Short-winged firefly
| Short-winged firefly | ||||||||||||
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Short-winged firefly ( Phosphaenus hemipterus ) |
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| Phosphaenus hemipterus | ||||||||||||
| ( Goeze , 1777) |
The short-winged firefly ( Phosphaenus hemipterus ) is a beetle from the firefly family (Lampyridae).
features
The beetles have a body length of 6 to 8 millimeters (males) or 10 millimeters (females). Their body is dark brown and has a reddish tinge. The males have very shortened wings and therefore look more like the female compared to other fireflies . Their membranous wings are also reduced, which is why they, like the females, are unable to fly. Their antennae are longer than those of the females. Due to the shortened wings, the males are not to be confused with other species. The females only have fine luminous points.
The larvae are similar to the larvae of the great firefly ( Lampyris noctiluca ), but they lack the double-sided row of reddish dots on the abdomen and they are a little darker and shinier in color and are slimmer and smaller in body. Their reddish colored mandibles are bent almost at right angles, those of the other Central European species are sickle-shaped.
Occurrence
The species is widespread in the Mediterranean , Central Europe to the Atlantic and southern Scandinavia and England . The species was introduced in North America . It inhabits meadows, floodplains, forest edges, dry slopes, but also gardens and parks and colonizes humus under stones and roots.
Way of life
The females probably attract their partners with pheromones because they can only glow weakly. The males can find them by their large antennae. The males die shortly after mating, the females a few days after laying eggs. The males can be found on paths and in the foliage under trees and bushes. They can shine with two point-shaped luminous organs and do this even in the event of a fault. Most of the time, you can see the very weak glow, which lasts for about two seconds and is followed by irregular long pauses, in late summer or early autumn between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.
The females lay their eggs in the ground, especially on grass roots in forest floors. The larvae take about a month to develop. They are mainly nocturnal and rarely found during the day. They can shine and have two small point-shaped luminous organs. They feed on earthworms, which can sometimes be much larger than the larva itself. Pupation takes place in May and the pupae rest for about a week.
supporting documents
Web links
- www.gluehwuermchen.ch
- Starting point - Fireflies in Germany
- Phosphaenus hemipterus in Fauna Europaea
literature
- Georg Möller, Reiner Grube, Ekkehard Wachmann : The Fauna Käferführer I - Beetles in and on the forest. Fauna-Verlag, Nottuln 2006, ISBN 3-935980-25-6 .
