''Photuris'' 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 ...

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 ...

(

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 of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Lampyridae). These are the ''

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

'' lightning bugs of

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 ...

. This common name refers to a behavior of the adult females of these

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; they engage in

aggressive mimicry Aggressive mimicry is a form of mimicry in which predation, predators, parasites, or parasitoids share similar signalling theory, signals, using a harmless model, allowing them to avoid being correctly identified by their prey or host (biolog ...

, imitating the light signals of other firefly

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

' females to attract matesbut ''Photuris'' use it to attract, kill and eat the unsuspecting males of those other species. Their flashing

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 ...

signals seem to have

evolved Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

independently and eventually

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

to those of their prey, mainly unrelated

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 ...

, such as ''

Photinus Photinus (Greek: Φωτεινός; died 376) was a Christian bishop of Sirmium in Pannonia Secunda (today the town Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia), best known for denying the incarnation of Christ, thus being considered a heresiarch by both the Ca ...

'' (

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 ...

) or ''

Pyractomena ''Pyractomena'' is a genus of fireflies in the 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 fire ...

''.

Species

At least 64 species are currently recognized, all restricted to temperate North America. They mainly occur from the East Coast to Texas. Species include: *' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris bethaniensis''– McDermott, 1953 *' – Barber, 1951 *' – Barber, 1951 *'– LeConte, 1852 *'– LeConte, 1852 *'' Photuris fairchildi''– Barber, 1951 *'– Fall, 1927 *'' Photuris floridana'' – Fall, 1927 *'' Photuris frontalis'' – LeConte, 1852 *'' Photuris hebes'' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris lineaticollis'' – Motschulsky, 1854 *'' Photuris llyodi'' – McDermott, 1966 *''

Photuris lucicrescens ''Photuris lucicrescens'', the long crescendo ''Photuris'', July comet, big scary, or big Lucy, is a species of beetle in the Lampyridae family. It is found in the eastern United States. Description ''P. lucicrescens'' is a large firefly, with ...

'' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris missouriensis'' – McDermott, 1962 *'' Photuris mysticalampas'' – Heckscher, 2013 *'' Photuris pensylvanica'' – De Geer, 1774 *'' Photuris potomaca'' – Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris pyralomina'' – Barber, 1951 *''

Photuris quadrifulgens ''Photuris'' is a genus of firefly, fireflies (beetles of the family (biology), family Lampyridae). These are the ''femme fatale'' lightning bugs of North America. This common name refers to a behavior of the adult females of these predatory be ...

''– Barber, 1951 *'' Photuris salina''– Barber, 1951 *''

Photuris versicolor ''Photuris versicolor'', is a species complex of firefly common throughout the Eastern United States. Fireflies famously use flash-based visual signalling to find mates at a distance and each species of firefly has a unique flash pattern sequenc ...

'' – Fabricius, 1798 *'' Photuris walldoxeyi''– Faust and Davis, 2019

References

{{Authority control Lampyridae genera Beetles described in 1833 Taxa named by Pierre François Marie Auguste Dejean