Photinus pyralis
| Photinus pyralis | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Photinus pyralis in flight |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Photinus pyralis | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1767) |
Photinus pyralis is a beetle from the firefly family(Lampyridae). It is the most common firefly species in North America.
description
Adult animals reach a length of 10 to 14 mm. The thorax is dark brown, the last segment of the abdomen , the section that is lit, is light yellow-green in color. The edges of the fore-chest segment ( pronotum ) are dull yellow, in the center of which there is a dark point. The species has two pairs of wings, of which only the male uses the second pair to fly. The females have short wings and do not fly. The dark brown front wings ( Elytren ) have a narrow yellow border. Photinus pyralis is one of the species of beetle in which the two sexes look completely different ( sexual dimorphism ).
Way of life
The males locate female fireflies through a series of flashes of light, to which the females respond with a coded delayed flash. This communication is carried out by several species of beetles. The females of Photinus pyralis operate a special kind of mimicry . They use mimicked light signals to attract males of other beetle species and prey on them when they approach.
Luminosity
The Photinus pyralis luciferin - luciferase system is the best studied system for generating bioluminescence . It achieved the highest measured quantum yield of 0.41 (theoretical maximum = 1).
Surname
The genus name Photinus should not be confused with that of the fishing horror genus Photina .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c J. McKenzie: Photinus pyralis. In: Animal Diversity Web, 2001. ( Online )
- ^ Gary A. Dunn: Insects of the Great Lakes Region. University of Michigan Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0472065158 , p. 177.
- ↑ Konrad Dettner et al .: Textbook of Entomology. 2nd Edition. Spectrum Academic Publishing House, 2003, ISBN 978-3-8274-2617-8 .
- ↑ Gavin J. Svenson and Marc A. Branham: Case 3402. Photini LeConte, 1881 (Insecta, Coleoptera) and PhotininaeGiglio-Tos, 1915 (Insecta, Mantodea): proposed resolution of homonymy between family-group names. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 64, 4, pp. 243-251, December 2007 (online: [1] )
