Subject: Identification of this insect
Location: Southwest Iowa, Harrison County, Jefferson Township
June 28, 2015 6:42 pm
This insect was found crawling on a red oak tree in our house yard., that we have been having trouble with what seemed to be Beatles boring into the tree trunk in the fall or late summer and then in the spring hatching out because we see sap running down tree. We live in Southwest Iowa and Harrison County Jefferson Township in the country.
Signature: Cindy Myer
Dear Cindy,
Your images are very blurry. The first image we opened appeared to resemble a dead Firefly, but there are several similar looking species and we could not be certain due to the poor quality, however, your second attached image with the view of the underside clearly shows the light producing organ at the tip of the abdomen. This Firefly is not boring into your tree. Fireflies are beneficial insects. The larvae are predatory, and they feed on small creatures including on snails and slugs. In an attempt to educate the public on the importance than insects play in the complex web of life, and because this Firefly that was found crawling and it appears it will crawl no more, we are tagging this posting as Unnecessary Carnage.
Poor firefly
How are people so divorced from the world around them that they are unaware of beloved insects that most in previous generations enjoyed in childhood?
How are people so divorced from the world around them that they are unaware of beloved insects that most in previous generations enjoyed in childhood?
I, too, hate it when Beatles bore into my trees. Just yesterday morning, I walked outside to see Ringo Starr, power drill in hand, damaging my elm. I picked up a rolled newspaper and chased him off, but who knows when he will return?