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For the science fiction television series, see Firefly (TV series). For other uses, see Firefly (disambiguation).
Photuris lucicrescens.jpg
Photuris lucicrescens[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Elateriformia
Superfamily: Elateroidea
Family: Lampyridae
Latreille, 1817

Ototretinae (disputed)
and see below

Genera incertae sedis:
Pterotus LeConte, 1859

The Lampyridae are a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies. This chemically produced light from the lower abdomen may be yellow, green, or pale red, with wavelengths from 510 to 670 nanometers.[2]



A larviform female showing light-emitting organs on abdomen

Fireflies tend to be brown and soft-bodied, often with the elytra, or front wings, more leathery than those of other beetles. Although the females of some species are similar in appearance to males, larviform females are found in many other firefly species. These females can often be distinguished from the larvae only because they have compound eyes. The most commonly known fireflies are nocturnal,[4] although there are numerous species that are diurnal. Most diurnal species are not luminescent; however, some species that remain in shadowy areas may produce light.

A few days after mating, a female lays her fertilized eggs on or just below the surface of the ground. The eggs hatch three to four weeks later, and the larvae feed until the end of the summer. The larvae are commonly called glowworms (not to be confused with the distinct beetle family Phengodidae or the fly genus Arachnocampa.) Lampyrid larvae have simple eyes. The term glowworm is also used for both adults and larvae of species such as Lampyris noctiluca, the common European glowworm, in which only the nonflying adult females glow brightly and the flying males glow only weakly and intermittently.

A video of fireflies.

Fireflies hibernate over winter during the larval stage, some species for several years. Some do this by burrowing underground, while others find places on or under the bark of trees. They emerge in the spring. After several weeks of feeding, they pupate for 1.0 to 2.5 weeks and emerge as adults. The larvae of most species are specialized predators and feed on other larvae, terrestrial snails, and slugs. Some are so specialized that they have grooved mandibles that deliver digestive fluids directly to their prey. Adult diet varies: some are predatory, while others feed on plant pollen or nectar. Some, like the European Glow-worm beetle, Lampyris noctiluca, have no mouth.

Most fireflies are quite distasteful to eat and sometimes poisonous to vertebrate predators. This is due at least in part to a group of steroid pyrones known as lucibufagins, which are similar to cardiotonic bufadienolides found in some poisonous toads.[5]

Light and chemical production[edit]


Light production in fireflies is due to a type of chemical reaction called bioluminescence. This process occurs in specialized light-emitting organs, usually on a firefly's lower abdomen. The enzyme luciferase acts on the luciferin, in the presence of magnesium ions, ATP, and oxygen to produce light. Gene coding for these substances have been inserted into many different organisms (see Luciferase – Applications). Firefly luciferase is used in forensics, and the enzyme has medical uses — in particular, for detecting the presence of ATP or magnesium. It has been speculated that Baroque painter Caravaggio may have prepared his canvases with a powder of dried fireflies to create a photosensitive surface on which he projected the image to be painted.[6]


Light in adult beetles was originally thought to be used for similar warning purposes, but now its primary purpose is thought to be used in mate selection. Fireflies are a classic example of an organism that uses bioluminescence for sexual selection. They have a variety of ways to communicate with mates in courtships: steady glows, flashing, and the use of chemical signals unrelated to photic systems.[7]

Some species, especially lightning bugs of the genera Photinus, Photuris, and Pyractomena, are distinguished by the unique courtship flash patterns emitted by flying males in search of females. In general, females of the Photinus genus do not fly, but do give a flash response to males of their own species.

Firefly larva


Female Photuris fireflies are known for mimicking the mating flashes of other "lightning bugs" for the sole purpose of predation. Target males are attracted to what appears to be a suitable mate, and are then eaten. For this reason, sometimes, Photuris species are referred to as "femme fatale fireflies."



Cyphonocerus ruficollis, a weakly glowing member of the Cyphonocerinae

Firefly systematics, as with many insects, are in a constant state of flux, as new species continue to be discovered. The five subfamilies listed above are the most commonly accepted ones, though others, such as the Amydetinae and Psilocladinae, have been proposed. This was mainly done in an attempt to revise the Lampyrinae, which bit by bit had become something of a "wastebin taxon" to hold incertae sedis species and genera of fireflies. Other changes have been proposed, such as merging the Ototretinae into the Luciolinae, but the arrangement used here appears to be the most frequently seen and stable layout for the time being. Though most groups appear to be monophyletic, some (e.g., the tribe Photinini) are perhaps better divided.

Two groups of subfamilies seem to exist: one containing many American and some Eurasian species in the Lampyrinae and Photurinae, and one, predominantly Asian, made up from the other subfamilies. While the subfamilies as understood here are, in general, monophyletic, a few genera still need to be moved for the subfamilies to accurately represent the evolutionary relationships among the fireflies.

The Rhagophthalmidae are a glow worm-like lineage of Elateroidea. They have in the recent past usually been considered a distinct family, but whether this is correct is still disputed. Indeed, they might be the only close relative of the puzzling firefly genus Pterotus, which sometimes is placed in a monotypic subfamily.

The genus Phausis, usually placed in the tribe Photinini of the Lampyrinae, might represent another rather distinct lineage instead.


  1. ^ Cirrus Digital Firefly Photuris lucicrescens
  2. ^ HowStuffWorks "How do fireflies light up?". (19 January 2001). Retrieved on 22 June 2013.
  3. ^ In Fireflies, Flightless Females Lose out On Gifts from Males. Science Daily (27 June 2011). Retrieved on 22 June 2013.
  4. ^ firefly. Free Retrieved on 22 June 2013.
  5. ^ Eisner, Thomas; Wiemer, David; Haynes, Leroy; Meinwald, Jerrold (1978). "Lucibufagins: Defensive steroids from the fireflies Photinus ignitus and P. marginellus (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 75 (2): 905–8. doi:10.1073/pnas.75.2.905. PMC 411366. PMID 16592501. 
  6. ^ "Caravaggio was early 'photographer'." BBC News. 11 March 2009.
  7. ^ Stanger-Hall, K.F.; Lloyd, J.E.; Hillis, D.M. (2007). "Phylogeny of North American fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae): implications for the evolution of light signals". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 45 (1): 33–49. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.013. PMID 17644427. 
  8. ^ Murray, James D. (2002). Mathematical Biology. I. An Introduction (3rd ed.). Springer. pp. 295–299. ISBN 978-0-387-95223-9. 
  9. ^ Synchronous Fireflies – Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (3 June 2013). Retrieved on 22 June 2013.
  10. ^ Cross, Robert (23 May 2004) Tree huggin'. Chicago Tribune.
  11. ^ De Cock, R.; Matthysen, E. (2005). "Sexual communication by pheromones in a firefly, Phosphaenus hemipterus (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)". Animal Behaviour 70 (4): 807. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.01.011. 

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