Red-Tipped Tumbling Flower Beetle vs African Firefly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Red-Tipped Tumbling Flower Beetle African Firefly
Scientific Name Mordellina pustulata Luciola africana
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Mordellidae Lampyridae
Size 3-5 mm 7-10 mm
Habitat Meadows Rivers & Streams
Diet Parasitoids Predators
Regions Europe Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Red-Tipped Tumbling Flower Beetle

A small tumbling flower beetle with dark elytra bearing reddish markings, found across Europe. Larvae develop inside the stems of composite plants.

💡

Did You Know?

Its larvae bore through the pith of thistle stems, pupating inside and emerging as adults through a neat exit hole.

African Firefly

A Sub-Saharan African firefly with a dark brown body and pale pronotal margins. It is one of the few well-documented firefly species on the African continent, producing greenish-yellow flashes at dusk.

💡

Did You Know?

Despite Africa's vast tropical habitats, the continent's firefly fauna is poorly studied compared to Asia and the Americas.