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GLOWWORMS, FIREFLIES, LIGHTNING BUGS

LAMPYRIDAE

T

he Lampyridae is one of the best known and

most popular families of Coleoptera. Known

as glowworms, fireflies, or lightning bugs, they

produce a conspicuous glow during spring and

summer evenings. The light is produced by

chemical bioluminescence, by combining the

enzyme luciferase with the compound luciferin in

a specialized light-emitting organ toward the tip of

the abdomen. It is a cold light, lacking infrared and

ultraviolet, and may appear as yellow, green, or

pale red, varying between species.

Light production probably evolved as a warning

to predators that the beetles were distasteful to eat,

and it is still used in this way by lampyrid larvae.

However, it has since been adapted as a mating

signal. In the simplest cases, for example the

European glowworm Lampyris noctiluca, the female

is wingless and produces a light that attracts the

LAMPYRIDAE

family

Lampyridae

known species

2,200

distribution

Worldwide, but particularly common in

warmer regions

habitat

Forests to grasslands

size

4–18 mm

diet

Most Lampyridae are predators, as adults

and larvae. Many species feed on snails

notes

Fireflies and their relatives have inspired

poetry and art for centuries, and mating

aggregations of thousands of fireflies

signaling together at particular times of year

are still popular attractions, especially in

Asia and North America. However, these

insects are declining in many parts of the

world because of environmental change,