Cigarette Beetle vs Burrowing Mayfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cigarette Beetle Burrowing Mayfly
Scientific Name Lasioderma serricorne Hexagenia limbata
Order Coleoptera Ephemeroptera
Family Ptinidae Ephemeridae
Size 2-3 mm 18-32 mm body
Habitat Gardens Ponds & Lakes
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Worldwide North America
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Cigarette Beetle

A tiny, reddish-brown beetle that infests stored tobacco, spices, and dried foods. It is one of the most widespread stored-product pests.

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Did You Know?

It can chew through tin foil and even reportedly survives eating dried chili peppers.

Burrowing Mayfly

Creates massive synchronized emergences so dense they appear on weather radar. Billions emerge simultaneously from lake bottoms where nymphs burrowed for up to two years.

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Did You Know?

Mayfly emergences along the Mississippi River are so massive they show up on Doppler weather radar — billions of insects rising simultaneously look like approaching thunderstorms.