Organ Pipe Mud Dauber vs Spring Pygmy Firefly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Organ Pipe Mud Dauber Spring Pygmy Firefly
Scientific Name Trypoxylon politum Pleotomus pallens
Order Hymenoptera Coleoptera
Family Crabronidae Lampyridae
Size 15-20 mm 5-8 mm
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Predators Omnivores
Regions North America Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Organ Pipe Mud Dauber

A slender black wasp that builds distinctive parallel tubes of mud resembling organ pipes under eaves and overhangs. Males guard the nest while females hunt.

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Did You Know?

Males are unusually dedicated fathers for wasps, standing guard at the nest entrance against parasites while the female hunts.

Spring Pygmy Firefly

A tiny, rarely seen firefly of the eastern United States with a very short adult life span. Males produce faint, sporadic greenish flashes close to the ground.

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Did You Know?

Females are wingless and larviform, and were once classified as a completely separate species from the males.