''Phausis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

firefly 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 ...

beetles (family Lampyridae). These

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 ...

s are for the most part unimpressive in their appearance and behaviour, so have not drawn much study, and little is known about many of the species. Species in this genus are at least known from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Ten species are described in North America, ranging throughout much of the continent. The genera ''Phausis'' and '' Lamprohiza'' are very similar and in need of revision; the delimitations between the two are not clear. Alternatively, ''Phausis'' may be

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

and/or at least in part

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

with ''Lamprohiza''. The genus is traditionally placed in the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Photinini The Photinini are a large tribe of fireflies in the subfamily Lampyrinae. '' Photinus pyralis'' is famous in biotechnology for its luciferase gene. This is sometimes employed as a marker gene; genetically modified organisms which contain it sta ...

of 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 ins ...

, but at least the blue ghost firefly, ''

Phausis reticulata ''Phausis reticulata'', commonly referred to as the blue ghost is a species of firefly found in the eastern and central United States. The species is common in the southern Appalachians, and can be seen in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the ...

'' does not seem to be particularly close to this group (or ''Lamprohiza'' for that matter) and might not even belong in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Lampyrinae.

Description

''Phausis'' males are small compared to many fireflies, ranging from about . Most are brown to brown-black in colour and have transparent "window" spots in the front half of the

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 e ...

. A key characteristic distinguishing adult male ''Phausis'' from most other firefly genera is the presence of a minute glassy bead at the tip of each antenna. Males have huge eyes. Most male ''Phausis'' are not luminescent, though males of ''

'' emit a faint, constant glow. Female ''Phausis'' are

larviform 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 ...

and flightless, but bioluminescent, even if males of the same species are not."Bringing Light to the Lives of the Shadow Ghosts"
''American Entomologist''. Retrieved 2019-07-25.

Species

* '' Phausis californica'' Fender, 1966 * '' Phausis dorothae'' Fender, 1961 * '' Phausis inaccensa'' LeConte, 1878 * '' Phausis luminosa'' Fender, 1966 * '' Phausis marina'' Fender, 1966 * '' Phausis nigra'' Hopping, 1937 * ''

'' – blue ghost firefly * '' Phausis rhombica'' Fender, 1961 * '' Phausis riversi'' (LeConte, 1884 (1885)) * '' Phausis skelleyi'' Fender, 1961

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4042575 Lampyridae Lampyridae genera Bioluminescent insects Taxa named by John Lawrence LeConte