Firefly? - Photuris - BugGuide.Net

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Elateriformia » Elateroidea » Fireflies (Lampyridae) » Photurinae » Photuris

Photo#223529

Copyright © 2008 Marcia A. Sessions

Firefly? - Photuris

Greenville, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA
September 9, 2008

Firefly? This was on the very low part of my house. We'd had a lot of rain, so you can see some soil that sprayed the shingles.

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Contributed by Marcia A. Sessions on 9 September, 2008 - 7:09pm
Last updated 30 June, 2010 - 2:07pm

Moved

Moved from Photuris pennsylvanica.

This genus cannot be reliably identified to species from photographs.

… Brad Barnd, 30 June, 2010 - 2:07pm

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Moved

Moved from Photuris.

… Ken Schneider, 7 January, 2009 - 9:52am

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Moved

Moved from Fireflies.

… Eric R. Eaton, 24 October, 2008 - 4:17pm

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Moving -

to family page for now...

… Ken Schneider, 2 October, 2008 - 12:32pm

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Yes...

...but not the one you think it is. This firefly is in the genus Photuris. The females are the flash-pattern mimics of "true" fireflies (Photinus). They lure males in to eat them rather than mate with them.

See reference here:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/8210

… Ross Hill, 9 September, 2008 - 10:54pm

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Correct.

Moving to genus page. Recently, it has been determined that there are several "new" species in this genus that can only be separated based on differences in their flash patterns.

… Eric R. Eaton, 24 October, 2008 - 4:17pm

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has to be Ph. pennsylvanica

*

… v belov, 7 January, 2009 - 9:05am

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Firefly?

"Males are lured in and consumed. They do this for nutrition, perhaps, and also to obtain chemical defenses from other Lampyridae (3) (4), (Eisner et al., 1997)."

Many thanks Ross for your comments and link to the reference. This is the first chance I've had today to read my email. All day today it was passing through my mind, "How does this behavior benefit Photuris? Now, having read your comments as well as the reference, I understand. Fascinating about how they obtain chemical defenses from this too. Yet I can't help but feel for the males of the Photinus genus. What a ruse!
Thank you!
Marcia

… Marcia A. Sessions, 10 September, 2008 - 9:02pm

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