Fire beetles are exciting creatures that have specialized in very specific habitats. The insects fly in the summer months. They are very often confused with similar species, which leads to misunderstandings. You should therefore only initiate control measures once you have identified the species precisely.

Fire beetles may be alarmingly red, but they're totally harmless

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Fight?
  3. Toxic and dangerous?
  4. Harmful or useful?
  5. food
  6. Characteristics
  7. habitat
  8. species
  9. identify larvae
  10. confusion
  11. Fire beetles in the garden
  12. frequently asked Questions

    13. the essentials in brief

    • Firebugs should not be fought as they do no harm
    • Fire beetles are beneficial: they prevent the spread of fungi and eat the larvae of pests
    • Adult fire beetles have a short lifespan, the larvae overwinter and develop into beetles the following spring

    Is combat necessary?

    Destroying fire beetles only makes sense in the case of concrete damage. If your plants are being harmed, the cause should be addressed. Since the adult beetles do not feed on living tissue, but only consume plant sap and nectar, there is no need to worry about your garden. It is therefore not necessary to eliminate the insects. This also applies to the larvae, because they feed exclusively on wood-dwelling insects and fungi. If you want to get rid of fire bugs, you endanger the natural balance.

    Fire beetles are completely harmless and anything but harmful. On the contrary: they even help to keep the ecosystem in balance.

    Be careful when using chemicals

    There are numerous home remedies that can be used against annoying insects. In addition to deterrent substances such as coffee grounds, there are also more aggressive methods that kill the pests. However, most remedies are not selective. They kill all insects that come into contact with the fabrics. Fighting aphids can also harm fire beetles. Therefore, pay attention to which substances you use in the garden and whether they can also harm useful creatures.

    How home remedies work:

    • oil: prevents oxygen uptake
    • soap: causes dehydration
    • fragrances: confuse or scare off

    Toxic and dangerous?

    All three species of fire beetles that you can find in nature are completely harmless. The beetles are unable to injure human skin because they do not have mouthparts for biting or stinging. The larvae pose no danger to humans either. Only conspecifics have to be careful when the insects tend to cannibalism.

    Beware of fiery red insects?

    There are numerous species in the animal kingdom that warn potential predators with their striking colors. Bright red hues often indicate that the animal is poisonous. But there are also insects that have only adopted the external appearance of dangerous species. Fire beetles are one of them. Their color is said to have a deterrent effect, although the insects do not produce any toxic substances. They are also not toxic to children or responsible for a sudden rash.

    in the house

    If a fire beetle accidentally got lost in the apartment, there is no need to panic. The animals are probably more scared than you. Ensure that the insect quickly returns to its natural habitat. Use a glass that you put over the animal. You can then slide a sheet of paper under the glass and thus get the beetle into the glass. Put him out at the edge of a forest or on dead wood.

    Harmful or useful?

    Fire bugs don't become a nuisance. They do not spread en masse and cannot be called pests. Adult beetles are not dangerous to the plants as they do not feed on the plant tissue and therefore do not leave any damage.

    They feed only on plant juices that are secreted by flowers or come to light through open wounds on trees. No living trees are visited to lay eggs. The larvae develop in dead wood and also do not feed on plant tissue.

    Fire beetles do not harm plants

    Prevent fungal spread

    The insects are commonly found near plants infested with aphids. As a result, they often give the impression of being a plant pest, but they are not after the plant. Much more attractive are the sweet secretions of aphids, which fire beetles prefer to eat.

    Fire beetles protect your plants. Honeydew often provides good living conditions for sooty mold fungi. If the plant is completely covered by the excrement of the plant sap-sucking aphids, its photosynthetic capacity can be extremely limited. Fire beetles free the plants and ensure that no fungi can settle on the sticky mass.

    Eliminate unwanted insects

    The larvae are predatory and hunt for other insect larvae. These are killed and drained. Although cannibalism can also occur, the larvae primarily target non-specific larvae. It is not uncommon for bark beetle larvae to be on their menu. Therefore, fire beetles are among the valuable beneficial insects when it comes to combating bark beetles.

    Why bark beetles are dangerous:

    • bore tunnels into the bark of healthy trees
    • lay eggs in the brood chambers
    • can multiply massively during long periods of heat and drought
    • cause pure spruce stands to die off

    What do fire beetles eat?

    Adult fire beetles rarely eat. They feed exclusively on sweet juices such as flower nectar or tree sap. The honeydew from aphids is a particularly tasty addition to the diet.

    Larvae eat various fungi that grow in deadwood. They also feed on other insect larvae found beneath the bark and in dead wood. When there is food shortage, cannibalism can be observed. However, this is only the exception and occurs more often when the conditions are no longer optimal. Drought, for example, repeatedly leads to more developed larvae eating younger generations.

    Portrait of the fire beetle

    The fire beetle is also known as a cardinal

    Fire-colored beetles are a family of insects whose scientific name is Pyrochroidae. They belong to the order Beetles and are sometimes referred to as cardinals. The family includes about 140 species worldwide, eight of which are native to Europe. Only three species live in Central Europe. The flight time of the species occurring in Central Europe is limited to a short period between May and June. When a thunderstorm approaches, the beetles seek shelter in vegetation.

    In this weather, fire beetles prefer to fly:

    • calm
    • high relative humidity
    • Temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius

    general characteristics

    Cardinals are between three and 20 millimeters long, with their bodies appearing flat and elongated. The upper side is finely hairy, but this only becomes visible under the microscope. Almost all species are red to brick red in color.

    The large and flat head, which is constricted at the transition to the neck and merges into a narrow pronotum, is striking. In contrast to other beetles, the temples of fire beetles are clearly visible. The actual wings are protected by elytra, which are widened backwards and have longitudinal grooves in some species.

    pairing

    Insects reproduce in spring. Some fire beetles use the chemical compound cantharidin to find a suitable mate. This natural substance is said to have an aphrodisiac effect, because the males are said to be more attractive to females due to a particularly high cantharidin content. However, fire beetles cannot produce this attractant pheromone themselves. They ingest the natural substance when larvae suck dead insects. However, the smell has a deterrent effect on many other insects.

    development

    The females usually lay their eggs under the bark of dead deciduous trees. Here the larvae hatch under sheltered conditions in tunnels they have dug themselves or in others. It has a severely flattened body and exhibits predominantly predatory behavior.

    Insects and their larvae are part of the diet of the fire beetle larvae. However, they also feed on fungi that have settled in dead wood. The larvae pupate between the wood and bark, only to crawl to the surface as adult beetles after two to three years. Under favorable conditions, adult beetles develop after just one year.

    Where do fire beetles live?

    Fire beetles need dead wood for their larvae

    Fire beetles inhabit forest edges and forests where deciduous trees are dominant. The more natural the forest is, the easier it is for insects to spread. They are dependent on dead wood, which hardly exists in forests used for timber production. In monocultures, which consist mainly of conifers, fire beetles do not find suitable living conditions.

    Their larvae need woody material that is already in the advanced stage of decomposition. This offers protection and high humidity, on which the larvae depend. If the wood is uncovered, the larvae flee into moister cracks in the wood or into deeper layers of bark.

    A herb-rich undergrowth with flowering plants is also important, because adult fire beetles get their food from the flowers. Here, nectar-forming herbaceous plants are important. Fire beetles do not dwell on flowers that have no nectar to offer.

    These trees are preferred:

    • Oak
    • linden tree
    • birch

    hibernate

    Adult fire beetles do not hibernate. Their only reason for being is to mate, which takes place shortly after hatching between May and June. Once this is complete and the eggs have been laid, the animals die. Only their larvae hibernate under the bark of dead trees. How often the larvae hibernate depends on factors such as the weather and food supply. Usually one to two winter periods pass before they pupate.

    Whether the larvae are active in winter probably depends on the conditions. The more sheltered and isolated the habitat, the more active the larvae are. At what temperature the insect larvae die off is not known, at least for the native species.

    digression

    Dendroides canadensis

    This species of the fire beetle family, native to North America, amazed researchers. They extracted special proteins from the larvae, which act as a natural protection against freezing. The water molecules move far more slowly when they are near these antifreeze proteins. The calmer the movements of water molecules, the lower temperatures can drop before water turns to ice.

    Once ice crystals have formed, the proteins attach themselves to the surface of the crystal and prevent further growth of the microscopically small clumps of ice. Because of these mechanisms, the larvae of this fire beetle are able to survive temperatures down to minus 30 degrees Celsius.

    species

    The species-rich family contains 21 genera. Three species are native to Central Europe and inhabit very similar habitats. It is not uncommon for larvae of different fire beetle species to live together under the bark of dead trees. They look very similar and can easily be confused with one another.

    Scarlet fire beetle (Pyrochroa coccinea)

    This species is between 13 and 18 millimeters long. The body is flat and wide. Elytra and pronotum are bathed in strong red tones, while the rest of the body glows in a deep black. On closer inspection, a brown-red shimmer can be seen on the forehead. The claws on the legs are also striking, because these are reddish-brown in the scarlet fire beetle.

    Their flight time is from May to June. This species is comparatively common and is also found in the southern and central parts of Scandinavia. It inhabits forest edges and clearings and is often found on dead wood and flowers.

    male female
    sensor combed from the third joint completely sawn
    size 13 to 17mm 14 to 18mm

    Red-headed fire beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis)

    The red-headed fire beetle is slightly smaller than its black-headed relative

    This beetle is slightly smaller than the scarlet fire beetle, only growing to between 10 and 14 millimeters in length. There are similarities in the coloring of the pronotum and elytra, because these are also red in Pyrochroa serraticornis. The main difference is the red head color, which gave this species its name.

    Good to know:

    • occurs in temperate regions of Europe
    • mainly in Central Europe
    • Lives on forest edges and in clearings
    • significantly rarer than the scarlet fire beetle

    Orange fire beetle (Schizotus pectinicornis)

    This beetle is the smallest of all fire beetles native to Europe, as it reaches a maximum body length of nine millimeters. The pronotum is somewhat rounded at the sides and has a black spot. The elytra carry flat longitudinal ribs, which are very weak. Both parts of the body are colored orange-red while the rest of the body is black. Occasionally, this species can also be observed under the bark of spruce and pine trees.

    Distribution:

    • large parts of Europe to beyond the Arctic Circle
    • mainly deciduous forests
    • especially in the foothills and in the mountains

    identify larvae

    All three native species lay their eggs on dead wood. The larvae live under the bark and look very similar. Some physical features are used to identify the species. The distribution also gives an indication of the species, even if the areas often overlap.

    Scarlet Fire Beetle Red-Headed Fire Beetle Orange fire beetle
    appendages of the abdomen just just bent
    base of attachments dentate dentate toothless
    antennas slim powerful insignificant
    Coloring of fresh beetles light brown red light brown red light yellowish brown

    Confused with other species

    Fire beetles are often confused with similar looking species. Various characteristics help to distinguish the animals from one another. These can also be seen with the naked eye.

    This is where the types differ:

    • coloring of the elytra
    • body shape
    • piercing-sucking mouthparts in beak kerfs
    • chewing mouthparts in beetles

    Common fire bug

    This species does not belong to the beetles. Fire bugs are a separate family belonging to the order Beak bugs. Thus, the insects are only distantly related to the fire beetles, which fall within the order Beetles. The German trivial names are wrongly used synonymously. Fire bugs are popularly referred to as fire beetles and vice versa.

    However, the respective species can be distinguished very easily if you take a closer look. Fire bugs have a typical color pattern. Their elytra are colored red with black dots and triangles. Fire bugs are often found in large aggregations and inhabit open habitats such as cemeteries with deciduous trees.

    lily chicken

    This plant pest belongs to the leaf beetle family and is characterized by a sealing wax red coloring of the pronotum and elytra. As a result, the lily beetle can easily be confused with fire beetles, but these insects only reach a body length of between six and eight millimeters.

    There are other differences in lifestyle and diet. These fake fire bugs specialize in lilies. They lay their eggs on the underside of leaves. The hatched larvae feed on the leaves like the adult insects. They pupate in the ground.

    Fire beetles in the garden

    Since fire beetles do not cause any damage and their larvae are even useful, it makes a lot of sense to settle the animals in your own garden. To do this, you must arrange the living conditions in such a way that the beetles find enough food, places to retreat and places to lay their eggs.

    If you want to redesign your garden accordingly, you should be guided by the way insects live.The more natural the habitat, the more attractive the garden will be to fire beetles. You don't need a lot of space to create an oasis. You can also create new living spaces on the balcony with small changes.

    deadwood

    Dead wood is a valuable habitat for numerous organisms. More than 1,300 different species of insects live on old and dead wood in Central Europe. This includes the larvae of the fire beetle. This diversity of insects attracts numerous songbirds and woodpeckers to feed on the insects. To create such a species-rich oasis in the garden, you can use old wood. Fallen trees, dead roots or fallen branches are excellent deadwood.

    Pile up the material in a corner of the garden or spread it evenly over the area. Fire beetle larvae feel comfortable in particularly thick trunks that are already in the advanced stage of decomposition. There is high humidity in rotten wood, which the larvae depend on.

    This is what the ideal deadwood pile looks like:

    • dig pit
    • Stack coarse pieces of branch, tree slices and roots
    • Fill leaves and brushwood in the gaps

    tips

    Pay attention to the groundwater level and soil conditions! No water should collect in hollows and depressions, as this endangers animals hibernating in the dead wood.

    flowering strips

    In order to offer the beetles a rich supply of food, you should create flower strips that are rich in species. You can work this into a lawn. The flowers are preferred when they are not exposed to the blazing sun. Fire beetles like semi-shady conditions similar to those found in forest edges and clearings.

    tips

    Shrubs and hedges add to the habitat. Smaller songbirds also find protection here from predators.

    frequently asked Questions

    What is the difference between a fire beetle and a fire bug?

    Fire bugs belong to a different order than fire beetles. They differ in their coloring. While the common fire bug is red in color and has black markings, the three native species of fire beetle are solid red. Bugs have proboscis-like mouthparts that they use to suck. Fire beetles, on the other hand, have chewing mouthparts.

    Why do fire bugs bond?

    Many insects combine to mate. In fire beetles, however, no connections can be observed that last for several hours or even days. What is meant here is the common fire bug, which is incorrectly referred to as the fire beetle. Males and females of these insects are often observed in a position in which the two hind ends are firmly joined together. Because the males want to prevent females from mating with competitors, the connection is sometimes maintained for several days.

    Where do fire beetles come from?

    The conspicuous insects live under the protection of trees and bushes in the herbaceous underlayer. They prefer light conditions and often sit on flowers because they feed on nectar. They lay their eggs in dead wood. This is where the larvae hatch, retreat into the damp cracks in the wood and hunt down other insect larvae.

    It is a misconception that the animals depend on burnt wood. However, there is a species called the fire beetle that takes advantage of forest fires. Behind this species is the Australian fire jewel beetle.

    Lifestyle of the Australian fire beetle:

    • Egg-laying on smoldering and smoking trunks
    • spoon-shaped larvae eat into the wood
    • Resin from living trees endangers the development of larvae

    Where does the name come from?

    Many fire beetles have a striking coloration ranging from scarlet to black. The bright red has historically been associated with fire, giving the beetle its name. The scientific name is composed of the Greek terms "pyros" for fire and "chroma" for color. The German name is a translation of this designation. Fire beetles are also incorrectly referred to as fire bugs, but they belong to a different family.

    What do fire bugs need to survive?

    Insects are among the creatures that depend on dead wood. Their larvae can only develop in the shelter of old wood, which is in an advanced stage of decomposition. Inside there is a humid environment that offers optimal growth conditions for fungi. These are vital for the larvae, as they are eaten with preference along with other insect larvae.

    What are fire bugs good for?

    Fire beetles prove to be useful creatures in pest control. Their larvae prey on other insect larvae that are in the deadwood. The larvae of the dreaded bark beetle are also on their menu. Adult fire beetles feed mainly on sweet plant juices. But the sticky secretions of aphids are not spurned either. In this way, fire beetles ensure that fungi do not spread on the affected plant.

Category:

Animals in the garden