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Photinus Indictus
''Photinus indictus'', or silent firefly, is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is a diurnal firefly, active during the day rather than at night, with no lanterns. It is found in eastern North America. Description ''P. indictus'' is a small to medium-sized beetle, with adults approximately long. The head shield, or pronotum, is pale yellow with a thick, black, rectangular central mark with red or pink on both sides. The wing covers, or elytra, are dark with wide, well-defined, light-colored margins. Unlike fireflies that produce light as adults, ''P. indictus'' has no lanterns on its abdomen. The female is often slightly larger than the male. Etymology ''Photinus'' is from the Greek word for shining or bright. The specific epithet, "indictus", is Latin meaning "not said" or "unspoken", referring to the fact that this species does not flash as an adult. Life Cycle Beetles such as ''P. indictus'' go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. ''Ph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Lawrence LeConte
John Lawrence LeConte MD (May 13, 1825 – November 15, 1883) was an American entomology, entomologist, responsible for naming and describing approximately half of the insect taxon, taxa known in the United States during his lifetime,Bird Name Biographies - URL retrieved September 14, 2006 including some 5,000 species of beetles. He was recognized as the foremost authority on North American beetles during his career, and has been described as "the father of American beetle study".Evans, Arthur V., and James N. Hogue. 2004. Chapter 1: A Brief History of Beetle Study in California. ''Introduction to California Beetles''. University of California Press. , as excerpted a [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beetle
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described arthropods and 25% of all known animal species; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. However, the number of beetle species is challenged by the number of species in Fly, dipterans (flies) and hymenopterans (wasps). Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae (ladybirds or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 of light, mainly during twilight, to attract mates. The type species is '' Lampyris noctiluca'', the common glow-worm of Europe. Light production in the Lampyridae is thought to have originated as a warning signal that the larvae were distasteful. This ability to create light was then co-opted as a mating signal and, in a further development, adult female fireflies of the genus ''Photuris'' mimic the flash pattern of the '' Photinus'' beetle to trap their males as prey. Fireflies are found in temperate and tropical climates. Many live in marshes or in wet, wooded areas where their larvae have abundant sources of food. Although all known fireflies glow as larvae, only some species produce light in their adult stage, and the location o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pronotum
The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on each side. The prothorax never bears wings in extant insects (except in some cases of atavism), though some fossil groups possessed wing-like projections. All adult insects possess legs on the prothorax, though in a few groups (e.g., the butterfly family Nymphalidae) the forelegs are greatly reduced. In many groups of insects, the pronotum is reduced in size, but in a few it is hypertrophied, such as in all beetles (Coleoptera). In most treehoppers (family Membracidae, order Hemiptera), the pronotum is expanded into often fantastic shapes that enhance their camouflage or mimicry. Similarly, in the Tetrigidae, the pronotum is extended backward to cover the flight wings, supplanting the function of the tegmina. See also * Glossary of entom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elytra
An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alternatively spelled as "hemielytra"), and in most species only the basal half is thickened while the apex is membranous, but when they are entirely thickened the condition is referred to as "coleopteroid". An elytron is sometimes also referred to as a shard. Description The elytra primarily serve as protective wing-cases for the hindwings underneath, which are used for flying. To fly, a beetle typically opens the elytra and then extends the hindwings, flying while still holding the elytra open, though many beetles in the families Scarabaeidae and Buprestidae can fly with the elytra closed (e.g., most Cetoniinae; ). In a number of groups, the elytra are reduced to various degrees, (e.g., the beetle families Staphylinidae and Ripipho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bioluminescent
Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria, dinoflagellates and terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced by symbiotic bacteria such as those from the genus '' Vibrio''; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals themselves. In most cases, the principal chemical reaction in bioluminescence involves the reaction of a substrate called luciferin and an enzyme, called luciferase. Because these are generic names, luciferins and luciferases are often distinguished by the species or group, e.g. firefly luciferin or cypridina luciferin. In all characterized cases, the enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of the luciferin resulting in excited state oxyluciferin, which is the light emitter of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pheromones
A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavior of the receiving individuals. There are '' alarm pheromones'', ''food trail pheromones'', '' sex pheromones'', and many others that affect behavior or physiology. Pheromones are used by many organisms, from basic unicellular prokaryotes to complex multicellular eukaryotes. Their use among insects has been particularly well documented. In addition, some vertebrates, plants and ciliates communicate by using pheromones. The ecological functions and evolution of pheromones are a major topic of research in the field of chemical ecology. Background The portmanteau word "pheromone" was coined by Peter Karlson and Martin Lüscher in 1959, based on the Greek () and (). Pheromones are also sometimes classified as ecto-hormones ("ecto-" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bioluminescent Insects
Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria, dinoflagellates and terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced by symbiotic bacteria such as those from the genus ''Vibrio''; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals themselves. In most cases, the principal chemical reaction in bioluminescence involves the reaction of a substrate called luciferin and an enzyme, called luciferase. Because these are generic names, luciferins and luciferases are often distinguished by the species or group, e.g. firefly luciferin or cypridina luciferin. In all characterized cases, the enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of the luciferin resulting in excited state oxyluciferin, which is the light emitter of the reac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Articles Created By Qbugbot
Article often refers to: * Article (grammar) In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English language, Engl ..., a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article(s) may also refer to: Government and law * Elements of treaties of the European Union * Articles of association, the regulations governing a company, used in India, the UK and other countries; called articles of incorporation in the US * Articles of clerkship, the contract accepted to become an articled clerk * Articles of Confederation, the predecessor to the current United States Constitution * Article of impeachment, a formal document and charge used for impeachment in the United States * Article of m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
