Say's firefly
Pyractomena angulata
Name means: “named after Thomas Say, an American insect scientist”
Say's firefly is a beetle that makes its own light. It glows a warm amber orange colour in the dark woods. It is so special that it is the state insect of Indiana in the United States.
Lives in
North America, in woodlands
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Fireflies cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Firefly young hunt small soft creatures on the ground.
How fast is it?
Say's firefly about 3 km/h (1.9 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its light is amber orange, while many other fireflies glow yellow-green.
2
You can see it from May to the middle of July.
3
It is named after Thomas Say, an American insect scientist.
you asked
Most asked questions about Say's firefly
?Why do fireflies glow?
They make light inside their bodies. Fireflies flash to find and talk to each other.
?Where can you see Say's firefly?
In woodlands in North America, from May to mid-July.
Myth buster
Myth: A firefly is a fly or a worm.
Truth: No. A firefly is a beetle, with six legs and hard wing cases.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Pyractomena angulata
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Lampyridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Lampyridae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Angle candled firefly
Where the facts come from
- Pyractomena angulata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by psweet. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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