sneaky elf

(Pyropyga decipiens)

Conservation Status
IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

 
sneaky elf
Photo by Babette Kis
 
Description

Sneaky elf is a common, widespread, small, non-luminous firefly. It occurs in the United States from Maine to North Carolina and Tennessee, and in southern Quebec and Ontario Canada. It is said to be common in the northeast, but the western limits of the species are uncertain. There are very few widely scattered records as far west as Utah, Nebraska, and Texas. In Minnesota, based on the number of records, it is uncommon.

Sneaky elf adults are active between early June and late August, with a sharp peak in the first half of July. They are found in a wide variety of habitats. They have been collected in marshlands, grassy fields, old fields, roadsides, ditches, and gardens, and along the shores of streams, lakes, and ponds. Unlike most fireflies, they are active during the day, and they have no bioluminescent organs. Little is known about the biology of the larvae except that they are predaceous.

Adults are 316 to 516 (4.5 to 7.25 mm) in length. The body is soft, flattened, elongate oval, parallel sided, and blackish to black.

The head is covered by the plate on the first segment of the thorax (pronotum). The head and mouthparts are directed downwards. The eyes are small, and they are spaced far apart. The antennae are black, sawtoothed (serrate), flattened, and delicate. They are about half as long as the body, and they have 11 segments. The first segment (scape) is shorter than the third. The second segment (pedicel) is very short, wider than long.

The pronotum is semicircular. It is convex in the middle, and it has broad flattened margins. Its coloration is highly variable. It is pale or rosy with a wide, dark stripe in the middle, and usually a pale border on the margin around the front and sides. There are no translucent windows. The middle stripe can be very wide, sometimes obscuring most or all of the convex surface. On some individuals, the border is dark, and they can be distinguished from Pyropyga nigricans only by dissection of the male genitalia. The plate between the wing bases (scutellum) is visible.

The forewings (elytra) are weakly ridged.

The legs are short and black. The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has 5 segments. The fourth segment is heart shaped.

 

Size

Total length: 316 to 516 (4.5 to 7.25 mm)

 

Similar Species

 
Habitat

A wide variety of habitats, including marshes, fields, ditches, roadsides, and along the shores of streams, lakes, and ponds

Biology

Season

One generation per year: June through August

 

Behavior

Adults are active during the day.

 

Life Cycle

Late stage (instar) larvae or pupae overwinter.

 

Larva Food

Unknown

 

Adult Food

 

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

12/23/2024    
     

Occurrence

Common in the northeast, uncommon in Minnesota.

Taxonomy

Order

Coleoptera (beetles)

Suborder

Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles)

Infraorder

Elateriformia

Superfamily

Elateroidea (click, firefy, and soldier beetles)

Family

Lampyridae (fireflies)

Subfamily

Lampyrinae (typical fireflies)

Tribe

Photinini

Genus

Pyropyga

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

Lampyris decipiens

   

Common Names

deceptive firefly

sneaky elf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Elytra

The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.

 

Instar

The developmental stage of arthropods between each molt; in insects, the developmental stage of the larvae or nymph.

 

Pedicel

On plants: the stalk of a single flower in a cluster of flowers. On insects: the second segment of the antennae. On Hymenoptera and Araneae: the narrow stalk connecting the thorax to the abdomen: the preferred term is petiole.

 

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

 

Scape

In plants: An erect, leafless stalk growing from the rootstock and supporting a flower or a flower cluster. In insects: The basal segment of the antenna.

 

Scutellum

The exoskeletal plate covering the rearward (posterior) part of the middle segment of the thorax in some insects. In Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, the dorsal, often triangular plate behind the pronotum and between the bases of the front wings. In Diptera, the exoskeletal plate between the abdomen and the thorax.

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

 

 

 

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Babette Kis

sneaky elf

Pyropyga decipiens Sneaky elf

Sneaky elf, Pyropyga decipiens, a day-active non-flashing type of firefly, was found at Barnes Prairie, Racine County, Wisconsin, USA on July 1, 2024.

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Babette Kis
7/1/2024

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

Sneaky elf, Pyropyga decipiens, a day-active non-flashing type of firefly, was found at Barnes Prairie, Racine County, Wisconsin, USA on July 1, 2024.

sneaky elf
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Created: 12/23/2024

Last Updated:

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