| Luciola substriata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Lampyridae |
| Genus: | Luciola |
| Species: | L. substriata |
| Binomial name | |
| Luciola substriata Gorham, 1880 | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Luciola formosana Pic, 1916 | |
Luciola substriata is a species of firefly found in India, Myanmar, China and Taiwan. The larvae are aquatic and can swim, living in marshes, paddies, lakes and ponds.
This species was described by Henry Stephen Gorham in 1880, the type locality being Bombay (Mumbai). [2] Luciola formosana, described by Maurice Pic in 1916, is a synonym. [1]
The male is 9.5–10.5 mm (0.37–0.41 in) long and 3.5–3.8 mm (0.14–0.15 in) wide; the female is 10.5–11.5 mm (0.41–0.45 in) long and 4.0–4.2 mm (0.16–0.17 in) wide. The body is yellowish orange, and the elytra have light yellow edges. The head, eyes, antennae, tibiae and tarsi are dark brown. The luminous organ is waxy white, and that of the male is V-shaped. Mature larvae are slender, about 20 mm (0.79 in) long. They are brown, with a hard cuticle. [1]
Luciola substriata is found in India, Myanmar, China and Taiwan. [3] The larvae live in marshes, paddy fields, [1] and lakes and ponds with aquatic plants. [3] In Taiwan, they are found below 500 m (1,600 ft) in elevation. Adults are found from April to December, but they are rare near the end of the year. [1]
The larvae are aquatic. The first and second instar larvae probably breathe using both gills and spiracles. They mainly crawl on substrates and sometimes back swim. The third to sixth instars do not have gills and use their spiracles to breathe. They back swim, meaning that they swim upside down. [4] Some segments of the abdomen are exposed to the air while swimming, probably in order to breathe. They also crawl on leaves. [4] Larvae eat aquatic snails such as Stenothyra formosana , Gyraulus spirillus , [1] Gyraulus convexiusculus and Lymnaea stagnalis . [3] Predators of the larvae include the red swamp crayfish, Chinese mitten crab and grass carp. In Hubei, larvae overwinter at the bottom of the water. The pupae, about 9.6 mm (0.38 in) long, are light yellow, with some parts beginning to darken after three days. The pupae are enclosed in pupal cells made of earth. Adults live for about nine days, consuming only water. Mating takes several hours, after which the males quickly die. The eggs, orange-yellow in colour, are laid in masses on plants slightly below the water surface. Larvae emerge after about eleven days. [3]
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 a warning signal that the larvae were distasteful. This ability to create light was then co-opted as a mating signal and, in a further development, adult female fireflies of the genus Photuris mimic the flash pattern of the Photinus beetle in order to trap their males as prey.
The Haliplidae are a family of water beetles that swim using an alternating motion of the legs. They are therefore clumsy in water, and prefer to get around by crawling. The family consists of about 200 species in 5 genera, distributed wherever there is freshwater habitat; it is the only extant member of superfamily Haliploidea. They are also known as crawling water beetles or haliplids.
Dytiscus is a Holarctic genus of predaceous diving beetles that usually live in wetlands and ponds. There are 26 species in this genus distributed in Europe, Asia, North Africa and North and Central America. They are predators that can reduce mosquito larvae.
Dobsonflies are a subfamily of insects, Corydalinae, part of the Megalopteran family Corydalidae. The larvae are aquatic, living in streams, and the adults are often found along streams as well. The nine genera of dobsonflies are distributed in the Americas, Asia, and South Africa.
The eastern dobsonfly, Corydalus cornutus, is a large insect in the Corydalidae family. It is found in eastern North America in regions with fast-flowing streams where its aquatic larvae develop. These are known as hellgrammites and are among the top invertebrate predators in the streams in which they live. They are used by anglers as bait.
Eacles imperialis, the imperial moth, is a member of the family Saturniidae and subfamily Ceratocampinae. It is found mainly in the East of South America and North America, from the center of Argentina to south Canada. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.
Luciola is a genus of flashing fireflies in the family Lampyridae. They are especially well known from Japan and are often called Japanese fireflies, but their members range farther into Asia and reach southern Europe and Africa. This genus is traditionally held to extend to Australia, but these species do not seem to belong herein.
Lampyris noctiluca, the common glow-worm of Europe, is the type species of beetle in the genus Lampyris and the family Lampyridae.
Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus is an insect belonging to the order Coleoptera. It is native to North America, mostly in the southeastern part of the country, but has been established in California for over 50 years. A separate species of rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus brevirostris is present in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Suriname and Venezuela. Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus began spreading through the rice growing regions of Asia in 1976 ; in Europe it has been present in Italy since 2004, in the regions of the Piedmont and Lombardy where it affects upland rice production
Mythimna separata, the northern armyworm, oriental armyworm or rice ear-cutting caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in China, Japan, South-east Asia, India, eastern Australia, New Zealand, and some Pacific islands. It is one of the major pests of maize in Asia. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1865.
Nipponoluciola cruciata, known as "genji-botaru" (ゲンジボタル) in Japanese, is a species of firefly found in Japan. Its habitat is small ditches and streams, and its larvae are aquatic. It was formerly known as Luciola cruciata but was revised taxonomically in 2022.
Aquatica ficta is a species of firefly found in Taiwan and parts of China. It was formerly placed in the genus Luciola. Its habitat is still water, and the larvae are aquatic.
Aquatica is a genus of fireflies in the subfamily Luciolinae. The species are found in China, Taiwan, Japan, Russia and Korea. Fu, Ballantyne and Lambkin erected the genus in 2010, using phylogenetic, morphological and behavioural evidence. Its type species is Aquatica wuhana. It contains five species:
Aquatica hydrophila is a species of firefly found in Taiwan. Described in 2003, it was formerly placed in the genus Luciola. The larvae are aquatic and live in ditches and small streams.
Aquatica lateralis, known as "heike-botaru" (ヘイケボタル) in Japanese, is a species of firefly found in Russia, Japan and Korea. It was formerly placed in the genus Luciola. The larvae are aquatic and live in rice paddies.
Gyraulus convexiusculus is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.
Abscondita chinensis, is a species of firefly beetle found in India, China and Sri Lanka.
Abscondita is a genus of fireflies in tropical Asia. Species in the genus were earlier placed in the genus Luciola but molecular phylogeny studies support their separation.
Sclerotia is a genus of fireflies in the subfamily Luciolinae. It contains seven species that occur in Southeast Asia. The larvae of at least three of these species are aquatic and swim on their backs.
Sclerotia fui is a species of firefly found in China. First described in 2016, it is one of seven species in the genus Sclerotia within the Luciolinae subfamily. The adult is less than a centimeter in length with pale-brown forewings, orange pronotum, and dark-brown head. The larva is aquatic and swims on its back directly under the water surface. The species is named after the Chinese entomologist Xin Hua Fu.