Spring treetop flasher
Pyractomena borealis
The spring treetop flasher is a firefly, a beetle that can make its own light. Its name tells you that it flashes high up in the trees in spring. It lives in a huge part of North America.
Lives in
North America, from Alberta to eastern Canada and all US states east of the Mississippi River
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Firefly larvae are little hunters of small soft animals on the ground.
How fast is it?
Spring treetop flasher 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
A firefly is not a fly at all. It is a beetle.
2
It lives from Alberta in the west all the way to the Atlantic coast of Canada.
3
It is found in every US state east of the Mississippi River.
you asked
Most asked questions about Spring treetop flasher
?Is a firefly a fly?
No. Fireflies are beetles that can glow.
?Where does the spring treetop flasher live?
In a big part of North America, from Alberta to eastern Canada and the eastern United States.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Pyractomena borealis
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Lampyridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Lampyridae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Spring tree-top flasher
Where the facts come from
- Pyractomena borealis (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 NCBioTeacher. CC0, 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.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Stag beetle
Hercules beetle
Common glow-worm
Goliath beetle
Cockchafer
Mealworm beetle
Mournful duskywing
Hologram moth
Black Jezebel
Longleaf wattle gall wasp
Gray comma
Red jewel bug