Coalinga Oil Field

On August 10, 1925, lightning struck the Coalinga oil depot. The result was a raging sea of flames that burned for three days. The intensity of the flames was so big and produced so much light that people could read a book 9 miles away from the flames.

The light also attracted the fire chasing beetle, firebug or Melanophilia en masse. The Greek Pliny the Elder already wrote about this remarkable beetle because he thought it was born from fire. That wasn't right, of course, but he wasn't that far off. The beetles are attracted to fire to have one of the most dramatic sex acts in the animal kingdom. They mate while the fire rages fiercely around them. A little later the females lay eggs on the charred remains of the trees. The larvae can then eat the wood of the tree to their heart's content because the tree is usually too damaged to protect itself. The beetle's natural enemies are also not attracted to the area due to the pungent burning smell.

Dromos