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 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.
Photuris is a genus of fireflies. These are the femme fatale lightning bugs of North America. This common name refers to a behavior of the adult females of these predatory beetles; they engage in aggressive mimicry, imitating the light signals of other firefly species' females to attract, kill, and eat the males. Their flashing bioluminescent signals seem to have evolved independently and eventually adapted to those of their prey, mainly unrelated Lampyrinae, such as Photinus or Pyractomena.
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.
The Rhagophthalmidae are a family of beetles within the superfamily Elateroidea. Members of this beetle family have bioluminescent organs on the larvae, and sometimes adults, and are closely related to the Phengodidae, though historically they have been often treated as a subfamily of Lampyridae, or as related to that family. Some recent evidence suggested that they were the sister group to the Phengodidae, and somewhat distantly related to Lampyridae, whose sister taxon was Cantharidae, but more reliable genome-based phylogenetics placed as the sister group to the Lampyridae.
Lampyris noctiluca, the common glow-worm of Europe, is the type species of beetle in the genus Lampyris and the family Lampyridae.
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 Chattahoochee National Forest, as well as North Carolina's DuPont State Forest, the Pisgah National Forest, and the Green River Gamelands in Henderson and Polk Counties.
The Photurinae are a subfamily of fireflies (Lampyridae). They contain many of the well-known North American species, such as the Pennsylvania firefly, state insect of Pennsylvania. They are among the "flashing" fireflies known as "lightning bugs" in North America, although they are not too distantly related to the flashing fireflies in the Lampyrinae; as the most basal lineages of that subfamily do not produce light at all, the Photurinae's flashing signals seem to be convergent evolution.
The Cratomorphini are a tribe of fireflies of the large subfamily Lampyrinae. The genera placed here often contain well-sized members of their family. The larvae of many species climb trees to feed on snails. This group contains a few "lightning bugs" from North America, e.g. the genus Pyractomena. Further south in the American tropics, Aspisoma can be found.
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 insufficiently resolved relationships. Regardless, they are very diverse even as a good monophyletic group, containing flashing and continuous-glow fireflies from the Holarctic and some tropical forms as well. The ancestral Lampyrinae probably had no or very primitive light signals; in any case several modern lineages appear to have returned to the pheromone communication of their ancestors independently.
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.
The Lamprocerini are a tribe of fireflies in the large subfamily Lampyrinae, though at least some Lamprocerini species are not bioluminescent in the adult stage. They are generally neotropical, found in North America only as vagrants.
Microphotus is a genus of fireflies in the family Lampyridae. Microphotus are usually found in the southwestern region of the United States of America and adjoining parts of Mexico. There are seven described species in Microphotus in the United States and three more in Mexico.
Pyractomena is a genus of fireflies in the family Lampyridae. There are at least 20 described species in Pyractomena.
Pyropyga is a genus of primarily North American fireflies in the beetle family Lampyridae. There are about 13 described species in Pyropyga. It is among the genera of Lampyridae where both sexes of adults have no bioluminescent organs.
Micronaspis is a genus of fireflies in the family of beetles known as Lampyridae, containing only one species, the Florida intertidal firefly. It is found in the Bahamas and Florida. It is threatened by habitat loss from coastal development as well as storm surges and sea level rise as a consequence of climate change, with Hurricane Dorian having a major impact on Grand Bahama island, where the species is known from. Increased chemical and light pollution has also seriously affected the species. Further threatening it in Florida is the introduction of Steinernema carpocapsae as a biocontrol agent for crops, which is known to target other beetle species than the ones it is meant to control; it is likely the cause of a local extirpation of a population of M. floridana from Sarasota Bay.
Prolutacea is a genus of fireflies in the family of beetles known as Lampyridae, containing a single described species, Prolutacea pulsator.
Nelsonphotus is a genus of fireflies in the family of beetles known as Lampyridae, containing a single described species, Nelsonphotus aridus.
Phausis inaccensa, also known as the shadow ghost, is a species of firefly in the family of beetles known as Lampyridae. It is found in central and eastern United States. The larviform females of the species are bioluminescent, whereas the males are winged but lanternless.
Microphotus fragilis is a species of firefly in the family of beetles known as Lampyridae. It is found in North America. They tend to be more easily found in desert landscapes. This species of firefly is known for its huge eyes that are accompanied by a strongly convex pronotum.
Hyperstoma is a genus of firefly beetles in the family Lampyridae. Previously considered as a monotypic genus, the second species of the genus was described from 2011. The genus is endemic to Sri Lanka.
