fire beetle

English

Etymology

Pyrophorus noctilucus - because it looks like it is glowing, like fire.

Melanophila - because they seek out fire in order to mate and lay eggs in freshly burned wood.

Noun

fire beetle (plural fire beetles)

1. A luminous click beetle, Pyrophorus noctilucus

   Synonym: headlight elater

2. Any insect in the genus Melanophila

Derived terms

• black fire beetle (Melanophila acuminata)

Translations

Pyrophorus noctilucus

Italian: piroforo (it) m

References

• “fire beetle”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.