Wood-boring Barklouse vs Eyed Elater Glowworm

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Wood-boring Barklouse Eyed Elater Glowworm
Scientific Name Psilopsocus mimulus Phengodes fusciceps
Order Psocoptera Coleoptera
Family Psilopsocidae Phengodidae
Size 2-3 mm 15-25 mm (females)
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Omnivores
Regions Central America, South America Eastern United States
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Wood-boring Barklouse

An unusual psocid that bores into dead wood rather than living on bark surfaces. It creates small tunnels in decaying timber.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the very few bark lice that actually bores into wood.

Eyed Elater Glowworm

A railroad worm beetle whose larviform females emit light from paired organs along the body. Males are short-lived, winged, and do not glow.

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Did You Know?

Females produce both green light from their body segments and red light from their head, resembling a tiny railroad train at night.