Bug FAQMarsh imp
Pyractomena lucifera · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Lampyridae
The marsh imp is a firefly species in the beetle family Lampyridae. It lives in wetlands and is threatened by habitat loss and light pollution.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Marsh imp belongs to the firefly group of beetles (family Lampyridae).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is a specialist of wetland habitats. Habitat loss from housing, commercial development, and light pollution threatens it.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 22 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland, Texas, New York, Florida, South Carolina, New Jersey.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What kind of habitat does the marsh imp need?
It lives in wetlands and is threatened by loss of those areas and by light pollution.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lampyridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyractomena_lucifera
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.