug, stink beetle | Common green body | American cone bug |
| family | Fire bugs | Stink bugs | Stink bugs | Stink bugs | Edge bugs |
The following short portraits provide more detailed information for a competent identification of these beetle-like bugs.
Fire bug (pyrrhocoris apterus)
the Fire bug is often mistaken for a beetle
Fire bugs are the most common insect mistaken for beetles. For good reason. The flat, oval, red body is adorned with an artistic, black pattern. Six black legs are used for locomotion because fire beetles cannot fly. It is characterized by a trapezoidal, bright red pronotum with a square, black flaw in the middle. If a fire bug falls on its pretty back, it shows a black underside without any noteworthy features. Incidentally, the fire bug looks deceptively similar to its famous conspecific, the knight bug (Lygaeus equestris). The latter can be distinguished by the white spots on the red and black patterned body.
- When to find: April to September
- Where to find: under trees and mallow plants of all kinds
The video below invites you to take a stroll through the fascinating life of fire bugs.
Youtube
Strip bug (Graphosoma lineatum)
The strip bug is a prime example of a bug with a beetle look. Six black vertical stripes adorn the red or orange-red top. A number of black dots adorn the red body on the underside. If you get too close to harmless strip bugs, the insects give off a defensive secretion that smells of apples.
- When to find: April to September / October
- Where to find it: in the garden in sunny locations with umbelliferous plants
Marbled stink bug (Halyomorpha halys)
the Marbled stink bug is pretty to look at, but be careful: your scented secretion has it all!
The marbled stink bug is easy to identify on an opaque part of the wing covers with dark to ocher-colored marbling and ringed, long antennae. Black lines can be seen on the transparent part of the hind wings. On the shield between the wings and often on the pronotum there are light, yellowish to orange-colored calluses.
- When to find: March to November
- Where to find it: in the garden, in the forest, in the apartment
Tips
Get there in late summer Marbled stink bugs in building looking for winter quarters. There is a state of emergency in the apartment because the stink bugs live up to their name. With the glass trick, you can maneuver uninvited guests out again without releasing stinking defense secretion. Simply put a glass over the insects, slip a piece of paper under it, take it outside and release it.
Green stink bug (Palomena prasina)
The green stink bug sees you at first glance green beetle confusingly similar to the green tortoise beetle. A dark spot on the abdomen is helpful for a well-founded determination. Furthermore, a very delicate dotting on the grass-green, non-shiny body reveals that you have a common green body in front of you. When the temperatures drop in autumn, the bugs take on a brown color for a few months for better camouflage.
- When to find: May to November
- Where to find: in deciduous trees, orchards, on the edge of the forest
American bug beetle (Leptoglossus occidentalis)
The American bug beetle is excellent at flying
American bug beetles have been on the rise in Germany since 2006. The strikingly large bugs are significantly longer (16-21 mm) than wide (5-7 mm). Into the eye very long antennae and hind legs with a distinctive, leaf-like widening fall. The bug beetles are excellent at flying. When the wings are open, a yellow-orange drawing of the abdomen can be admired. The reddish-brown elytra is adorned with a narrow, white zigzag pattern.
- When to find: all year round
- Where to find: in the garden on conifers (summer), in the house, in the attic (winter)
frequently asked Questions
Can all bugs and beetles fly?
No, the ability to fly is not a clear distinguishing feature between bedbugs and beetles. There are flyable and flightless specimens in both insect categories. The beetle-like fire bugs cannot fly, but most stink bugs are real flight acrobats. Many weevils love to stay on the ground. Of course, this does not prevent the dreaded bark beetles as a subfamily from swarming extensively during the mating season.
Are there bugs that look like bedbugs?
There is a risk of confusion between bugs and beetles in both directions. A comprehensible example is the 10 mm small green tortoise beetle (Cassida viridis) from the Family of leaf beetles and the equally large green stink bug (Palomena prasina) from the family of Stink bugs. Both insects are green, broadly oval and prefer to live on deciduous trees.
Tips
Predatory bugs make short work of aphids, Spider mites, Thrips and whiteflies. The predatory bedbugs are so successful in biological pest control that they are specifically bred for sale. There are 100 per 50 square meters of infestation area Predatory bugs required to destroy a plague in the garden, greenhouse, conservatory or house. The bug squadron is delivered as living insects in a bio-container with a special carrier material and positioned on the day of arrival at the scene of action.