Photurinae

Taxobox
name = Photurinae

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image_width = 240px
image_caption = Adult "Photuris lucicrescens"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
infraclassis = Neoptera
superordo = Endopterygota
ordo = Coleoptera
subordo = Polyphaga
infraordo = Elateriformia
superfamilia = Elateroidea
familia = Lampyridae
subfamilia = Photurinae
subfamilia_authority =
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = Several, see text

The Photurinae are a subfamily of fireflies (Lampyridae). They contain many of the well-known North American species, such as the Pennsylvania Firefly ("Photuris pennsylvanica") and the Common Eastern Firefly ("P. pyralis"), state insects of Pennsylvania and Tennessee, respectively. They are among the "flashing" (as opposed to continuous-glow) fireflies known as "lightning bugs" in North America. Though they are not too distantly related to the flashing fireflies in the Lampyrinae, as the most basal lineages of that subfamily do not produce light at all the Photurinae's flashing signals seem to be convergent evolution.Stanger-Hall "et al." (2007)]

The genus "Photuris" is often called "femme fatale fireflies", due to the females' habit of imitating other "lightning bugs'" flashes, to attract, kill and eat them. Their prey includes such unrelated Lampyrinae like "Photinus" (rover fireflies) or "Pyractomena".

Genera include:
* "Bicellonycha" Motschulsky, 1853
* "Photuris"

Footnotes

References

* (2007): Phylogeny of North American fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae): Implications for the evolution of light signals. "Mol. Phylogenet. Evol." 45(1): 33-49. doi|10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.013 (HTML abstract)