New Zealand Glow-Worm Firefly vs Globe-nosed Nasute Termite

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute New Zealand Glow-Worm Firefly Globe-nosed Nasute Termite
Scientific Name Atyphella flammans Nasutitermes nigriceps
Order Coleoptera Blattodea
Family Lampyridae Termitidae
Size 8-12 mm Workers 4-5 mm, soldiers 4-6 mm
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Predators Wood Feeders
Regions Oceania Central America, northern South America
Conservation Data Deficient Not Evaluated

New Zealand Glow-Worm Firefly

An Australasian firefly found in subtropical forests of eastern Australia. It produces a steady amber glow rather than a blinking flash.

💡

Did You Know?

Despite sharing the name 'glow-worm' with New Zealand cave glow-worms, this is a true firefly beetle, not a fungus gnat.

Globe-nosed Nasute Termite

A tree-nesting nasute termite from Central and South America that builds dark carton nests high in trees. Soldiers have a bulbous nasus for spraying chemical defenses.

💡

Did You Know?

Its arboreal nests can house over 100,000 individuals and are connected to foraging sites by covered runways on tree bark.