Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Elateriformia » Elateroidea » Fireflies (Lampyridae) » Lampyrinae » Cratomorphini » Pyractomena » Pyractomena borealis
Photo#294119
Firefly - Pyractomena borealis
Copyright © 2009 James Bailey

Firefly - Pyractomena borealis
Beaverhill Lake, Alberta, Canada
June 25, 2009
Size: ~1cm

Images of this individual: tag all
Firefly - Pyractomena borealis Firefly - Pyractomena borealis Firefly2 - Pyractomena borealis
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by James Bailey on 25 June, 2009 - 9:01pm
Last updated 1 July, 2015 - 11:50pm

Moved tentatively
the narrow yellow lateral margins of the elytra exclude dispersa [in which they are very wide] but are consistent with borealis

Moved from Pyractomena dispersa.
… v belov, 6 January, 2010 - 9:15am login or register to post comments

 
After seeing borealis in Virginia
It occurs to me how much larger it was compared to my memory of this...is there certainly no smaller Pyractomena this could represent?
… James Bailey, 8 December, 2021 - 1:37am login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Pyractomena.
… Charley Eiseman, 29 June, 2009 - 11:50pm login or register to post comments

nice-- prob. Pyractomena, but not sure
*
… v belov, 25 June, 2009 - 10:24pm login or register to post comments

 
only 2 possibilities here...
It is a Pyractonema based on the presence of light organs (the light coloured abdominal segments in the ventral view). We have only 5 firefly species in AB and this genus is the only one here with conspicuous light organs like this. There are 2 species of Py*ractonema in AB- P. borealis and P. dispersa. See here to compare. I'm leaning towards P. borealis for this one, but both species are present in central Alberta. Do you remember the size of your specimen? P. borealis is significantly larger than P. dispersa.
… Tim Loh, 28 June, 2009 - 2:16am login or register to post comments

 
I have the specimen with me
I didn't plan on it but it died after 2 days. Is the light a mating thing? Because it never lit up at night.

Be right back, going to find a ruler.
… James Bailey, 28 June, 2009 - 6:41pm login or register to post comments

 
Size
The specimen is just short of 1cm (~0.97cm)
… James Bailey, 28 June, 2009 - 6:49pm login or register to post comments

 
Must be P. dispersa then...
Based on the size measurement.
… Tim Loh, 28 June, 2009 - 7:37pm login or register to post comments

 
A new one for the guide it appears.
-
… James Bailey, 29 June, 2009 - 9:29pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact