Tunnel Beetle vs Spring Pygmy Firefly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Tunnel Beetle Spring Pygmy Firefly
Scientific Name Lymexylon navale Pleotomus pallens
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Lymexylidae Lampyridae
Size 7-16mm 5-8 mm
Habitat Woodlands Underground
Diet Wood Feeders Omnivores
Regions Europe Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Tunnel Beetle

A slender cylindrical beetle whose larvae bore straight tunnels through oak timber. Historically damaged ship timber.

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Did You Know?

Was a major pest of oak shipbuilding timber, boring tunnels that weakened the hulls of wooden warships.

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.