LIBRARY

COLEOPTERA 661
The members of this family are among the most interesting and remarkable
of all living creatures. A display of fireflies on a warm summer night is beyond
description and rivals any other natural phenomenon. The larvre and adults are
predacious upon small animals including earthworms, snails, crustaceans, and
insects. They frequent moist and damp locations or warm regions where sum.
mer rains are abundant, but glowworms may occur in regions where little or no
summer precipitation occurs. In temperate and subtropical regions these insects
frequent marshes, swamps, woods, and areas along streams. A few species live
on exposed grassy hillsides. The remarkable luminous displays, which are
frequently synchronized, have fascinated travelers and naturalists throughout
the ages. In early days glowworms and beetles were held captive in glass containers
for the light which they might produce, and varied and fabulous are the
tales related about these beetles.
The family is primarily tropical and subtropical with a large number of
representatives in the temperate regions. There are about 2,000 described
species. The common European glowworm, Lampyris noctiluca (Linn.), is
one of the best known members of the order. The males are normal, blackish
brown, and 11-12 mm. long, whereas the females are larviform, light brown, and
16-18 mm. long. The females are luminous on warm July nights. Phosphcenus
hemipterus Goeze is another interesting European species in which both sexes
are beetle-like, but the elytra and wings are abbreviated, or absent in the fe·
males, so neither can fly. They are 5.5-10.0 mm. long, and emit but a feeble
light, perhaps because they are, as some believe, largely diurnal.
The two most important luminous genera in North America are Photinus
Lacordaire and Photuris LeConte. The members occur east of the Rocky Mountains
and north to the Great Lakes. They are the beautiful fireflies that flash
their tiny lights beside the streams, ponds, and lakes and over the marshes,
meadows, and lawns on warm summer evenings. Both sexes are luminescent
and winged. The genus Microphotus Lee. is also American and is best represented
in the more arid southwestern areas. The males are winged whereas the
females are larviform and luminous. M. angustus Lee. ranges from Florida to
California.
Phausis Lee. is both European and North American and has one species,
P. splendidula (Linn.). The males are winged and the females larviform.
Lucidoia Laporte is the largest genus in North America, being represented
by 13 species. Both sexes are normally winged, diurnal, and either lack, or have
but slightly developed, light organs. Luminescent organs appear in the larvre
of L. jenestralis (Melsheimer) and other species but are lacking in the adults.
The pupre of Luciola cruciata Motschulsky and L. lateralis Mats. of Japan and
of LamproPhorus tenebrosus Walker of Ceylon are luminous (Balduf, 1935).
Family LYCIDlE Lacordaire 1857.
The net· winged beetles are closely related to the LAMPYRID.,E. They are
beautifully colored and soft-textured rather small tropical and subtropical
predacious species which are not luminous. .. .