(Photuris pensylvanica)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
|
|||||||
IUCN Red List | not listed |
|||||||
NatureServe | NNR - Unranked |
|||||||
Minnesota | not listed |
|||||||
Description |
||
A detailed study of the genus Photuris by H. S. Barber was published posthumously in 1951. It showed that specimens previously lumped under the name Photuris pensylvanica actually represented a group several closely related species. Individuals cannot be accurately identified to the species level without a detailed study of their flashing patterns. The flashing patterns of an individual firefly may vary with time of night, day within the window of the mating season, and location. Females of some species imitate the flashing patterns of females of other species in order to attract and prey upon males of that species. BugGuide.net has recently removed Photuris pensylvanica from its pages. It currently does not identify any photos within this group beyond the genus level. While species within the group cannot be reliably identified by photo, the group itself is identifiable using the key published by Barber. However, BugGuide.net states that “... keys to spp. in Barber 1951 and McDermott 1967 should not be relied upon.” iNaturalist has followed suit and removed all but three observations labeled Photuris pensylvanica. Still, most authoritative sources continue to list Photuris pensylvanica. It may someday be recognized taxonomically as a group or a species complex. To date, it has not been. Until then, there is no universally accepted morphological description of the group. For the reasons mentioned above, no identification information can be given here. |
||
Size |
||
Total length: 5 ⁄16″ to ⅜″ (8 to 10 mm) |
||
Similar Species |
||
Habitat |
||
Meadows and open woods |
||
Biology |
||
Season |
||
June and July |
||
Behavior |
||
|
||
Life Cycle |
||
|
||
Larva Food |
||
|
||
Adult Food |
||
Soft-bodied insects, slugs, snails, mites, beetles, and other fireflies. |
||
Distribution |
||||
Sources
|
||||
8/27/2023 | ||||
Occurrence |
||||
|
||||
Taxonomy |
|||
Order |
Coleoptera (beetles) | ||
Suborder |
Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles) | ||
Infraorder |
Elateriformia | ||
Superfamily |
Elateroidea (click, firefly and soldier beetles) | ||
Family |
Lampyridae (fireflies) | ||
Subfamily |
Photurinae | ||
Tribe |
Photurini | ||
Genus | Photuris | ||
Synonyms |
|||
Photuris pennsylvanicus |
|||
Common Names |
|||
Pennsylvania firefly |
|||
Visitor Photos |
|||||
Share your photo of this insect. |
|||||
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption. |
|||||
|
|||||
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
|||||
|
|||||
Slideshows |
||
Visitor Videos |
|||
Share your video of this insect. |
|||
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. |
|||
Other Videos |
|||
Visitor Sightings |
|||||
Report a sighting of this insect. |
|||||
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
|||||
|
|||||
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
|||||
|
|||||
Last Updated: