European Firebug
Pyrrhocoris apterus
They are famous for their prolonged mating aggregations, remaining joined together in a 'tandem' position for up to seven days.
- Scientific name
- Pyrrhocoris apterus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Hemiptera › Pyrrhocoridae › Pyrrhocoris
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- urban
- Habitat
- Urban parks, gardens, forest edges, and at the base of deciduous trees, particularly lime/linden trees.
- Diet
- Primarily fallen seeds of linden trees and mallows, but they will occasionally scavenge dead insects.
- Range
- Europe, Central Asia, North Africa, North America
- Size
- 8 to 12 mm in length
- Lifespan
- Up to 1 year
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Widespread pesticide use in suburban gardens and aggressive clearing of fallen leaf litter and seeds.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. These insects do not bite, sting, or carry disease, and are completely safe to observe at any distance. If handled, they may emit a mild, foul-smelling defensive fluid. Wash hands with soap and water if you handle them.
The firebug , Pyrrhocoris apterus , is a common insect of the family Pyrrhocoridae. Easily recognizable due to its striking red and black coloration, but may be confused with the similarly coloured but unrelated Corizus hyoscyami (cinnamon bug, squash bug) (see comparison). Pyrrhocoris apterus is distributed throughout the Palaearctic from the Atlantic coast of Europe to northwest China. It has also been reported from the USA, Central America and India. It has been reported as recently expanding its...
Photo: Aka, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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