The Photurinae are a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...

of fireflies (

Lampyridae The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

). They contain many of the well-known

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

, such as the

Pennsylvania firefly ''Photuris pensylvanica'', known by the common names Pennsylvania firefly, lightning bug, dot-dash firefly and (in its larval state) glowworm, is a species of firefly from the United States and Canada. It is also widely known under the Latin nam ...

(''Photuris pennsylvanica''), state insect of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. They are among the "flashing" (as opposed to continuous-glow) fireflies known as "lightning bugs" in North America, although they are not too distantly related to the flashing fireflies in the

Lampyrinae The Lampyrinae are a large subfamily of fireflies (Lampyridae). The exact delimitation, and the internal systematics, have until recently been a matter of debate; for long this group was used as a " wastebin taxon" to hold any fireflies with insu ...

; as the most basal lineages of that subfamily do not produce light at all, the Photurinae's flashing signals seem to be

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

.Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F.; Lloyd, James E. & Hillis, David M. (2007): Phylogeny of North American fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae): Implications for the evolution of light signals. '' Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.'' 45(1): 33-49.
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/ref> The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Photuris'' is often called "''

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype o ...

'' fireflies", due to the females' habit of imitating other "lightning bugs'" flashes, to attract, kill, and eat them. Their prey includes such unrelated Lampyrinae like

rover fireflies The rover fireflies (''Photinus'') are a genus of fireflies (family Lampyridae). They are the type genus of tribe Photinini in subfamily Lampyrinae. This genus contains, for example, the common eastern firefly (''P. pyralis''), the most commo ...

(''Photinus'') or ''

Pyractomena ''Pyractomena'' is a genus of fireflies in the family Lampyridae. There are at least 20 described species in ''Pyractomena''. Species References Further reading * * * * * * * * Lampyridae Lampyridae genera Biolumi ...

''.

Genera

* ''

Bicellonycha ''Bicellonycha'' is a genus of fireflies in the beetle family Lampyridae The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly cal ...

'' Motschulsky, 1853 * '' Photuris'' Dejean, 1833 – ''femme fatale'' fireflies * '' Presbyolampis'' Buck, 1947 * '' Pyrogaster'' Motschulsky, 1853