Jamaican Click Beetle vs Broad-necked Root Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute	Jamaican Click Beetle	Broad-necked Root Borer
Scientific Name	Pyrophorus noctilucus	Prionus laticollis
Order	Coleoptera	Coleoptera
Family	Elateridae	Cerambycidae
Size	25-40 mm	22-48 mm
Habitat	Farmland	Orchards
Diet	Root Feeders	Root Feeders
Regions	Central America, South America	Eastern North America
Conservation	Least Concern	Least Concern

Jamaican Click Beetle

The brightest bioluminescent insect known. Indigenous peoples used them as temporary lanterns by placing several in a jar. Two light organs on the thorax glow intense green.

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Did You Know?

This click beetle is so bright that indigenous Caribbean people used them as living lanterns — a few beetles in a perforated gourd could light a room or mark a path.

Broad-necked Root Borer

A large dark brown prionine beetle with a notably broad pronotum bearing three sharp lateral teeth on each side. Found in eastern North America, larvae bore into living tree roots and can damage orchards. Adults fly at dusk.

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Did You Know?

Females burrow into soil to lay eggs directly on tree roots, a behavior unusual among cerambycids.