Fire Beetles found after Mariposa County fires: what are they?

MARIPOSA COUNTY, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – After wildfires ravaged the forests during the French Fire in Mariposa , nearby residents recounted seeing swarms of black beetles.

Many assumed them to be bark beetles, but according to fire crews, a large portion was likely fire-chaser beetles, also known as black fire beetles, firebugs, or wood-boring beetles.

Fire chaser beetles are usually the first to reach the scene, beating the firefighters and other first responders to the chase.

How can these tiny half-inch bugs get there so quickly? A 2012 study from Germany revealed that these beetles can detect heat from dozens of miles away using two sensory pit organs beneath their middle legs. Each of these organs contains 70 infrared receptors, and each receptor contains a small pocket of water that expands when heat is detected.

One might wonder why these bugs are so attracted to fire that they literally swell. According to the American Natural Museum of History , fire beetles use freshly burnt and sometimes still smoldering wood to lay their eggs. This behavior is an evolutionary trait used to combat predators, such as birds, which flee the burning forests to avoid injury.

Professors at the University of Colorado, Boulder suggest staying away if you come in contact with these beetles as they have a strong bite and sometimes mistake people for warm wood.

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