Spruce Beetle vs Spring Firefly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Spruce Beetle Spring Firefly
Scientific Name Dendroctonus rufipennis Photinus ardens
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Curculionidae Lampyridae
Size 4-7 mm 5-8 mm
Habitat Forests Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Predators
Regions Alaska, western Canada, and the Rocky Mountain states North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Spruce Beetle

A dark brown to black bark beetle that is the primary killer of mature spruce trees in North America. Outbreaks are triggered by drought, windthrow, or warming temperatures.

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Did You Know?

A single outbreak in Alaska during the 1990s killed spruce trees across more than one million acres.

Spring Firefly

A small early-season firefly of the eastern United States with a distinctive fast double-pulse flash pattern. It has a dark body with a pinkish-red pronotum and is among the first fireflies to appear each year.

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Did You Know?

This species often begins flashing earlier in the evening than most other North American fireflies.