Fly Agaric vs Hardback Beetle

Amanita muscaria compared with Tenebrio molitor

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fly Agaric	Hardback Beetle
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Arthropoda (artrópodos)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Insecta (insecto)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Coleoptera (coleópteros)
Family	Agaricaceae (Agarics)	Tenebrionidae
Genus	Amanita (Amanitas)	Tenebrio
Species	Amanita muscaria	Tenebrio molitor

Conservation Status

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Hardback Beetle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fly Agaric	Hardback Beetle
Diet	Decomposer	—
Average Lifespan	1 years	—
Average Length	20 cm	—
Average Weight	100 g	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Fly Agaric

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

Hardback Beetle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate coniferous forests, montane grasslands and shrublands, and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan, Mongolia), Europe (9 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

Fly Agaric

El matamoscas (Amanita muscaria) es uno de los hongos más icónicos y reconocibles de la Tierra, con llamativos sombreros rojos con manchas blancas en los bosques boreales del hemisferio norte. A pesar de su apariencia de cuento de hadas, contiene potentes compuestos psicoactivos como muscimol y ácido iboténico y es moderadamente tóxico. Forma simbiosis micorrícicas esenciales con abedules, pinos y abetos, intercambiando nutrientes minerales por carbono y desempeñando roles fundamentales en el ciclo de nutrientes de los bosques boreales.