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

Genus Photuris

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited

Photuris female (I think) - Photuris - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Elateriformia)

Superfamily Elateroidea

Family Lampyridae (Fireflies)

Subfamily Photurinae

Genus Photuris

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

For more than a century most our spp. were lumped under the name P. pensylvanica, but Barber's 1951 work on flashing behavior led to recognition of multiple species(1)

Explanation of Names

Photuris LeConte 1851

Greek 'luminous tail'

Numbers

22 described spp., 28 more in prep. in our area(1), ~120 total(2)

Size

10‒20 mm(3)

Identification

Head not completely covered by pronotum (unlike in Photinus), legs typically long and slender, not compressed, antennae simple(4). Elytral fold, visible from side, incomplete (left) vs complete in Photinus (right)(5)

species identification very difficult as male genitalia are virtually identical across the genus and both sexes use a variety of flash patterns(3)

keys to spp. in (6)(7) should not be relied upon(1)

Food

Females mimic flash patterns of females of other genera, esp. Photinus, and eat the lured males ‒for nutrition and, perhaps, to sequester chemical defenses(8)

Life Cycle

Mating occurs high up in trees. Adults are relatively long-lived, survive in captivity for a month or more(3)

Remarks

Species identification is problematic. Several undescribed species exist which can be separated only by subtle differences in flash patterns. Most submitted images will remain on the genus page only because of this new finding.

Print References

Gronquist M., Schroeder F.C., Ghiradella H., Hill D., McCoy E.M., Meinwald J., Eisner T. (2006) Shunning the night to elude the hunter: Diurnal fireflies and the “femmes fatales." Chemoecology 16: 39‒43.

Lloyd J.E. (1965) Aggressive mimicry in Photuris: firefly femmes fatales, Science 149: 653–654.

Lloyd J.E. (1969) Flashes of Photuris fireflies: their value and use in recognizing species. Fla. Entomol. 52: 29‒35.

Lloyd J.E. (1980) Male Photuris fireflies mimic sexual signals of their females’ prey. Science 210: 669‒671.

Works Cited

1.	American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.

2.	Catalogue of Life

3.	Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies Sara Lewis. 2016. Princeton University Press.

4.	A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence. 1961. Row, Peterson, and Company.

5.	Peterson Field Guides: Beetles Richard E. White. 1983. Houghton Mifflin Company.

6.	North American fireflies in the genus Photuris. Barber, H.S. and F.A. McDermott. 1951. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 117(1): 1–58.

7.	The North American fireflies of the genus Photuris DeJean a modification of Barber's key (Coleoptera; Lampyridae). McDermott, F.A. 1967. The Coleopterists' Bulletin 21(4): 106–116.

8.	For Love of Insects Thomas Eisner. 2003. Belknap Press.

Contributed by Tony DiTerlizzi on 25 October, 2004 - 8:34am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Bug Eric, Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 16 July, 2024 - 2:56pm

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