Spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle vs Okinawan Firefly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle Okinawan Firefly
Scientific Name Mordellistena pumila Luciola owadai
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Mordellidae Lampyridae
Size 2-3.5 mm 5-8 mm
Habitat Farmland Rivers & Streams
Diet Pollen Feeders Omnivores
Regions Europe East Asia, Japan, Ryukyu Islands
Conservation Least Concern Near Threatened

Spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle

A tiny tumbling flower beetle found on composite flowers in summer. Larvae develop in plant stems. One of the smallest and most frequently encountered mordellid species.

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Did You Know?

So small that it can hide inside individual florets of composite flower heads.

Okinawan Firefly

A subtropical firefly endemic to the Ryukyu Islands with a small dark body and rapid greenish flash. It is one of several firefly species unique to the southern Japanese islands.

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Did You Know?

The Ryukyu Islands are a hotspot of firefly endemism, with several species found nowhere else on Earth.