#3491 · 🪲 beetles
Common Eastern Firefly
Photinus pyralis
📍 225 Joe Hampton Rd, Lansing, NC 28643
📍 Chestnut, Austin, TX, USA
📍 6400 Gender Rd, Canal Winchester, OH, US
📍 Illinois, US
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Katja Schulz · CC BY 4.0
- 2. © Katja Schulz · CC BY 4.0
- 3. © Rob Curtis · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 4. © Cheryl Harleston López Espino · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 5. © molanic · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © molanic · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. 225 Joe Hampton Rd, Lansing, NC 28643:© Kim H · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8. Chestnut, Austin, TX, USA:© Robby Deans · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. 6400 Gender Rd, Canal Winchester, OH, US:© John Brew · CC BY 4.0
- 10. Illinois, US:© Lauren Kovanko · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
Photinus pyralis , known by the common names common eastern firefly and big dipper firefly , is the most common species of firefly in North America. P. pyralis is a flying and light-producing beetle with a light organ on the ventral side of its abdomen. This organism is sometimes incorrectly classified as Photuris pyralis , which likely results from mistaking the similar-sounding genus Photuris .
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 39,388 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1767 (259 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Common Eastern Firefly
- scientific name
- Photinus pyralis
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Coleoptera
- family
- Lampyridae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings worldwide
- 39,388
- GBIF records in NL
- 0
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1767
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Lampyridae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 129350, Wikidata Q137821, GBIF 1162763, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.