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- ›Photurinae
Photuris
Photuris is a genus of fireflies (beetles of the family Lampyridae). The adult females of this genus are notable for preying on other fireflies. They engage in aggressive mimicry, imitating the light signals that other firefly species' females use to attract mates – but Photuris use it to attract, kill and eat the unsuspecting males of those other species. Their flashing bioluminescent signals seem to have evolved independently and eventually adapted to those of their prey, mainly unrelated Lampyrinae, such as Photinus (rover fireflies) or Pyractomena.
60 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Cape Breton Firefly
speciesPhoturis fairchildi
Snappy Single Sync
speciesPhoturis frontalis
July Comet
speciesPhoturis lucicrescens
Heebie-Jeebie Firefly
speciesPhoturis hebes
Florida Single Snappy
speciesPhoturis congener
Photuris divisa
speciesPhoturis divisa
Spring 4-Flasher
speciesPhoturis quadrifulgens
Daiphoturis
subgenusDaiphoturis
Photuris pensylvanica
complexPhoturis pensylvanica
Changeable Firefly
speciesPhoturis versicolor
Photuris trivittata
speciesPhoturis trivittata
Christmas Lights Firefly
speciesPhoturis tremulans
Photuris simplex
speciesPhoturis simplex
Sky Island Firefly
speciesPhoturis falli
Photuris lugubris
speciesPhoturis lugubris
Bill's Hitch
speciesPhoturis billbrowni
Whistler's Mother
speciesPhoturis whistlerae
cypress firefly
speciesPhoturis walldoxeyi
Photuris douglasae
speciesPhoturis douglasae
Belted Firefly
speciesPhoturis cinctipennis
Loopy 5
speciesPhoturis forresti
Mysterious Lantern Firefly
speciesPhoturis mysticalampas
Salt marsh firefly
speciesPhoturis salina
Photuris fulvipes
speciesPhoturis fulvipes
Bethany Beach Firefly
speciesPhoturis bethaniensis
Photuris mollis
speciesPhoturis mollis
Prairie Train Firefly
speciesPhoturis missouriensis
Fast Crescendo
speciesPhoturis moorei
Photuris bridgeniensis
speciesPhoturis bridgeniensis
Potomac Firefly
speciesPhoturis potomaca
Darwin's Firefly
speciesPhoturis darwini
Photuris sellicki
speciesPhoturis sellicki
Photuris brunnipennis
speciesPhoturis brunnipennis
Photuris chenangoa
speciesPhoturis chenangoa
Photuris anna
speciesPhoturis anna
Photuris sheckscheri
speciesPhoturis sheckscheri
Photuris eliza
speciesPhoturis eliza
Photuris lineatocollis
speciesPhoturis lineatocollis
Photuris excavaticeps
speciesPhoturis excavaticeps
Photuris tenuisignathus
speciesPhoturis tenuisignathus
Photuris unifasciata
speciesPhoturis unifasciata
Photuris maculicrus
speciesPhoturis maculicrus
Photuris vittipennis
speciesPhoturis vittipennis
Photuris signatipennis
speciesPhoturis signatipennis
Photuris lateralis
speciesPhoturis lateralis
Photuris discoidalis
speciesPhoturis discoidalis
Photuris despecta
speciesPhoturis despecta
Photuris nigriceps
speciesPhoturis nigriceps
Photuris latefascia
speciesPhoturis latefascia
Photuris cincticollis
speciesPhoturis cincticollis
Photuris testaceohumeralis
speciesPhoturis testaceohumeralis
Photuris suturalis
speciesPhoturis suturalis
Photuris rhagonychoides
speciesPhoturis rhagonychoides
Photuris testaceocincta
speciesPhoturis testaceocincta
Photuris biolleyi
speciesPhoturis biolleyi
Photuris uncta
speciesPhoturis uncta
Photuris piceovittata
speciesPhoturis piceovittata
Photuris inapicalis
speciesPhoturis inapicalis
Photuris binotata
speciesPhoturis binotata
Photuris axillaris
speciesPhoturis axillaris
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Photuris in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 47883.