The Lightning Bugs or Fireflies are small, luminescent, carnivorous beetles in the family Lampyridae. There are more than 2000 species of Lightning Bugs, worldwide. They are mostly found in tropical areas of the world around water resources such ponds, lakes, streams and rivers.
They produce heatless flashes of greenish-yellow light. Their glow has three main functions i.e. to attract prey, to discourage predators, and the most important is to attract mates.
According to an article in "The Time of India" The main reason of their decreasing population is the artificial light which makes fireflies' flashes less evident and they fail to communicate with their mate properly. Other reasons include loss of habitats and excessive use of pesticides.
The species exists in our area has orange color, with black tip on the wing case. It's commonly know as "Black-tipped Firefly". Most probably, it's a species in the genus Pteroptyx, subfamily Luciolinae. It's about 8 mm long. Both males and females are capable of flight. Their larvae feed on snails and slugs. In Urdu it's called "Jugnu" (جگنو).
Lightning Bugs (Pteroptyx sp.)
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| Female |
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| Female |
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| Male |
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9 comments:
Great details in these shots! This is such a pretty insect.
nice capture
Thanks Kala and RW for your visit, comment and appreciation.
We still have them here once-in-a while. However, i didn't know they are carnivorous! That is amazing, aside from snails and slugs what else do they eat? I am glad i learned something today.
Great post on the lightning bug - keep posting - so much detail and good information.
This picture was very quite and colorful Thanks for sharing.
Nice share mate.
Very interesting! We have them in our area and they look like little stars! But I have never taken a close look let alone photograph them. Maybe now I will do that.
Hi Birdy
Nice photos of Pteroptyx firefly. Are these firefly pictures taken in India? I am doing Pteroptyx work for the Malaysian Nature Society. You can contact me at conservation2@mns.org.my
Thank you. Sonny Wong
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