Pretty bug?

Found this little one on my tomatoes. It is less than 1/4" long. What is it and what do I need to do to banish it?

The copyright kinda covers part of the but so I cropped the image differently so you can see it all. Kinda pretty but not a friend I am sure! It might be 1/4" long but it didn't like it when I came at it with the ruler!

I haven't seen one in years, and they were bigger than 1/4"; but this looks like a firefly! Does my memory serve me right? I'm sure it's not a firefly with that tiny size, but does it remind anyone else of a firefly (lightning bug)?

That's what I thought too - sure looks like a firefly!
Tam

That was my first thought -- a lightning bug! The air used to be thick with their lights on summer nights when I lived in the Midwest. They don't seem to live in the Rocky Mountain region, though. I kinda miss them.

I've never heard of them being pests, but I really don't know. I never thought about it.

We were just talking about them last night. We saw our first fireflay about a week ago.
Because they were so intriquing to us as young kids, we caught them and kept them in
a jar to see them light up.

edited to add: I googled lightening bug aka firefly and see they eat other insects &
snails. Sounds like a good kinda bug!

Tam

This message was edited Jul 2, 2006 9:31 PM

it could be a type of soldier beetle too. it's been a long time since i've seen a firefly, i can't remember exactly what they look like up close. if it's a soldier, that's a good bug.

It looks like a lightning bug to me too. They have really been working the blooms on the linden trees this past week.

It does look like a lightning bug a bit, but can't you usually see the spot on their butt where the light would come out? Seems to me from my days of catching them as a kid you could see that bit even if they weren't lighting up at the moment.

Here's a side pic. I wasn't going to use it because it is small and out of focus, but maybe you can see if it is a firefly or not from this pic.

Anyway, both are beneficial insects and I am glad I did not try to kill it!

I have thousands of fireflies in my area that come from the tops of the trees at night. It definetly appears to be a firefly, athough they are usually about a 1/2 inch long.

Happy little firefly. :)
They've been having a ball in my yard this past summer, but mating season is coming to a halt, so they are not lighting up as much now.