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. Light production in the Lampyridae is thought to have originated as an honest warning signal that the larvae were distasteful; this was co-opted in evolution as a mating signal in the adults. In a further development, female fireflies of the genus Photuris mimic the flash pattern of Photinus species to trap their males as prey.
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 also occurs in the families Elateridae, Phengodidae and Rhagophthalmidae among beetles; as well as members of the genera Arachnocampa, Keroplatus and Orfelia among keroplatid fungus gnats.
Lampyris noctiluca, the common glow-worm of Europe, is the type species of beetle in the genus Lampyris and the family Lampyridae.
Pierre Nicolas Camille Jacquelin Du Val was a French entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera.
The Ototretinae are a small subfamily in the firefly family (Lampyridae). They are close to the Luciolinae in some respects, but do not glow or flash. Rather, they attract their partners with pheromones like many relatives of the firefly family. They are found in Eurasia and North America.
The Lampyrini are a tribe of fireflies in the large subfamily Lampyrinae. The lineage formerly separated as Pleotomini seems to be a specialized offshoot of the Lampyrini not too distant from the type genus Lampyris and is therefore included here. This tribe occurs throughout the Holarctic and contains the typical "glowing" or "continuous-light" fireflies from that region. Some otherwise very advanced Lampyrini, like species in Paraphausis and Pyrocoelia, have degenerated light-producing organs again and communicate primarily or even exclusively with pheromones like the ancestors of the fireflies did.
Prionoceridae is a small family of beetles, in the suborder Polyphaga. They form a group within the cleroid beetles and were formerly treated as a subfamily (Prionocerinae) within the family Melyridae. Very little is known of their life history but most species are pollen feeders as adults and occur in large numbers during spring or the host flowering season. Larvae are predatory or feed on decomposing wood.
The rover fireflies (Photinus) are a genus of fireflies. They are the type genus of tribe Photinini in subfamily Lampyrinae. This genus contains, for example, the common eastern firefly, the most common species of firefly in North America.
Thrislington Plantation is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a national nature reserve in the Sedgefield district of County Durham, England. It is situated about 1 km east of Ferryhill, between the East Coast Main Line railway and the A1(M) road.
Eburia is a genus of beetles in the family Cerambycidae.
Enicopus is a genus of soft-winged flower beetles belonging to the family Melyridae, subfamily Dasytinae. Species in this genus are present in most of Europe and in the eastern Palearctic realm.
Phosphaenus hemipterus, the short-winged firefly or lesser glow worm, is a beetle in the monotypic genus Phosphaenus and the family Lampyridae. It is found in the Mediterranean, in Central Europe, west to the Atlantic Ocean and north to the edge of Scandinavia and in England. In North America, the species has been introduced. It inhabits meadows, floodplains, forest edges, and dry slopes, but also parks and gardens. In Britain, this species is fairly rare compared to the common glow-worm.
Stenodema is a genus of Palaearctic, Oriental and Nearctic plant bugs in the family Miridae and the tribe Stenodemini.
Lampyris raymondi is a firefly species of the genus Lampyris, belonging to the order Coleoptera.
Du Val is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Pyractomena is a genus of fireflies in the family Lampyridae. There are at least 20 described species in Pyractomena.
Parchicola is a genus of flea beetles in the family Chrysomelidae. There are at least 4 described species, found in North America and the Neotropics.
Stenocladius is an Asian genus of fireflies or glow-worms in the subfamily Ototretinae.
Lamellipalpus is an Asian genus of fireflies or glow-worms in the subfamily Ototretinae.
