Speyer's Cave Beetle vs Spring Pygmy Firefly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Speyer's Cave Beetle Spring Pygmy Firefly
Scientific Name Aphaobius milleri Pleotomus pallens
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Leiodidae Lampyridae
Size 3-5 mm 5-8 mm
Habitat Caves Underground
Diet Detritivores Omnivores
Regions Austria, Slovenia Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Speyer's Cave Beetle

A troglobitic beetle endemic to caves in the eastern Alps. It has a convex body shape and completely lacks eyes.

💡

Did You Know?

It can tolerate near-freezing temperatures in high-altitude caves.

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.

💡

Did You Know?

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