The

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 40 ...

family Phengodidae is known also as glowworm beetles, whose

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e are known as

glowworm Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence al ...

s. The females and

e have

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 inc ...

organs. They occur throughout the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

from extreme southern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, numbering over 250 species in total. The recently recognized members of the Phengodidae, the

Cydistinae The Cydistinae are a subfamily of phengodid beetles (Phengodidae). It contains the genera '' Cydistus'' and '' Microcydistus''. The Cydistinae were until recently, ''incertae sedis'' due to their strange morphological characteristics, however mol ...

, are found in Western Asia. The family

Rhagophthalmidae The Rhagophthalmidae are a family of beetles within the superfamily Elateroidea. Members of this beetle family have bioluminescent organs on the larvae, and sometimes adults, and are closely related to the Phengodidae ( American glowworm beetles ...

, an Old World group, used to be included in the Phengodidae. Larval and

larviform female Larviform female is a biological phenomenon occurring in some insect species, where the females in the adult stage of metamorphosis resemble the larvae to various degrees, while the male appears more morphologically adult (as imagoes). The resembl ...

glowworms are

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

s, feeding on

millipede Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derive ...

s and other

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s occurring in

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

and

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...

. The winged males, which are often attracted to lights at night, are short-lived and probably do not feed. Females are much larger than the males and are completely larviform. Males may be luminescent, but females and larvae have a series of luminescent organs on trunk segments which emit yellow or green light, and sometimes an additional head organ which emits red light, as in

railroad worm A railroad worm is a larva or larviform female adult of a beetle of the genus ''Phrixothrix'' in the family Phengodidae, characterized by the possession of two different colors of bioluminescence. It has the appearance of a caterpillar ...

s. This family is distinct from the

fireflies 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 ...

(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 called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

), which may also be called "glow-worms" in its larval stage. Some early studies suggested that Phengodidae might possibly include (or be

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to) the long-lipped beetles, which were formerly treated as a family Telegeusidae, but these are now treated as a subfamily within the family

Omethidae Omethidae is a family of Elateroidea sometimes known as the false soldier beetles. They are native to South, Southeast and Eastern Asia and the Americas. Their biology is obscure and their larvae are unknown. They appear to inhabit vegetation in ...

.ROZA, André Silva; CONSTANTIN, Robert; MERMUDES, José Ricardo Miras. ''Pseudotelegeusis meloi'' sp. nov., the first Telegeusinae from Peru (Coleoptera: Omethidae, Telegeusinae). European Journal of Taxonomy, .l. n. 580, nov. 2019. ISSN 2118-9773. Available at: . Date accessed: 06 dec. 2019. doi:https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2019.580.

Genera

* '' Acladocera'' * '' Adendrocera'' * '' Brasilocerus'' * ''

Cenophengus ''Cenophengus'' is a genus of glowworm beetles in the family Phengodidae. There are at least 30 described species in ''Cenophengus''. Species * ''Cenophengus baios'' Zaragoza-Caballero, 2003 * ''Cenophengus brunneus'' Wittmer, 1976 * ''Cenophengu ...

'' * '' Cephalophrixothorax'' * '' Cydistus'' * '' Decamastinocerus'' * '' Distremocephalus'' * '' Eurymastinocerus'' * '' Euryognathus'' * '' Euryopa'' * '' Howdenia'' * '' Mastinocerus'' * '' Mastinomorphus'' * '' Mastinowittmerus'' * '' Microcydistus'' * '' Microphengodes'' * '' Neophengus'' * '' Nephromma'' * '' Oxymastinocerus'' * '' Paramastinocerus'' * ''

Paraptorthodius ''Paraptorthodius'' is a genus of glowworm beetles in the family Phengodidae. There are at least three described species in ''Paraptorthodius''. Species These three species belong to the genus ''Paraptorthodius'': * '' Paraptorthodius mirabilis' ...

'' * '' Penicillophorus'' * ''

Phengodes ''Phengodes'' is a genus of glowworms in the beetle family Phengodidae. There are more than 30 described species in ''Phengodes''. Species * '' Phengodes arizonensis'' Wittmer, 1976 * '' Phengodes atezcana'' Zaragoza, 1980 * '' Phengodes bell ...

'' * ''

Phrixothrix A railroad worm is a larva or larviform female adult of a beetle of the genus ''Phrixothrix'' in the family Phengodidae, characterized by the possession of two different colors of bioluminescence. It has the appearance of a caterpillar. The el ...

'' * '' Pseudomastinocerus'' * '' Pseudophengodes'' * '' Ptorthodiellus'' * '' Ptorthodius'' * '' Spangleriella'' * '' Steneuryopa'' * '' Stenocladius'' * '' Stenophrixothrix'' * '' Taximastinocerus'' * ''

Zarhipis ''Zarhipis'' is a genus of glowworm beetles in the family Phengodidae. There are at least three described species in ''Zarhipis'', all restricted to the western regions of North America. Species These three species belong to the genus ''Zarhipis ...

References

External links

Phengodidae
i
J. F. Lawrence, A. M. Hastings, M. J. Dallwitz, T. A. Paine and E. J. Zurcher (2000 onwards). Elateriformia (Coleoptera): descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval for families and sub-families.

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site {{Taxonbar, from=Q690737 Bioluminescent insects Beetle families Beetles of North America Beetles of South America Insects of Central America Taxa named by John Lawrence LeConte