Texas Beetle Information

Return to Texas Entomology - Compiled by Mike Quinn

Firefly - Pyractomena sp.

Beetle Family Lampyridae

(aka Lightningbugs)

(Firefly's heads are hidden below their pronotal shields)

Hidalgo Co., TX (M Quinn)

Similar Species: There are 16 US species of Pyractomena, with two yet to be described.

Biology: Fireflies prefer moist areas. Larvae are carnivorous, feeding on other insects, snails, and slugs.

Taxonomy: This genus is sometimes misspelled as Pyractonema, which is a South American genus.

Weblinks:

Firefly - Photo of Photinus sp. - TAMU
Pyractomena angulata Say emarging - French Canada

The Fireflyer Companion - University of Florida
Where have all the fireflies gone? - James Lloyd - 07.03.1997
Fireflies in Houston - Donald Ray Burger
Lightningbugs of Kentucky - University of Kentucky Entomology
Lightningbugs - Iowa State University of Science and Technology

Artwork: Say's firefly (Pyractomena angulata) - Arwin Provonsha, Purdue Department of Entomology

References:

Archangelsky, M. and M.A. Branham. 1998. Description of the Preimaginal Stages of Pyractomena borealis (Randall, 1838), and Notes on Its Biology (Coleoptera: Lampyridae). Proc. Wash. Ent. Soc. 100(3): 421-430.

Arnett, R.H., Jr., M.C. Thomas, P.E. Skelley & J.H. Frank. (editors). 2002. American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press. 861 pp.

Green, J. W. 1957. Revision of the Nearctic species of Pyractomena (Coleoptera: Lampyridae). Wasmann Journal of Biology 15: 237-284.

Lloyd, J.E. 2003. On Research and Entomological Education VI: Firefly Species and Lists, Old and New. Florida Entomologist 86(2):99-113.

White, R.E. 1983. A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 368 pp.