---
title: "European Firebug"
description: "Pyrrhocoris apterus — Insects & spiders. The firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, is a common insect of the family Pyrrhocoridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/european-firebug
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# European Firebug

> Pyrrhocoris apterus — Insects & spiders. The firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, is a common insect of the family Pyrrhocoridae.

- Scientific name: *Pyrrhocoris apterus*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 107859
- Wikidata: [Q486957](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q486957)
- iNaturalist taxon: [55610](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/55610)

## Names

- en: European Firebug
- de: Gemeine Feuerwanze
- es: Chinche de la Malva Arbórea
- fr: Gendarme
- nl: Vuurwants
- pl: Kowal bezskrzydły

## Countries with the most observations

DE (18000), FR (13590), RU (8967), CZ (6841), AT (6302), ES (5379), IT (4920), PL (4679), UA (4220), CA (2557), PT (2449), US (2174)

## Summary

The firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, is a common insect of the family Pyrrhocoridae. Easily recognisable due to its striking red and black coloration, it may be confused with the similarly coloured though unrelated Corizus hyoscyami (cinnamon bug or squash bug). Pyrrhocoris apterus is distributed throughout the Palaearctic from the Atlantic coast of Europe to northwest China. Beyond its native Palaearctic range, it has been recorded in the United States, Central America, Southern Ontario (As an invasive species), India, and Australia. It has been reported as recently expanding its distribution northwards into mainland…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhocoris_apterus

## Photo

![European Firebug](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/european-firebug/medium.jpg)

Photo: Joe Carmichael · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/56035091

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/european-firebug?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).