Tag Archives: Pyractomena

Meet Indiana’s new state insect!

On March 23rd Indiana became the fourth U.S. state to name a firefly species as their official state insect: Pyractomena angulata. Also called Say’s firefly, this species has a special connection to the state because it was first described by Indiana entomologist Thomas Say.

says-firefly

Pyractomena angulata (drawing by Arwin Provonsha) was discovered by Thomas Say in 1824

The official designation of Say’s firefly as Indiana’s first-ever state insect represents a heart-warming win, not just for fireflies, but also for the former 2nd-grade students at Cumberland Elementary School in West Lafayette. Beginning in 2014, they started  lobbying for this action, mounting a letter-writing campaign and even a Facebook page. Working together with teachers, scientists, and legislators, the students managed to gain bipartisan support and earlier this month watched as the bill was signed by Governor Eric Holcomb.

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The Firefly Flag (left), poem, and drawing by  students from the Cumberland Elementary School (image from Xerces Society blog).

With its glittering presence, Pyractomena angulata just might be my favorite firefly – always gives me a thrill to watch these high-flying males rise and fall as they emit their distinctive long-lasting (~ 1 second) orange flicker. It’s also one of North America’s most widespread fireflies, occurring east of the Mississippi from Florida all the way north into Canada.

This species becomes active after dark beginning sometime in May in the southern U.S.,  June and July in northern regions. So even if you don’t live in Indiana, keep your eyes peeled for them this summer!

 

 

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Pyractomena Strangeness #3

“Tis strange – but true; for truth is always strange. Stranger than fiction.”

                               – Lord Byron, Don Juan (1823)

The previous episode left our Pyractomena larva hanging  – literally – doing some aerial pupation, very unusual behavior for a firefly! Forsaking the amphibious wanderings of its snail-eating childhood, the pupa now hangs quietly. But inside, a maelstrom of cellular reorganization and growth is transforming its larval body. In just a few weeks, it will emerge as an adult firefly. At this next stage, our Pyractomena will have only one thing on its mind: sex. And yup – you guessed it: Pyractomena fireflies have strange sexual habits, too!

Most male lightningbugs fly & flash to win females. But after racing to emerge early, Pyractomena borealis males forcibly mate with their child brides! Continue reading →

Pyractomena Strangeness #2

We’ve already heard (previous post) about the weird hunting habits of Pyractomena larvae – they’re amphibious.  So let’s continue our Pyractomena tour, moving along to consider another strange behavior: they pupate en plein air!

Once they’re ready to metamorphose into adult fireflies, the larvae of most North American lightningbugs seek safety underground. Immobile, they huddle for weeks in soil chambers, finally emerging to light up our skies as adult fireflies. But no cold dark cellars for Pyractomena fireflies! Instead, these strange fireflies climb up onto vegetation to undertake a feat known as aerial pupation.

Pyr borealis pupation

Aerial pupation (photos from Faust 2012)

Continue reading →

Stranger Things – The Firefly Version

If you’ve been paying some attention, you probably already know that here in North America, we’ve got several different kinds of lightningbug fireflies. Those in the genera Photinus and Photuris are common and relatively well-studied. But the Pyractomena lightningbugs –  also pretty common – are a black box. We know so little about them! And more’s the pity because Pyractomena have a pretty bizarre lifestyle, making them quite a bit different from our other fireflies.

NAmerican Lightningbugs

Three North American lightningbugs, belonging to Photinus, Photuris & Pyractomena( L to R)

So here’s the first taste of Pyractomena strangeness: these amphibious larvae are snail-eaters! Continue reading →

Fall glow-worm season is here!

Each autumn the world seems aglow with foliage and jack-o-lanterns. But they’re not the only  glowing things lighting up this season. Fall is also a great time to spot the crawling, glow-in-the-dark stage that all juvenile fireflies pass through.

Firefly larvae and pupae

Glowing firefly larvae (left) and pupae (photo by Siah St. Clair)

Hatched from eggs laid during summer months, these firefly larvae can now be seen crawling along  roadsides or wooded paths, glowing dimly from two tiny lanterns.    Photuris and Pyractomena larvae are the two types seen most often in the U.S. But one reader in Portland, Oregon even spotted  the much rarer Douglas fir glow-worm, Pterotus, along a path in Mt. Tabor Park. Continue reading →