Fire-associated
Guides
Actebia fennica
Finnish Dart, black army cutworm, Eversmann's rustic
Actebia fennica is a noctuid moth with a Holarctic distribution spanning boreal regions of North America and Eurasia. Adults are active from July to September with a single generation per year. The species exhibits a documented behavioral response to landscape fire smoke, with females doubling egg production when exposed to volatiles from burning vegetation. Larvae feed on a diverse range of host plants including grasses, forbs, and woody species in coastal and disturbed habitats.
Anaxyelidae
incense cedar wood wasps
Anaxyelidae is a relict family of siricoid wood wasps (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) represented today by a single extant species, Syntexis libocedrii, in western North America. The family was highly diverse during the Mesozoic, with over two dozen extinct genera and more than 50 fossil species documented from Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits across Asia, Europe, and North America. The family comprises two subfamilies: Anaxyelinae, which dominated the Jurassic, and Syntexinae, which prevailed in the Cretaceous and survives today.
Andrenosoma fulvicaudum
Northern Chiselmouth
Andrenosoma fulvicaudum is a robber fly (family Asilidae) in the subfamily Laphriinae, distributed across most of North America. Adults measure 15–20 mm and are characterized by distinctive reddish-brown terminal abdominal segments contrasting with blue-black anterior segments. The species is associated with dry, sandy habitats and dead wood, where adults perch on sunlit tree trunks and logs to hunt small insects. Larvae develop as predators of wood-boring beetle larvae.
Augochlorella aurata
golden green sweat bee, golden sweat bee
Augochlorella aurata is a primitively eusocial sweat bee (Halictidae) and one of the most common bees in eastern North America. Adults display brilliant metallic green coloration, often diffused with copper, red, or yellow tones. The species nests in soil and exhibits a seasonal colony cycle with distinct foundress, worker, and reproductive phases. It is a generalist pollen forager and has been documented visiting numerous horticultural crops and native plants.
Boridae
Conifer Bark Beetles
Boridae is a small family of tenebrionoid beetles comprising three genera: Boros (North America and northern Eurasia), Lecontia (endemic to North America), and Synercticus (Australia and New Guinea). These saproxylic beetles are strongly associated with coniferous trees, particularly standing dead pines. The family was previously classified within Salpingidae before being recognized as distinct. Despite their common name, they are not destructive forest pests but rather occupy specialized niches in dead wood decomposition.
Calloides nobilis
Calloides nobilis is a longhorn beetle species in the family Cerambycidae, first described by Harris in 1837. The species is known to occur in North America, with records from the United States and Canada. A subspecies, Calloides nobilis mormonus, has been documented from fire-affected areas of the Kaibab Plateau in Arizona. The species is attracted to sweet red wine-baited traps, suggesting adult feeding behavior involving fermenting substrates.
Calloides nobilis mormonus
Calloides nobilis mormonus is a western North American subspecies of longhorn beetle (family Cerambycidae) in the tribe Clytini. The nominate subspecies C. n. nobilis occurs in eastern North America, while C. n. mormonus is restricted to western regions. This subspecies has been documented from burned coniferous forest habitats in Arizona and attracted to sweet red wine-baited traps. The species is associated with fire-damaged oak and conifer wood, suggesting a reliance on recently dead or stressed woody hosts.
Gnaphosa borea
Gnaphosa borea is a ground spider species in the family Gnaphosidae with a Holarctic distribution. The species is found in boreal forest habitats across northern Eurasia and North America. It has been documented in Russia (Tuva, South Siberia), Alaska, Maine, and several Canadian provinces including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. The species appears to be associated with post-fire conditions in boreal forests and is rarely collected in harvest-origin forest stands.
Lecontia
conifer bark beetles
Lecontia is a genus of conifer bark beetles in the family Boridae, containing a single species, Lecontia discicollis. These beetles are found in Central America and North America, where they inhabit the bark of dead conifers. The genus is notable for its specialized association with fire-killed or stressed conifer trees, particularly in the years following forest fires.
Melanophila
fire beetles
Melanophila is a genus of buprestid beetles known as fire beetles, distinguished by extraordinary sensitivity to infrared radiation. They possess specialized heat-sensing organs located near their legs that detect infrared radiation from forest fires. This sensory adaptation drives their behavior of seeking out fires to mate and oviposit in freshly burned wood. The genus contains approximately 16 described species distributed across North America and Eurasia.
Melanophila acuminata
black fire beetle, fire bug
Melanophila acuminata is a metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae, renowned for its exceptional ability to detect and locate forest fires from considerable distances. Adults possess specialized infrared radiation sensors on the thorax that detect heat, enabling them to swarm to freshly burned conifer trees for reproduction. The species has a broad Holarctic distribution and exhibits strong flight capabilities, with adults documented flying more than 50 miles to reach fire sites. Larvae develop in the phloem of fire-damaged conifers, taking several years to mature before emerging through D-shaped exit holes.
Melanophila occidentalis
Melanophila occidentalis is a metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae, described by Obenberger in 1928. The genus Melanophila is notable for its pyrophilic behavior, with some species attracted to smoke and heat from forest fires. This species occurs in North America, including British Columbia, Canada. Like other members of the genus, it likely develops in fire-scarred or recently burned coniferous wood.
Monochamus scutellatus
white-spotted sawyer, spruce sawyer, spruce bug, hair-eater
Monochamus scutellatus is a large cerambycid beetle native to North America, commonly known as the white-spotted sawyer. Adults are notable for extreme sexual dimorphism in antennae length, with male antennae reaching up to twice body length. The species colonizes stressed, dying, or recently dead conifers, showing strong preference for burned forest habitats. Larvae develop as wood-borers, creating galleries in phloem, cambium, and sapwood. Adults emerge mid-June to mid-August and feed on conifer bark and foliage before mating.
Scolytinae
Bark and Ambrosia Beetles, Bark Beetles
Scolytinae is a subfamily of weevils (Curculionidae) comprising approximately 220 genera and 6,000 species commonly known as bark and ambrosia beetles. Members are characterized by their specialized association with woody plants, where they excavate galleries beneath bark for reproduction and larval development. The subfamily includes some of the most economically significant forest pests globally, such as the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) and mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), which cause billions of dollars in timber losses. Species exhibit diverse feeding strategies: phloem-feeding bark beetles consume living or dying tree tissues, while ambrosia beetles cultivate symbiotic fungi in galleries as a food source.
Syntexis libocedrii
incense-cedar wood wasp, cedar wood wasp
Syntexis libocedrii is the sole extant representative of the family Anaxyelidae, a lineage with an extensive Mesozoic fossil record that makes this species a 'living fossil.' It exhibits a highly specialized reproductive strategy, ovipositing exclusively in wood of recently burned conifers including incense-cedar (Calocedrus), red cedar (Thuja), and juniper (Juniperus). The species is rarely encountered due to its cryptic habits and dependence on post-fire environments.
Tragidion
Tragidion is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) distributed across North America and Mexico. Species are notable for their bright orange-red and black coloration, which functions in Batesian mimicry of tarantula hawk wasps (Pompilidae: Pepsis, Hemipepsis). The genus contains eleven recognized species, with seven occurring in North America and four restricted to Mexico. Taxonomic clarity was recently provided by Swift & Ray (2008), who described two new species, revalidated one from synonymy, and proposed four new synonymies to resolve long-standing identification challenges.