Large Tropical Rove Beetle vs Borneo Giant Firefly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Large Tropical Rove Beetle Borneo Giant Firefly
Scientific Name Hesperus rufipennis Lamprigera borneensis
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Staphylinidae Lampyridae
Size 18-25 mm 25-60 mm (female), 12-18 mm (male)
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Predators Predators
Regions West Africa, Central Africa Southeast Asia, Borneo
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Large Tropical Rove Beetle

A large, impressive tropical rove beetle with red elytra and a black head and pronotum. It is one of the larger staphylinids in the African tropical forest fauna.

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Did You Know?

This beetle can deliver a painful bite with its powerful mandibles if handled carelessly, one of the few rove beetles capable of breaking human skin.

Borneo Giant Firefly

A very large tropical firefly from Borneo with massive larviform females that glow brightly. Males are smaller and winged with well-developed eyes for locating glowing females on the forest floor.

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Did You Know?

The enormous larviform females are sometimes mistaken for caterpillars or worms by people encountering them on the forest floor.